The Game of My Life

Starred review from February 1, 2008
February 15, 2006, was going to be a special day for teenager Jason McElwain: in the final basketball game of the regular season, J-Mac, as all the players called their team manager, was actually going to play. It was Senior Night, the game in which graduating members of the team were spotlighted, so it was a special game for some of the other kids, too. But for J-Mac, diagnosed at an early age with an extreme form of autism, it was a dream come true: a lifelong b-ball fan, he was finally going to hit the court. And hit it he did, scoring 20 points in about three minutes, sinking an astonishing six three-point baskets in rapid succession (astonishing for any player at his age). Those few minutes changed his life, making him an instant superstar and an inspiration to parents and children around the world. His is a winning and inspiring story, but the most remarkable thing about the book is that it is mostly told in J-Mac's own words (transcribed and augmented by cowriter Paisner). Its a story about being autistic, told directly from the heart, and it punches through the usual psychobabble and analytic blather to the straightforward truths. It takes me a while to get the words out, J-Mac tells us about writing a book. It takes me a while to get them in, too. Whats it like to be autistic? Its like asking a tomato what its like to be a tomato. Its normal. Its me. A deeply affecting, enlightening, and engaging book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)