Mack McGinn's Big Win - Hardcover

Coleen Murtagh Paratore is the author of the acclaimed The Wedding Planner's Daughter and its brand-new sequel The Cupid Chronicles. For younger readers, she has also written How Prudence Proovit Proved the Truth About Fairy Tales. She's a believer in community rent, Cupid, and the magic of Cape Cod. Look for Mack McGinn's Big Win -- in which two all-American sports-star brothers battle to be the best -- in Summer 2007. Learn more about Coleen at http://www.coleenparatore.com/

Mack McGinn, who comes from a line of outstanding athletes, feels overshadowed by his older brother, Rory, who is a star soccer player. Particularly upsetting is the way Mack's dad dotes on Rory. Adding to Mack's troubles is his social-climbing parents' decision to move to an upscale neighborhood; the move is made worse by the dictum that Mack must stop seeing his best friend from the old neighborhood. Things turn out well in the end, however, with Mack saving the life of a little girl and his parents recognizing (after the neighbor's boy is revealed to be dangerously deranged) that expensive neighborhoods are not always what they are cracked up to be. Paratore effectively captures Mack's jealousy toward his older brother and the sense of insecurity that these feelings breed. Despite the somewhat clichéd ending (Mack's dog, in the Lassie tradition, alerts Mack to the girl's peril), readers will find much about middle school and family life that rings true here. Morning, Todd