Taking Sides

by Gary Soto

Book Overview

Lincoln is in a jam when his basketball team at his new school--where the students are rich and mostly white--faces his old team from the barrio on the boards. How can he play his best against his friends? No matter who wins, it looks like it will be lose-lose for Lincoln.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152046941
• ISBN13: 9780152046941
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Switching Teams

Switching Teams Do you know what it's like to switch teams? Well Lincoln Mendoza does. I am talking about the book, "Taking Sides," by Gary Soto. This is a great book. I think that anyone who likes books about sports should read this. It is all about basketball and how Lincoln switches school and joins a different basketball team. You should read, "Taking Sides." Plus this book talks about real issues in life because these things really happen, people really have to switch schools and change basketball teams. My favorite part was when Lincoln went back to Franklin (his old school) to see his best friend Tony; it was great, two friends reuniting. An example of good suspense in this book is when someone breaks into Lincolns house when he is sitting home alone. You don't know what's going to happen and I won't tell you. There is no bad part in this book to me and I don't think you will find one. I say you should read this book. In conclusion, this book is about sports, switching schools and adjusting to there. This is a fabulous book you should read this. Now don't just sit there, run to your nearest book store and get the book called, "Taking Sides." By:M.W

Taking Sides is a great book

Taking Sides was a great story. The setting of the story was in Columbus Junior High school.It was when he was in high school. It takes place in the present.The main characters in the book were Lincoln Mendoza, Monica Torres and James. My favorite character was Monica Torres because she was a good character in the story. My favorite part of the book was when all the boys saw Monica Torres come in because all the boys thought that Monica could play basketball because she was a girl.I would recommed this book to teenagers 13 and up because I think that they could understand the book more than little kids.

taking sides

Lincoln has a mind to chose between his new neighborhood and old neighborhood new school old school he also tries to find out where he truly belongs

Taking the Good Side

Taking Sides, by Gary Soto, is surely one of the most fascinating books that I have ever read. In the book, Lincoln, the main character, had his life entirely switched. His family moves from the rough ghetto of San Francisco to the beautiful, upscale neighborhood of Sycamore. From this new life, Lincoln must adjust the beat of an entirely different drum, while making new friends and clashing in his lifelong passion: basketball. This book is charming, and definitely abnormal. It is very pleasing to read and unlike other books, it has a distinctive flow and tone to it. This book is also quite captivating. Anyone reading this book would not be able to put this one down. It is a real page-turner. These are only some of the reasons that this book is truly one of a kind. There are a few aspects of this book that one might dislike. First of all, the story is a little bit vague and imprecise. When I was reading this novel, I became a little bit lost. However, despite these slight flaws, this book was easily the most enjoyable book that I have read in months if not years.

Great book for sixth graders as part of Courage Curriculum

Taking Sides is an incredibly sensitive book that touches on themes adolescents really care about: racial identity, overcoming prejudice, loyalty, and being true to oneself. Through his main character, Lincoln Mendoza, author Gary Soto has captured the challenges faced by a Chicano eighth-grader from San Francisco's Mission District barrio who has moved to an upper-middle-class suburb nearby. The transition is not smooth. How can he hold onto his old friends while making new ones? What's it like being the only dark-skinned player on the new school's basketball team? To which team should Lincoln be loyal--the old or the new? Teachers and curriculum directors in the Boston Public Schools have been so impressed by the powerful themes in Taking Sides that they have selected it as one of six core novels for sixth graders as part of the Max Warburg Courage Curriculum. The other five novels are: Maniac Magee, Number the Stars, Bridge to Terabithia, So Far from the Bamboo Grove, and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. As with Taking Sides, each novel addresses the theme of courage--different types of courage, what it takes to act courageously, and how even small acts of courage can have enormous consequences in everyday life. I highly recommend Taking Sides as a book that will inspire adolescent readers to be true to themselves and overcome prejudice.