ABOUT THIS BOOK

Sticky is a beat-around-the-head foster kid with nowhere to call home but the street, and an outer shell so tough that no one will take him in. He started out life so far behind the pack that the finish line seems nearly unreachable. He’s a white boy living and playing in a world where he doesn’t seem to belong.

But Sticky can ball. And basketball might just be his ticket out . . . if he can only realize that he doesn’t have to be the person everyone else expects him to be.

A breakout urban masterpiece by newcomer Matt de la Peña, Ball Don’t Lie takes place where the street and the court meet and where a boy can be anything if he puts his mind to it.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

First-time novelist Matt de la Peña attended the University of the Pacific on a basketball scholarship. He went on to earn a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing in his hometown, at San Diego State University. Today he lives and writes (and occasionally still plays ball) in Brooklyn, New York.


AWARDS

WINNER 2006 - ALA Best Books for Young Adults
WINNER 2006 - ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers