Miracle on 49th Street

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Until Molly Parker walked up to him in the parking lot, Boston Celtics MVP Josh Cameron didn't know exactly what he was missing. What apparently was lacking in his life was a 12-year-old daughter. Sportswriter Mike Lupica has written a novel about connection that even a championship ring can't give you. A bittersweet family story.

Publishers Weekly

Lupica's latest follows his sports-themed bestsellers (Travel Team; Heat) with less sports and more theme. The crackerjack opening finds 12-year-old Molly Parker craftily stalking Boston Celtics superstar Josh Cameron by skipping out on a Kids Day fan event and hiding beside his SUV. Molly has two bombs to drop on Cameron who, until now, has led a charmed existence. The first is that his college sweetheart, Jen, who he hasn't seen since she left for her junior year abroad, is dead from cancer; the second is that Molly is his daughter. The narrative tension produced by a millionaire sports star, who's sure he's being played, and Molly, who swipes his cap knowing a few stray strands of hair are all that's needed for a DNA test, fizzles when Molly decides she wants Josh to accept her as his daughter without medical proof. Still Lupica is an extraordinarily smooth writer with a great ear for witty repartee (at times perhaps too witty, for a 12-year-old character). The lack of sports action here makes this unlikely to be as popular with sports fans as the previous books, but Molly's emotional yearning for a parent, the humor provided by her sidekick, Sam, and the inside-the-Garden view of the Celtics, will carry many straight through to the Hollywood ending. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Claudia Mills

49th Street in New York City is the site of the famous Christmas tree overlooking the skating rink at Rockefeller Center; it's also where twelve-year-old Molly Perkins's mother Jen created bittersweet memories with her college beau, Josh Cameron. Now, twelve years later, Josh Cameron is a basketball star, MVP of the Boston Celtics; Jen is dead of cancer; and Molly introduces herself for the first time to the man Jen finally told her is her father. Josh denies the relationship, cynically fearing a scam to get his money and tarnish his wholesome media image, but his wise, tough African-American housekeeper (in something of a Mammy stereotype) encourages him to develop a relationship with Molly anyway. Molly refuses to let Josh test the truth of Jen's claims through DNA matching: in a parallel to Miracle of 34th Street, she wants him to believe. Acclaimed sportswriter Lupica is a master storyteller, who lets Molly's story unfold with nail-biting suspense, as she and her adoptive family are about to leave Boston forever the day after Christmas—can Molly convince Josh before it's too late? And does she even really want to? The whole cast of characters—Molly's best friend, Sam; her adoptive sister, Kimberly; and other Celtics players—is vividly depicted. And Lupica does indeed succeed in bringing the reader to tears by the end of the story: we just can't hold out against him, and surrender wholeheartedly to the magic of this completely satisfying tale.

VOYA - Marian Rafal

Courageous beyond her twelve years, Molly Parker is a determined young girl-determined to prove that Boston Celtics superstar Josh Cameron is her father; determined to become a part of his life; determined that he will love her. Before she died of cancer, Molly's mother left her a series of letters. One letter claimed that Josh was Molly's father, but she had not been told until now because, as Molly tells Josh, "Mom said you wouldn't have been any better at loving me than you were at loving her." Humoring Molly, but not quite believing her, Josh agrees to let Molly have access to him and the Celtics. Molly refuses DNA testing because she wants Josh to want to be her father and not simply have to be her father. The strained relationship with her guardian Barbara, mom's best friend from college, rings true, as Molly searches for emotional balance, losing her mother and not yet able to claim her father. Uprooted when her mother was dying, Molly is about to be uprooted again, as her new family is moving to California shortly. Will Josh acknowledge that he is her father? Molly and her friend Sam are enterprising twelve-year-olds, often seeming more mature than their age. Their navigational skills throughout Boston and New York are extraordinary. Despite such shortcomings, this novel is still an enjoyable read with interesting peeks into the world of professional basketball. It will appeal to young teen sports enthusiasts as well as kids just looking for a good story.

KLIATT - Janis Flint-Ferguson

As the novel opens, Molly Parker is waiting outside a Boston Celtics' practice to meet Josh Cameron, the media darling and captain of the basketball team. Molly is in Boston because her mother has recently died of cancer and Josh Cameron just might be the father she has never known. She is living with Bill and Barbara Evans and their prissy daughter, Kimberly. Lupica takes his readers inside the NBA with the agents, the media, the players, the endorsements and, of course, the fans. Cameron is the squeaky clean player who is not ready to accept an unknown daughter from a college sweetheart. He waffles between wanting to accept Molly and not knowing how to fit a preteen into his life. Molly is a smart-mouthed kid with a nerdy best friend Sam, who stands beside her through the ups and downs of trying to connect with a superstar father. Molly struggles to establish a new "family" for herself in the wake of her mother's death. Josh's uncertainty seems to waver between not believing Molly and not wanting to hurt his promising career and endorsements. Friendship is a key element throughout the story and Molly's friends are as diverse as classmate Sam and Josh's housekeeper, Mattie. There is basketball talk and a couple of basketball games but the real story is one of learning to build trust. Readers will come away with a deeper understanding of the complexity of relationships, especially those both inside and outside the spotlight.

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-Molly Parker,12, lives in Boston with her recently deceased mother's best friend and family. She is on a mission to meet the Celtics' star player, Josh Cameron, to tell him that she is his daughter. With the help of her friend Sam, she sneaks into the athlete's car so that they will have the opportunity to talk. Self-centered Josh is skeptical of her claim, yet spends time with her. However, his sinister agent, Bobby, worries that knowledge of Molly's existence will destroy his client's clean-cut image, and he tells her to get lost. She almost despairs of ever convincing Josh of their relationship before she moves to California with her new family. But after finding an encouraging note her mother had left, she travels to New York, where Josh has a game, and the two reconcile at the Rockefeller Center skating rink. Lupica creates intriguing, complex characters in Molly, Sam, and Josh, and he paces his story well, with enough twists and cliff-hangers to keep the pages turning. Molly's relationships with others in Josh's life, such as a teammate and his housekeeper, contrast nicely with her up-and-down relationship with her father. In spite of a few implausible events, some sentimentality, and a bit of predictability, this is an entertaining work. The strong female character and the basketball tie-in will expand its appeal.-Jeffrey A. French, Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library, Willowick, OH Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Twelve-year-old Molly Parker loves "happy-ending fairy-tale" movies such as The Princess Diaries and Miracle on 34th Street. But her own life seems like a gigantic puzzle with the pieces not quite coming together. Her mother died of cancer, and she thinks her father is Josh Cameron, star of the Boston Celtics. Whether Josh will acknowledge Molly as his daughter or will "play her" to protect his good-guy image in the press is the tension in this story that dissects layers of Molly's self-deception, faulty reasoning and earnest hopes, and the layers of entrapment a sports star can experience. Though some readers will find the fairy-tale ending melodramatic, others will find it perfectly in tune with the way Molly dreams her life will turn out, and predictable for Josh, who had given up on happy endings. Add this to Lupica's Travel Team (2004) and Heat (April 2006) for well-written sports novels with sure-fire fan appeal. (Fiction. 10-14)