When its cross coun­try coach dies of a stroke, the high school of Riv­er Bend is in for a big change. The replace­ment who’s final­ly hired is named C. R. Simon; it’s a shock to every­one to learn that this per­son is not only a woman, but also Jewish. 

The ensu­ing sto­ry is nar­rat­ed by Cassie, a senior at the high school. Cassie is imme­di­ate­ly des­ig­nat­ed by the new coach as the cap­tain of the team. This gives her lead­er­ship respon­si­bil­i­ty and the mes­sage that the team must work togeth­er to win. Ms. Simon applies her own no-non­sense approach to whip the team into shape. Cassie, who had always thought of her­self as mediocre in sports and in life more gen­er­al­ly, is sur­prised to learn that things can be dif­fer­ent if she receives the right coaching.

No book about high school young women could fail to include a love focus, and Cassie choos­es the high school bas­ket­ball star as the man she wants in her life. The ups and downs of their inter­ac­tions are not only inter­est­ing to fol­low, but also give read­ers insight into the chal­lenges of any relationship. 

The cli­max of the book occurs when the coach is accused of ​“inap­pro­pri­ate behav­ior,” and read­ers will eager­ly await the res­o­lu­tion of this explo­sive situation. 

The main themes of the book include how gos­sip can destroy rep­u­ta­tions, how self-con­fi­dence can be shaped by a com­pe­tent men­tor, how appear­ances can be decep­tive, how hard work can lead to suc­cess; and how orga­ni­za­tion, pro­fes­sion­al lead­er­ship, and good peo­ple can change out­comes. The nov­el also deals with the pres­ence of small-town big­otry and anti-Semi­tism. These are quite a few heavy ideas for one book, but the author address­es them with skill — and in doing so demon­strates the devel­op­ment of matu­ri­ty, rela­tion­ship-build­ing, and trust. 

Rec­om­mend­ed for ages 12 to 16.