Rip and Red is a four-part middle-school book series about two fifth-grade Best Friends and basketball enthusiasts; Rip (real name Mason Irving) and Red (real name Blake Daniels).
A Whole New Ballgame: Rip and Red are best friends whose fifth-grade year is nothing like what they expected. They have a crazy new tattooed teacher named Mr. Acevedo, who doesn't believe in tests or homework and who likes off-the-wall projects, the more "off" the better. And guess who's also their new basketball coach? Mr. Acevedo! Easy-going Rip is knocked completely out of his comfort zone. And for Red, who has autism and really needs things to be exactly a certain way, the changes are even more of a struggle. But together these two make a great duo who know how to help each other—and find ways to make a difference—in the classroom and on the court.
Rookie Of The Year: Just when they think they've got the hang of things, Rip and Red find that fifth grade continues to challenge them in head-spinning ways. Tiki, a new girl whose Egyptian dad is an animal-rights activist, has just joined their class. She's charismatic, funny—and she's got game! Rip has his world turned upside down as Tiki proves to be tough competition on the Clifton United basketball team and leads a rebellion against the lousy new food service in the school cafeteria. Red—a kid on the autism spectrum—is struggling with the upheavals as well. But as these two funky and funny best friends discover, sometimes radical change is the right move, on the court and off.
Tournament Of Champions: It's spring of their fifth-grade year and Rip and Red have a thrilling opportunity to participate in a weekend basketball tournament with a few other members of Clifton United. While the tournament is only a short bus ride away, both boys will travel outside their comfort zones. Ultra-competitive Rip must play on a team with kids he doesn't like. But he faces an even bigger hurdle when someone from his past returns, someone he hasn't seen in years, someone who just may derail the entire weekend. As for Red, because of his autism spectrum disorder, he's never traveled anywhere without his mother. Will he muster the courage to take the trip?
Most Valuable Players: It’s fifth-grade graduation time for Rip and Red, and this year’s festivities are going to be extra special because Reese Jones Elementary is also celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary. As part of the gala, Hoops Machine, the exhibition basketball team, is paying a visit, and Rip may be playing a surprise role. But he and his friends need to finish their schoolwork first, which includes taking a newly required standardized test. However, when the students of Room 208 begin to question the need to take the test, a mini opt-out movement gains momentum. When the administration gets wind of this rebellion in Mr. Acevedo’s class, Hoops Machine, middle-school basketball tryouts, and walking at the graduation ceremony are in jeopardy. So is Mr. A’s job. But luckily for Rip, Red, their classmates, and their teacher, when you stand up for what you believe in, the people you’ve touched along the way rally to your corner.
Tropes Included In This Series Are:
- Disappeared Dad:
- Rip's parents divorced when he was in first grade, and until Tournament of Champions his dad was on the other side of the world taking a five-year work assignment in Hong Kong.
- In Tournament of Champions, Red mentions that he never met his father. It's unclear if he's dead or abandoned Red and his mother when he was young.
- Exposed to the Elements: Red refuses to wear long pants, even in freezing weather, because that's how much he dislikes wearing long pants.
- First-Person Perspective: The books are told from the point of view of Rip.
- Freak Out: In the first book, Red has a meltdown during a basketball game because the Drill Sergeant Nasty coach on the opposing team scared him.
- Full-Name Basis: Red refers to pretty much everybody, even Rip, by their first and last name. The only exceptions are his mother, Mr. Avevedo, Miss Yvonne, and a few other adults in authority.
- Hollywood Autism: Downplayed with Red. He calls everybody by their full name, doesn't like sitting on the floor, always sits facing doorways, only wears shorts even in cold weather because he doesn't like the feeling of cloth on his lower legs, gets stressed out over loud noises, is very knowledgeable about NBA history and basketball, and can be overwhelmed about new situations. However, he's also a kind and considerate boy who loves his best friend and mom and his other classmates and fellow basketball players treat him pretty well.
- Innocently Insensitive: In Tournament of Champions, Diego gets his other basketball players to play "Bumper-vaders" where you pretend to be bumper cars while in an elevator. Unfortunately, he didn't consider that Red, who was already stressed out about being in an elevator and normally doesn't like to be touched by people unless it's his mom and Rip wouldn't like the game. Diego does stop the game and apologize once Red freaks out, though.
- Limited Wardrobe: Downplayed; when it comes to pants, Red only wears shorts, even during the winter, because his sensory issues make it difficult for him to wear long pants.
- Littlest Cancer Patient: Diego Vasquez, a fellow student of Rip and Red's, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia when they were in third grade. While he did survive, he was out of school for the second half of third grade and the beginning of fourth grade so he could get the treatments he needed to get better, and until Tournament of Champions, he was allowed to wear hats in school to cover up his head until his hair could grow back.
- Meaningful Name: Invoked with Red; everybody calls him that because of his red hair.
- Nobody Touches the Hair: Both Rip and Red don't like it when people touch their hair; the former because he doesn't like anybody touching his dreadlocks unless his mom is relocking them, and the latter because his sensory issues mean that he doesn't like anybody touching him in general. They're both fine with with the other ruffling their hair as a sign of the friendship and trust between them, but everybody else is off-limits.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Everybody calls Rip by his nickname, except for Red who calls him by his full name "Mason Irving". Everybody also calls Red by his nickname, too.
- Please Put Some Clothes On: Rip likes hanging around his house wearing nothing but his boxers, and whenever his mom catches him doing so, she asks him to put on some more clothing.
- Second Love: Lesley, Rip's mom, is currently in a romantic relationship with Dana, who met her because they both work for the same school district; Dana as an assistant principal for one school, and Leslie as a principal for another.
