The Final Four by Paul Volponi jumped out at me for two reasons; one being that it was sports related and the other being that it was during the NCAA March Madness tournament just like the book. The novel is about the Troy Trojans(the upset team) and the Michigan State Spartans(the team chosen to win the tournament) that faceoff in the Final Four. The star of the Michigan State team is Malcolm McBride and he is a cocky, overconfident freshman that plans on playing professional after his freshman season. Roko Bacic is the star of the Troy team and is the complete opposite of Malcolm McBride in every aspect because he is a great teammate and will do whatever it takes to be victorious as a team. Both players have experienced a death of someone that is extremely close to them and it provides unbelievable suspense as the two face-off in overtime and the final seconds of the game.

What I got in touch with most while reading this novel was the escape from realism. This book is able to take your mind off of this world and put it in the book, right beside Malcolm, Roko, and the rest of the players. It allows you to feel like you are in the game with the trashtalk and the amount of detail the author uses to describe even the most bland situations. Some of the things they discussed in the novel were not real, such as the NBA combine. In reality, the combine is strictly an NFL event, but the addition provides an unbelievable amount of suspense leading up to the draft.

Clarity was the other yardstick that I think this book exemplifies extremely well because it goes into so much detail regarding every situation that may be a little confusing to certain readers that may not follow sports. I especially liked that the author went into their lives to show why the players in the story play like they play. For example, Roko’s Uncle Drazen taught him everything he knew about basketball and after he passed away Roko started taking basketball much more serious. Also, Malcolm grew up in the projects where his sister was shot in a drive-by. His family needs the money, so the pressure is on him to make it to professional basketball and get the paycheck that would move them out of the projects.
I loved this book because of how deep Volponi went into detail and provided insight on every aspect of the book. I would recommend The Final Four to all readers but more specifically, people that do not typically read and enjoy watching sports.