Product Description

Steven Thomas is one of two lucky winners of the U.S. Basketball Writer’s Association’s contest for aspiring journalists. His prize? A trip to New Orleans and a coveted press pass for the Final Four. It’s a basketball junkie’s dream come true!
But the games going on behind the scenes between the coaches, the players, the media, the money-men, and the fans turn out to be even more fiercely competitive than those on the court. Steven and his fellow winner, Susan Carol Anderson, are nosing around the Superdome and overhear what sounds like a threat to throw the championship game. Now they have just 48 hours to figure out who is blackmailing one of MSU’s star players . . . and why.

Praise for John Feinstein:
“The best writer of sports books in America today.”—The Boston Globe

“Feinstein’s beat, it turns out, isn’t sports; it’s human nature.”—People on A March to Madness

“A basketball junkie’s nirvana.”—Sports Illustrated on A March to Madness

“One of the best sportswriters alive!”—Larry King, USA Today on A Good Walk Spoiled


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #123902 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-27
• Released on: 2006-06-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 6-10 - This action-packed mystery is set at the NCAA Final Four men's basketball tournament. Eighth-graders Steven Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson are aspiring journalists and winners of the U.S. Basketball Writer's Association 14-and-under writing contest. Their prize is a trip, with press credentials and reporting responsibilities, to the Final Four in New Orleans. While exploring the Superdome, they overhear a blackmail threat leveled at Minnesota State University's star player. Threatened with a falsified transcript that would disqualify him and his team, Chip Graber is pressured to deliberately lose the final game against Duke. Stevie and Susan Carol become resourceful sleuths determined to save Chip and to expose the scandal. Throughout the story, famous basketball personalities make memorable guest appearances, including spirited sports analyst Tony Kornheiser and irrepressible commentator Dick Vitale. References to real players and coaches mingle, almost eerily, with the fictitious characters. Feinstein shares his extensive sports expertise, smoothly weaving into the tale a wealth of background information about NCAA regulations, tournament traditions, recruitment and eligibility issues, and gambling. Although the action on the court is vividly described, this story also breaks new ground for teens, focusing primarily on the influential role of media in promoting college basketball. Readers will enjoy the rivalry and chemistry between outspoken but insecure Stevie and savvy-beyond-her-years Susan Carol, and their spunky determination to get the scoop. Mystery fans will find enough suspense in this fast-paced narrative to keep them hooked. - Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
Too short for a career in basketball, 13-year-old Stevie turns to sports writing and wins a chance to cover the NCAA Final Four games. His adolescent insecurities are heightened when the other winner turns out to be the tall, pretty, and seemingly perfect Susan Carol. But the budding journalists unwittingly uncover a dangerous conspiracy to fix the games, and Stevie is forced to overcome his fears as the two race to stop the conspirators. Sports journalist Feinstein writes with an authenticity born of experience. His narration is particularly sensitive in conveying Stevie's inner turmoil. For fans of basketball and mysteries, this is a slam dunk. E.S. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. Best-selling sportswriter Feinstein joins the parade of adult authors testing the waters of children's publishing. Unlike so many show-biz celebrities turned writers, he brings plenty of craftsmanship and a kid-friendly story to the table. The setting is college basketball's Final Four, and the stars are the two teenage winners of a writing contest, Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson, whose prize is a free trip to the tournament and an opportunity to cover the games. Friction between the pair quickly turns to camaraderie when they overhear one of the players from fictional Minnesota State being coerced into throwing the title game. Feinstein makes good use of his insider's knowledge of the Final Four as the intrepid junior reporters set out to expose the scandal, ultimately weaseling themselves into the bad guys' lair in classic Hardy Boys' fashion. The premise holds together, if a bit shakily, and Feinstein keeps the action moving throughout. The draw, though, is the vivid background, complete with cameos by real-life media personalities and big-name coaches. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Nonstop action
Last Shot Knopf, 2005, 251 p.p., $16.95
John Feinstein 0-375-83168-1




Steven Thomas is living a dream. After winning a writing contest, he is in New Orleans as a reporter covering the Final Four. But, the dream takes a turn when Steven and fellow winner Susan Carol overhear a warning to MSU's star point guard to lose the championship game, or else. As Steven and Susan Carol start to uncover the mystery, the less real answers they get.
Last Shot by John Feinstein is a sports mystery thriller. The page-turner is best for ages eight to fourteen. It is told in third person. The book wil make you begging for more. Stevie and Susan Carol will make you laugh out loud with their jokes and lies and beg for mercy with what they get themselves into.
If you have read and liked Matt Christipher books, and also like mysteries, you will thouroughly enjoy this. I reccomend this for anyone who would like to both laugh and be scared out of their wits all in two-hundred fifty-one pages of nonstop action.

-Townes Bouchard-Dean

Last Shot
Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery
Two teenage sports reporters win a contest with the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and get to go to the Final Four. They experience blackmail and basketball first hand in this book. Find of if the realistic fiction basketball novel is a slam dunk or an air ball.
When eighth graders Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson win the writing contest the pair has won a trip to the Final Four in New Orleans and a chance to see what it takes to cover the event as working journalists. They each get an extra ticket for which they both decide to bring their dads. Once they get there they also get media pass credentials to be able to watch all the practices, press conferences, and games to be able to write a story each day.
So as if the Final Four isn't crazy enough they are walking around and overhear a kid named Chip Graber who is being blackmailed and suppose to throw the championship game. The two kids try to tell people but they don't take them very seriously, so they put their heads together and try to figure out what's going on.
This book is very fast-paced read which helps you keep wanting to read and more enjoyable to read about this tension and competitive packed book between the two kids Stevie and Susan Carol. Stevie is short kid from the East Coast who absolutely hates Duke, while Susan Carol is a tall girl from the South who loves Duke. Stevie thinks he knows more about college hoops than Susan Carol and hates that he is spending all his time with a Duke fan. They each get over it and put their differences aside and try to solve this blackmail mystery. In the end they end up with a strong friendship and the two opposites come together.
Last Shot is a great story because it combines mystery and an inside look on how things work in the Final Four, what more could you ask for. The author, John Feinstein, is a sports reporter who has covered the tournament several times and he can show you the great behind-the-scenes details of the Final Four. He also makes you feel how tense it can be to be a kid playing in the game. He is also a sportswriter and commentator. He writes for the Washington post and is a guest commentator for National Public Radio, and also commentates for the college football team NAVY. He is also a contributor to Tony Kornheiser Show and Jim Rome Show. He wrote for The Chronicle while he went to school at Duke University. He has written twenty-three books and his most recent is the Last Shot. So if you love college basketball and mystery you will love the Last Shot.

Great book for young sports fans!
This is a highly enjoyable mystery set at the NCAA Final Four. The two heroes are a 13 year old girl and a 13 year old boy who have won a writing contest and have press passes to the Final Four. They are likeable, realistic characters and the mystery they solve is surprisingly plausible. My 11 year old son loved this book.