Best friends Isaac and Marco face various challenges in sixth grade, such as Isaac getting better grades, Marco winning a spot on the basketball team, and both seeing their efforts make a change in their respective family lives. They hope their friendship and support for one another will be enough to help them from falling short. - (Baker & Taylor)

Two best friends, one athletically gifted and one academically gifted, have more in common than they realize when their goals intersect, forcing them to find a way to support each other so they don’t fall short. 40,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook. - (Baker & Taylor)

Ernesto Cisneros, Pura Belpré Award-winning author of Efrén Divided, is back with a hilarious and heartfelt novel about two best friends who must rely on each other in unexpected ways. A great next pick for readers who loved Ghost by Jason Reynolds or The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez.

Isaac and Marco already know sixth grade is going to change their lives. But it won’t change things at home—not without each other’s help.

This year, star basketball player Isaac plans on finally keeping up with his schoolwork. Better grades will surely stop Isaac’s parents from arguing all the time. Meanwhile, straight-A Marco vows on finally winning his father’s approval by earning a spot on the school’s basketball team.

But will their friendship and support for each other be enough to keep the two boys from falling short?

Booklist Reviews

From Pura Belpré Award–winning author Cisneros comes a touching new novel about expectations. Marco and Isaac are best friends who are complete opposites. Marco is short, excels academically, and is bad at sports. Isaac is tall and athletic, but he struggles in school. Now that they're starting middle school, Marco decides to join the basketball team in the hopes that it will draw his father back into his life. Isaac wants to improve his grades so his parents will have one less thing to worry about during their separation period. Together, the boys will attempt to navigate middle school and their own personal family issues, all while trying to avoid falling short of their goals and success. In this novel told through the alternating points of view of both protagonists, readers will closely follow the struggles and insecurities both characters experience while also observing a beautiful and endearing friendship. Cisneros has once again written an inspiring story that will have an immense emotional effect on all who read it. Grades 4-7. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

The first day of sixth grade at Mendez Middle School is coming up, and Isaac Castillo's Ama expects him to become mas responsable: no more forgetting my lunch, no more missing homework, no more detentions, no more bad grades. And most importantly, no more tears for Ama -- at least not because of me. Isaac's parents are getting a divorce, and he hopes that his good behavior can keep the family together. Isaac's best friend, Marco Honeyman (half-Jewish, half-Mexican), lives next door, and his parents are divorcing, too. Unlike Isaac, he's a top student: all geek awards, nothing my dad can brag about. Maybe if Marco plays a sport, he can make his father proud. Alternating first-person narrations effectively offer Isaac's and Marco's perspectives on their own experiences and on each other's. Isaac teaches Marco to play basketball, and Marco -- who's truly bad at offense but is a scrappy defensive player -- makes the team; the latter part of the novel features exciting basketball action. By the end, Isaac has indeed become more responsible, and his schoolwork is better. He has learned how much basketball is like life and school: It pretty much comes down to the hustle we put in. Though their families don't come back together the way that they'd hoped, the boys do indeed make their loved ones proud. A well-told story of family, friends, basketball, and life. Copyright 2023 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

The first day of sixth grade at Mendez Middle School is coming up, and Isaac Castillo's Ama expects him to become "mas responsable": "no more forgetting my lunch, no more missing homework, no more detentions, no more bad grades. And most importantly, no more tears for Ama -- at least not because of me." Isaac's parents are getting a divorce, and he hopes that his good behavior can keep the family together. Isaac's best friend, Marco Honeyman ("half-Jewish, half-Mexican"), lives next door, and his parents are divorcing, too. Unlike Isaac, he's a top student: "all geek awards, nothing my dad can brag about." Maybe if Marco plays a sport, he can make his father proud. Alternating first-person narrations effectively offer Isaac's and Marco's perspectives on their own experiences and on each other's. Isaac teaches Marco to play basketball, and Marco -- who's truly bad at offense but is a scrappy defensive player -- makes the team; the latter part of the novel features exciting basketball action. By the end, Isaac has indeed become more responsible, and his schoolwork is better. He has learned how much basketball is like life and school: "It pretty much comes down to the hustle we put in." Though their families don't come back together the way that they'd hoped, the boys do indeed make their loved ones proud. A well-told story of family, friends, basketball, and life. Dean Schneider March/April 2022 p. Copyright 2022 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

Together, neighbors and friends Isaac and Marco navigate the challenges of middle school, divorced parents, and basketball tryouts. Brand-new sixth graders Isaac Castillo and Marco Honeyman are more like family than friends. Despite their apparent differences—Isaac's a talented basketball player who struggles academically, while Marco's a supershort straight-A student who prefers chess to contact sports—they have been inseparable besties since kindergarten. Isaac knows how to talk Marco through his panic attacks and discussions of his absent father, and Marco calmly listens to Isaac's fears about his father's not-so-secret alcohol abuse. After a misunderstanding leads Isaac's former teammates to convince Marco he could be their middle school basketball team's next Muggsy Bogues (the smallest player in NBA history), Marco and Isaac dedicate themselves to getting him a spot on the team, even though he's never played before. The dual point-of-view story repudiates toxic masculinity and encourages collaboration and generosity. The quick-moving plot also spotlights the various ways preteens and their parents fall short of their goals only to end up stronger because of their resilience and grit. Both protagonists are Latinx: Isaac is Jewish and Mexican, and Marco is Mexican American. Cisneros' touching sophomore novel is an ideal pick for sports fans and will reel in reluctant readers. A touching exploration of friendship, teamwork, and Mamba Mentality. (author's note) (Fiction. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus 2022 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Cisneros (Efrén Divided) follows up his Pura Belpré Award–winning debut with a playful and perceptive middle grade contemporary tale about two best friends that's dedicated to "everyone who has ever felt like they fall short of what the world expects of them." It's the start of sixth grade at California's Mendez Middle School, and best friends Isaac Castillo, who is of Mexican descent, and Marco Honeyman, who is "half-Jewish, half-Mexican," have big goals for the school year. Though Isaac is a gifted basketball player who displays excellent sportsmanship on the court, he struggles to get good grades. Meanwhile, Marco, a short-statured, self-professed "geek" and straight-A student, has no natural aptitude for sports. But with renewed efforts—and each other's help—they aim to become all-rounders on and off the court ("Win or lose, you gotta keep shooting the ball—because eventually, it will go in"). Told through animated alternating first-person chapters, Cisneros's story not only captures the anxiety—and at times, humor—of trying to measure up to expectations, it also tackles delicate subject matter, such as parental absence and alcohol reliance, with profound sensitivity and nuance. A narrative slam dunk for fans of Donna Barba Higuera and Meg Medina. Ages 8–12. Agent: Deborah Warren, East/West Literary. (Mar.)

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 4–7—Marco Honeyman and Isaac Castillo are next-door neighbors and best friends, despite their apparent differences: Jewish-Mexican Marco is small and book-smart, while Isaac, who is also Latinx, is a gifted and hard-working basketball player who struggles to manage his homework. Part of Marco and Isaac's bond is their desire for approval from their divorced parents. Isaac hopes his mom won't give up on him the way she gave up on his dad because of his drinking, and Marco wishes his dad would come back and be proud of him. When they enter middle school, Marco and Isaac stand by each other, despite different classes and friend groups. When Marco decides to try out for the baseketball team to impress his father (despite never playing before), Isaac coaches him. The boys' bond of friendship is the core of the story; they have honest conversations, admire each other's good qualities, and support each other through anxiety attacks and family problems. After a tough tournament game, Isaac concludes, "Life is like a game of basketball…it pretty much comes down to the hustle we put in." VERDICT At every turn, Isaac and Marco support each other in this affirming story of basketball, middle school, friendship, and family, and choosing kindness and determination over easy cowardice or cruelty. Highly recommended for school and public libraries.—Jenny Arch