FALLING SHORT

Timothy Andrés Pabon and Gary Tiedemann adeptly narrate this story about middle-school angst and basketball. Issac and Marco have been neighbors and best friends since kindergarten. Marco is an A student whose parents' recent divorce has made him sad. He hopes that playing basketball will get his father's attention. Issac excels at sports but not academics. He hopes that better grades will improve his tense home situation. The boys will help each other with more than grades and basketball. As narrator, Pabon moves seamlessly between English and Spanish in a smooth and pleasant tone. Tiedemann's touching performance has just the right amount of emotion. This is a highly engaging story about friendship and family. Humor makes it even better! A.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2022]