1. The Hoopster
By: Alan Lawrence Sitomer
Created by: Henry Weidenbach
Reading-Roche 5/10/2012
Period-5

2. Biography
February 15, 1967 is when Alan Lawrence Sitomer was born. He was born in New
York. As a kid Alan didn’t like reading but now is an author. Alan earned a B.A.
degree from the college of USC, a teaching certificate from San Diego State
University, and a master’s degree. He taught at a school in Los Angeles. In 2007
he was named teacher of the year by the California Department of Education.

3. Summary
This book is about a African American teenager named Andre Anderson. Andre loves to write
stuff and wants to become a journalist. Andre meets a girl named Gwen and the two go to a
magic show. Andre and Gwen become boyfriend and girlfriend. Andre’s boos Mr. Jarvin
assigns him to do a report on racism. On the time period that Andre works on the report he
gets attacked violently by a gang of four racists. It started with name calling then the leader
of the gang threw a punch at Andre. Then the gang tied Andre in a rope and slammed the car
door to his hands multiple times. Finally the gang went into there van and drove away.
Andre found himself waking up in the hospital, he had two broken ribs, a bruised kidney, a
concussion, and a fractured eye socket. They also broke 23 bones in his hand. Andre
returned home and for a long time he was speechless. Andre went to the International
Magazine Association’s annual banquet. At the banquet Andre gave a speech about his injury
and how he was angry. Andre learned that there is no revenge and the people who beat him
up injured him but they did not take away what Andre believes in himself. The audience
started to tear up. After the speech he returned home. Will Andre ever play basketball
again? Read the book, The Hoopster to answer the question.

4. Main Characters
Main Character- Andre Anderson, he is a teenager who loves basketball and writing. He is African
American, always looking for competition, likes a girl named Gwen, Andre is about to go into
college at the end of the novel.
Main Character- Gwen, she is a girlfriend of Andre. She is supportive of the things Andre does.
She is caring, smart, and good-looking. She is younger that Andre.
Supporting Characters- Mr. Jarvin, he is the boss of the magazine company that Andre works at.
He assigns Andre the report on racism. He is caring because he was there when Andre was in
the hospital.
Supporting Characters- Mrs. Anderson, she loves her son, Andre very much. She is supportive and
always there for Andre.
Supporting Characters- Mr. Anderson, father of Andre. He is sometimes harsh to Andre but he
does that because he loves him. He is 53 years old.

5. Plot
Introduction-
• Andre plays a basketball game with his friends.
• He meets Gwen who he later becomes boyfriend with.
Rising Action-
• Mr. Jarvin (Andre’s boss) assigns Andre into writing a report on racism.
• At first Andre didn’t want to do it but he got convinced.
Climax-
• While Andre was working he got assaulted by a gang who didn’t like his story.
• The gang broke two of Andre’s ribs, they bruised his kidney, gave him a concussion, fractured his eye
socket, and broke 23 bones in his hand.
Falling Action-
• Andre gives a speech at a banquet.
• He talks about his injury and how the gang didn’t take away what Andre believes.
Conclusion-
• Andre comes home and plays basketball with his friends and swishes a three-pointer he took.

6. Vocabulary
1. inconspicuous-adj.- not prominent or readily noticeable.
The Apaches stood up, milled around, and tried to act inconspicuous. Page 51
2. ventriloquist-n.- a person who can speak or utter sounds so that they seem to come from
somewhere else.
“And now for our next act here at the Cuckoo Clock, won’t you please welcome the amazing
talents of expert ventriloquist Shirley Mackey and Sidekick Sam.” Page 84
3. surging-v.- increase suddenly and powerfully, typically during an otherwise stable or
quiescent period.
A surging cry of approval went up from a portion of the crowd, but it was quickly met with a
chorus of emphatic boos from from the other side of the gathering. Page 102
4. gleam-v.- shine brightly, especially with reflected light
There was a gleam in his eye. Page 125
5. brow-n.- A person’s forehead.
He rubbed his brow. Page 176

7. Made into a movie
Andre played Gwen played
by: Brandon by: Keke Palmer
Aris
Mr.
Jarvin
played
by: Alec
Baldwin
Mr. Anderson
played by:
Will Smith Mrs.
Anderson
played by:
Oprah
Winfrey

8. Song for movie
If this song was made into a movie I would choose the song “Basketball” because in
my book it deals with basketball and in the song it tells you about basketball.

9. Rating
I would rate this book a five out of five stars because it involved
basketball, romance, and drama. It had parts where I laughed and parts
where I felt bad and almost started to cry. The book had emotions of
characters. The book was easy to follow and I understood it. It was a
great book.