Foley, John. Running with the wind.

FOLEY, John. Running with the wind. (Sequel to Hoops of Steel.) Llewellyn, Flux. 214p. c2007. 978-0-7387-1017-4. $8.95. S

The first book is about Jackson's senior year in high school and focuses on his basketball experiences and his miserable home life. It isn't necessary to have read Hoops of Steel to pick up Jackson's story as he finishes school and tries to figure out what to do next. Even though he loves basketball and has a dim dream of playing ball in college, this doesn't come to be. With no firm plans, Jackson accepts a job at a nearby marina. He lives alone on a sailboat and learns to sail, even though his boss is difficult. Readers will learn to sail with him, and understand the great appeal of the sea as it tests an individual. Jackson's girlfriend is heading to Princeton University and her parents certainly aren't happy that she is still hanging out with a young man with no prospects. (They are sleeping together, by the way.) As the summer goes on, Jackson gains confidence and a greater sense of himself: he even puts together a reasonable plan for his future. His family crisis eases, with some hope for a new relationship with his now-sober father. The author is a high school teacher who understands young men and athletics; and he provides interesting quotes about the sea at the beginning of each chapter, by such writers as John Masefield, E.B. White, and Joseph Conrad. Claire Rosser, KLIATT

S--Recommended for senior high school students.