Miracle on 49th Street
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
In the tradition of About a Boy comes a feel good sports and holiday novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Mike Lupica.
Josh Cameron has it all: a World Championship ring with the Boston Celtics, an MVP award, a clean-cut image, and the adoration of millions. What he doesn't have is family. Until the day 12-year-old smartaleck Molly Parker confronts him in a parking lot and claims to be his daughter—the only daughter of Jen Parker, Josh's college sweetheart and the still the only girl he's ever loved. Trouble is, Jen Parker died last year, and now Molly has tracked down the father she never knew, the one her mother never wanted her to know about. Josh Cameron cares about two things only: himself, and basketball. The last thing this superstar wants or needs is a 12-year-old daughter. Yet this isn't just any 12-year-old. Mr. World Champion has finally met his match.
“[T]his novel is . . . an enjoyable read with interesting peeks into the world of professional basketball. It will appeal to young teen sports enthusiasts as well as kids just looking for a good story.” –VOYA
“Lupica delivers a winning novel, creating a realistic character in Molly. Young readers will also enjoy the look inside Josh's pampered sports-superstar world.” –Booklist
“Lupica is an extraordinarily smooth writer with a great ear for witty repartee.” –Publisher’s Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lupica's latest follows his sports-themed bestsellers (Travel Team; Heat) with less sports and more theme. The crackerjack opening finds 12-year-old Molly Parker craftily stalking Boston Celtics superstar Josh Cameron by skipping out on a Kids Day fan event and hiding beside his SUV. Molly has two bombs to drop on Cameron who, until now, has led a charmed existence. The first is that his college sweetheart, Jen, who he hasn't seen since she left for her junior year abroad, is dead from cancer; the second is that Molly is his daughter. The narrative tension produced by a millionaire sports star, who's sure he's being played, and Molly, who swipes his cap knowing a few stray strands of hair are all that's needed for a DNA test, fizzles when Molly decides she wants Josh to accept her as his daughter without medical proof. Still Lupica is an extraordinarily smooth writer with a great ear for witty repartee (at times perhaps too witty, for a 12-year-old character). The lack of sports action here makes this unlikely to be as popular with sports fans as the previous books, but Molly's emotional yearning for a parent, the humor provided by her sidekick, Sam, and the inside-the-Garden view of the Celtics, will carry many straight through to the Hollywood ending. Ages 10-up.
