title: A Whole New Ballgame: A Rip and Red Book
author:  Phil Bildner 
description: Gr 46Red and Rip are best friends just beginning fifth grade. It's the first day of school and everyone appears to know who the teacher will be and how the year will progressbut not so fastthere is a new teacher, a young man with piercings, tattoos, and a whole new way of teaching. Mr. Acevedo loves reading, will not abide test prep or standardized test-taking, and has a love of basketball. Readers will realize early on that Red is on the autism spectrum. Like their new teacher, Red and Rip share a passion for basketball. Narrated by Rip (better known as Mason Irving to Red, who insists on calling his friend by his full name and never his nickname), the book depicts the evolution of a group of fifth graders who learn a lot, grow a lot, and help one another. The relationship between Rip and Avery Goodman (a girl in a wheelchair with anger issues) centers on a class project about gross things and highlights what nasty stuff gets caught on Avery's wheelchair wheels. Though the plot and its conclusion may be somewhat predictable, the charming and diverse characters as well as the engaging voice of Rip more than make up for it. VERDICT Pure fun with a lot of heart.Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City
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  Ball & Chain (Cut & Run, #8)
  
  
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  > Abigail Roux
  
  > Riptide Publishing (2014)
  
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  Riptide Publishing  
  
  PO Box 6652
  
  Hillsborough, NJ 08844
  
  [http://www.riptidepublishing.com](http://www.riptidepublishing.com/)
  
  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either
  the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
  resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events,
  or locales is entirely coincidental.
  
  Ball & Chain (Cut & Run, #8)
  
  Copyright © 2014 by Abigail Roux
  
  Cover Art by L.C. Chase,
  [http://lcchase.com/design.htm](http://lcchase.com/design.htm)
  
  Editor: Rachel Haimowitz
  
  Layout: L.C. Chase,
  [http://lcchase.com/design.htm](http://lcchase.com/design.htm)
  
  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
  any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
  recording, or by any information storage and retr