I quite liked this start to a new series. Rip loves basketball and his best friend Red. Red has some quirks, but Rip rolls with them and helps Red adjust to changes in his life. There are a lot of them, too: a new 5th grader teacher is in town, with lots of different ideas including no test prep. 5th grade is also the year that you can play basketball on a team too. Very heartwarming--I might have teared up at the end.