Blog Post #5

When the Game Was Ours by Jackie MacMullan has some social issues contained in the story. The major issue presented in the novel was racism and discrimination. It was present throughout a lot of the book because of the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, Magic was black and Larry was white. Los Angeles and Boston, the teams they played for, chose to root for only one colour black or white. Los Angeles hated white people and Boston hated black people, and they discriminated against them. "After a couple of racial incidents involving his family, the affable Carr carried a registered gun with him at all times, including games days to and from Boston Garden, a practice he continued when he became coach. City officials worked tirelessly to ease racial tensions, but in come cases Boston's reputation had already been cemented among professional athletes." (MacMullan, 105) "Plain and simple, black people didn't like the Celtics. They were too white." (MacMullan, 106) These excerpts from the book show that there is racial tensions between the cities because of the colour of someone's skin. This shows that the main social issue in the book was racism and discrimination.

Jackie MacMullan. When the game was ours. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. Print.

Blog Post #4

This book contains two significant elements, the format of the book and the setting. The format of the book is similar to that of a movie script and a diary, as it alternates  back and forth between the two. pg.161- pg.165 told the story in a script format, and pg. 89- pg.98 told the story in a diary format. This format significant as it told the story in more than one way. It made the story much more interesting to read as it was something new that I've never read before. Also, Steve Harmon, the main character is intending to make a movie out of his court case and life in prison. Thus, making the story a script puts the reader into his movie. The setting of the book is significant as well. The story is mainly in a courtroom setting as told in the text, "FADE IN: INTERIOR COURTHOUSE" (Myers, 12). This gives the movie script a more realistic environment to focus on. The setting is significant as it also makes the reader feel like he's in the courtroom as well, watching Steve Harmon's case. The format of the book, as well as the setting, are two very significant elements of my book.


Myers Walter Dean, and Christopher Myers. Monster. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1999. Print.