Taking sides

Fourteen-year-old Lincoln Mendoza, an aspiring basketball player, must come to terms with his divided loyalties when he moves from the Hispanic inner city to a white suburban neighborhood. Lincoln Mendoza remains loyal to his former school's basketball team, even after he moves from the barrio to the suburbs and plays for his new school's team. "This touchingly realistic story explores the divided loyalties of a Hispanic basketball player who has recently moved from a poor neighborhood to a more affluent one. . . . Soto masterfully conveys the Hispanic-American experience."