Thirteen-year-old Lamar Washington is the maddest, baddest, most spectacular bowler at Striker's Bowling Paradise. But while Lamar's a whiz at rolling strikes, he always strikes out with girls. And Lamar's brother is no help?Xavier earns trophy after trophy on the basketball court and soaks up Dad's attention, leaving no room for Lamar's problems.

Then bad boy Billy Jenks convinces Lamar that hustling at the alley will help him win his dream girl, plus earn him enough money to buy an expensive pro ball and impress celebrity bowler Bubba Sanders. But when Billy's scheme goes awry, Lamar ends up ruining his brother's shot at college and damaging every relationship in his life. Can Lamar figure out how to mend his broken ties, no matter what the cost?

Crystal Allen is the author of the middle grade novels How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy, The Laura Line, and the three books in The Magnificent Mya Tibbs series. Her many accolades include the Sid Fleischman Humor Award for The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: The Wall of Fame Game and induction to the Texas Institute of Letters. Crystal is also a committee member of The Brown Bookshelf, the co-director of Kindling Words East, and a faculty member of Highlights for Children. She lives in Texas with her husband, Reggie, and two sons, Phillip and Joshua. Visit her online at www.crystalallenbooks.com.