Team Seven is a young adult novel recommend for grades nine and up.This book got off to a slow start. For the first fourth or so, I wondered what the plot was supposed to be. It wasn’t bad, just disjointed. One reason was that the narrative switched somewhat awkwardly between several characters. After the first part, the story was told mostly from Andre’s point of view and the pace quickened.

The author grew up in the same area of Boston where Andre and his family lived so I’m assuming that his portrayal of Andre’s life is realistic. His story is about how easy it is for a good kid to make bad choices when in certain environments. I liked Andre and kept rooting for him to do the right things. He rarely listened to me though! If you pick up Team Seven, make sure you hang in there past the first bit – it will be worth it. ( )

completed 8.23.14, 4.5 stars ( )