The Outside Shot Essay

Admirable Story The life of a student athlete is a difficult life. It can be a very mind twisting confusing one. There is a lot of hard work involved and some people just cannot take it. In The Outside Shot by Walter Dean Myers, he zooms in on the life of Lonnie Jackson, a student at Montclare College who goes struggles. I thought this was a decent book after I figured out what the author was trying to express. At first, I was not sure about the plot but I concluded he was just trying to tell a story about a college student. It also had a romantic aspect to it which made it more interesting. Lastly, I liked this book because it gave me an insight of what my life could be like when I get to college. About halfway through the book I was questioning what the author was trying to portray. Honestly, I did not fully figure it out until the end of the book. Towards the beginning I thought that maybe it was going to be about him helping a very shy kid come into the light. “The whole thing is to try and get a response” (Myers 20). This was spoken by the secretary at the hospital he worked with Eddie, the kid. I figured he was going to turn him to be outgoing and a basketball player, but my theory was only partially correct. He did get him to talk more and play basketball, but that

Shelly came to him after one class to ask if he wanted to join a study group. She came to him because they were some of the only dark skinned people on campus. I liked this because it added something secondary to the story that was interesting. She helped him through a lot, especially when he was being searched for fixing points. She was there when one of his friends killed himself and when even when he was hungover and puking. At first she wants to be friends, but later expresses more than that when they kiss. In the end, he finally tells her how he feels. “Hey, girl, I think I love you.”(Myers