• Age: 9 to 14
• Grade: 4 to 6

All 11-year-old Jared St. George can think about is making his school basketball team. What Jared refuses to think about is math, and the fact that he’s failing it. The problem is tough: a poor math grade plus an unsympathetic coach equals no basketball team. Jared’s only hope is peer tutoring from Ellie Brejovic, the weirdo classmate whom everyone teases. To his surprise, Ellie makes math make sense, except that Jared would rather admit to cheating than let the guys know about her. Turns out that’s the really big mistake, one that could cost Jared not just a spot on the team, but something far more valuable. One on One is Don Aker’s new novel for middle readers, a story that taps into the classic "making the team" dilemma with authentic characters, intelligent plotting and terrific writing. Kids who live to play basketball will love this book; kids who live to read will love it too.

DON AKER’S most recent novel is The Fifth Rule, a finalist for the White Pine Award. His acclaimed backlist also includes The Space Between, winner of the Canadian Library Association’s Young Adult Honour Book Award and also shortlisted for the White Pine Award; One On One, winner of the Canadian Authors Association Lilla Stirling Award and nominated for the Hackmatack Award and the Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award; and The First Stone, winner of the Ann Connor Brimer Award and the White Pine Award. A former high school teacher, Don lives by the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia.

WEB: donaker.com

Don Aker's profile page

One on One