A Name Earned

by Tim Tingle

Overview

After overcoming years of trouble with his alcoholic father and surviving a near-death car accident, Bobby Byington—for the first time in his life—has a strong family. His parents are reunited, his father has turned away from the bottle, and Bobby is a starter on the high school basketball team.

But the door to trouble never stays closed. Bobby's girlfriend, Faye, is suffering attacks from a school bully, and some of Bobby's basketball teammates are dealing with all-too-familiar problems at home.

Hoping to help his friends, Bobby shares the legend of No Name, a story about a young man's heated relationship with his father. Coach Robison told it to him back when Bobby needed to hide from his own dad. As the playoffs near and the team plays to win, Coach delivers another message that extends well beyond the basketball court: "Your life is carved by the choices you make. You earn your name by your actions."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781939053183
Publisher:	7th Generation
Publication date:	03/15/2018
Series:	PathFinders Series
Pages:	168
Sales rank:	120,745
Product dimensions:	4.50(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.37(d)
Age Range:	12 - 16 Years

About the Author

The author of many books, Tim Tingle is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and a frequent speaker at tribal events. His great-great-grandfather, John Carnes, walked the Trail of Tears in 1835, and memories of this family epic fuel Tim's writing and storytelling. Tingle spoke at the Library of Congress in 2011 and performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Tingle's first children's book, Crossing Bok Chitto, was an Editors' Choice in The New York Times Book Review and won the 2008 American Indian Youth Literature Award. Tingle has lectured and performed across the United States, Canada and Europe and is a frequent speaker at the American Library Association. For more information, visit www.timtingle.com.

Editorial Reviews

★ 2017-12-03
Bobby Byington needed to nearly die in order for his dad to finally stop drinking. Now that the Choctaw teen's father is sober, Bobby is able to experience the endearing side of his father. Unfortunately, Bobby's best friend and high school basketball teammate, a white boy named Lloyd Blanton, is caught in the middle of a domestic violence crisis when his alcoholic father is accused of assaulting his mother. Lloyd's father claims the incident was an accident, leaving Lloyd and the rest of the community to carry the weight of Mr. Blanton's denial and the consequences of his father's actions. Recalling his own past experience with an alcoholic father, Bobby attempts to console Lloyd, channeling their angst through the camaraderie they find on the basketball court. This story of friendship shows how a supportive Native American community comes together to support a wounded family, as Bobby is joined by his Cherokee friend Johnny and their Choctaw basketball coach. In Bobby and Lloyd, Tingle highlights the resilience that young people have as they navigate family challenges. What is most special is the bond that develops between Bobby and his father, a father-son relationship that defies the odds, depicting a healed father on the other side of sobriety. An empathetic story that any teen dealing with family alcoholism can connect to. (Fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews