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Making the team

Kelsey Blair - Author

Hannah faces disappointment over basketball selection alongside a friendship that is becoming more distant. Her effort to improve her game and confidence gives the story a sporting goal as well as a relationship question.

More about this book

When Hannah doesn’t make the Grade 8 girls basketball team and her best friend June does, Hannah misses playing basketball and being part of a team. Worse, she and June don’t spend as much time together and start growing apart. How can Hannah ensure that she makes the team next year while all the other players are playing more and getting better this year? As she develops her basketball skills and confidence, she realizes she stands a good shot at making the high school team. But can she ever get her friendship with June back?

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Book Analysis

At a Glance

Discover

Basketball· AffirmedCompetition· AffirmedConfidence· Affirmed

Consider

Social conflict

Personalised Fit

Beyond the Cover

basketballcompetitionconfidencefriendshipchange

Fiction

Themes in Context

Effort and sporting ambition

After missing selection, Hannah develops her basketball skills and confidence and looks towards a future team opportunity.

How the book presents it: The plot presents continued practice and growing confidence as part of Hannah’s response to disappointment.

Talk about: How does Hannah’s view of her abilities change as she works towards another opportunity?

Friendship under strain

Hannah and June spend less time together after June makes the team and Hannah does not; they begin to grow apart.Provisional reading

Talk about: If Hannah and June want to reconnect, what might each of them need from the other?

Why It May Be Worth Reading

The book brings together competition, persistence and changing friendships, so it may suit a reader interested in how sport and close relationships can affect one another.

What Deserves Attention

The friendship strain is part of the central conflict: Hannah and June spend less time together and begin to grow apart. Consider whether this feels familiar or difficult for your reader.

A Conversation Worth Having

What might help Hannah pursue basketball while also finding out whether she and June can rebuild their friendship?

Reading Approach

You could read alongside the story’s two threads: Hannah’s progress towards another tryout and the changes in her friendship with June. Pause to notice where those concerns overlap.

Confidence & Basis

Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.

What remains unconfirmed

Effort and sporting ambition: Readers may wonder whether Hannah will make a team in the future.
Friendship under strain: Readers may wonder whether Hannah and June can rebuild their friendship.

Making the Team - Kelsey Blair - Google Books

Limited information

Checked: 1 October 2026.

Relevant to: Effort and sporting ambition; Friendship under strain

Making the team by Kelsey Blair | Open Library