Entertaining YA action adventure fueled by a neurodivergent protagonist

There’s No Basketball on Mars by Craig Leener surprised me. It’s one of my favorite reads for 2023 and a must-read. The protagonist, Lawrence Tuckerman, is a high-functioning autistic teen and the story is told from his POV. The author does a great job of bringing the reader into his head to understand his actions and motivations in this YA action-adventure as he creates a neurodivergent protagonist in Lawrence who is loveable, sensitive, quirky, and a math genius with a dream of manning Earth’s first mission to Mars one day. 

 

 

About the book: There’s No Basketball on Mars

At the start of the book Lawrence’s life is ultra routine. He doesn’t have many friends, and he doesn’t like people asking him questions. In fact, he doesn’t even like talking to people. Instead, he writes notes. His repetitive life goes out the window with a visit from the SFC (Strategic Federation Council) which is loosely affiliated with NASA. They want to include him on a top-secret manned mission to Mars and he accepts.

This is a hero’s journey of cosmic proportions. The mission depends on his mathematical prowess. The rocket science is no problem. It’s actually a strength that plays well with his autism. The question is can he navigate being out of his routine and be a working part of a team that requires communication? 

 

 Book review: There’s No Basketball on Mars

The author’s detailed writing style provides a learning experience that educates readers about people on the autism spectrum through Lawrence’s perspective on life. I recommend this book to young and old who enjoy imaginative action-adventures like The Goodbye Kids. There's No Basketball on Mars is an entertaining read and as I said one of my favorites of 2023 and am happy to give it five out of five stars.

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I received a copy of this book through Blackberry Book Tours and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

About the Author: Craig Leener

Despite being relatively earthbound most of the time, Craig Leener has long maintained a keen interest in space travel. He’s also a big fan of basketball, having immersed himself in the game since his youth as a player, coach, referee, fan and, later in life, as a sportswriter. Craig has an above-average ability to go to his left and maintains a solid perimeter jumper. His free-throw percentage on his backyard home court is an implausible 87%—and to this day, that number remains 100% officially unverified. And what the author lacks in foot speed, leaping ability and defense, he makes up for in court smarts and postgame snacks. Craig is a lifelong opponent of the instant replay in sports. He maintains this contrarian point of view because of the intrinsic value he places on the human element’s potential to influence the outcome of athletic competition, inadvertently or otherwise. Craig holds degrees from Los Angeles Valley College and California State University, Northridge. He sits on the board of directors of CSUN’s Journalism Alumni Association and serves as the organization’s director of scholarships. Although Craig possesses an innate curiosity about what might reside beyond the heavens, he lives in the suburbs of Los Angeles with his truly otherworldly wife, Andrea. There’s No Basketball on Mars is his fourth young-adult novel, following the publication of the Zeke Archer Basketball Trilogy.

https://craigleener.com/

https://twitter.com/CraigLeener

Emotional roller coaster YA coming of age journey

 Climb Harder by Phil Barker is the second book in the Ashley Davis series. While this book can stand on its own, I recommend reading the first book in the series as well to appreciate the richness and depth of the characters. The story of Climb Harder picks up where the first book left off. Teenager, Ashley Davies leaves the small-town life of Abbeydale for the first time in her life and flies to Sydney for the climbing competition that will determine the direction of the rest of her life. While in Sydney she is scheduled to stay with her estranged dad, Wyatt. He walked away from her family when she was four, following a climbing accident that left her older brother, Cameron, wheelchair-bound. With no real memories of him, her nerves are on edge.

 

 

She lands in Sydney on a chilly July day. Wyatt is not what she expected. His hunched posture throws her and when she looks into his eyes she sees a tired man, but his flecked hazel eyes match her own and a connection is made. She steps up and hugs his thin frame and breathes in his scent of tobacco, dust, and chalk. At that moment, she feels safe.

 

In his home, she studies a wall of photos. In them, she sees her brother Cameron before his accident as a lead climbing champion in the under-15 division. A rush of responsibility and pride elates her. When she takes a closer look at the championship photo, she notes a web of spidery hairlines revealing the picture had been smashed and shattered in the past. This is a masterful harbinger of foreboding that leaves the reader wondering if Ashley is safe. She thinks she can take care of herself, but can she? Does she need to?

 

Climb Harder introduces a new main character in Jessica Marsden who shares the role of protagonist in this story. She is a native Australian who lives with her dad and autistic younger brother, Bradley. Life is tough for them financially and emotionally since the loss of their mother. Jessica portrays a hardboiled side to the outside world, but when she is thrust into the climbing competition after the first-choice climber breaks her arm, she learns of the cash prize that can help her family. She sets her sights on winning the competition.

 

Author Phil Barker does a great job developing both characters creating a dichotomy. Both girls want to win, and work hard, leaving the reader with two, strong young females skilled in climbing. Both deserve to win. The stakes are high for both.  

 

When I read The Climb (The Ashley Davies Trilogy Book 1), I expected a coming-of-age story but the author delivered more. It was a story of healing and growth. Climb Harder mirrors these elements times two. Barker captures the emotional turmoil and rationality motivating these teens in their roller-coaster journey to become a champion. In the process, Ashley discovers it means more than she realized. Phil Barker is one of the best authors I’ve read this year. His action-packed writing is filled with imperfect characters that grow and heal through emotional and physical struggles and decision making. I give this book 5 stars and recommend it to fans of books like I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman or Someday We’ll Find It by Jennifer Wilson.

As BookHookup, I am a long-time book reviewer and I received Climb Harder as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with #Blackberry Book Tours. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites. 

 

About author Philip Barker

Young adult literary fiction author Philip Barker believes it is important to do something every day that scares you, even if it’s only a little bit; it means you are pushing yourself to experience new things. Through his writing, he aspires to provide his young readers a different perspective, to put emotions into words so that they can hopefully feel a way that they normally wouldn’t, or even wouldn’t want to.

Philip realized in high school that he wanted to be a writer when he discovered that books have the capacity to make him think outside of the established way that was taught to him growing up in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia. He likes to ground his stories in reality and relate them to personal experiences. It is his opinion that life itself is amazing and story-worthy, and there are so many interesting people in the world, all things that he can harvest great writing from.

Philip believes a great story is one that has relatable and interesting characters. Everyone lives interesting lives, and getting to know people is the fun part, even with fictional characters. Having them leave their comfort zones becomes fascinating and often hilarious. To Philip, everyone has a story to tell, and he hopes his young readers learn from his own story that life is complicated and things occur that can often be out of their control. But how they overcome obstacles is what’s important and committing oneself to something with a goal and purpose, like rock climbing, can help ground you.  

When he isn’t writing thought-provoking fiction stories for young adults, Philip enjoys rock climbing, gardening, and watching B Grade movies. His wife, siblings, mother, and in-laws provided positive support and courage for his books and in his life. He lives in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, NSW, Australia with his wife, two dachshunds, Alfie and George, and a rabbit named Abby. Climb was his debut novel and first in the series.

Author’s Social Media Links:

abbeydalecollective.com/

instagram.com/abbeydalecollective/

facebook.com/AbbeydaleCollective