Ernesto Cisneros' Falling Short follows Isaac and Marco, two teenagers who, despite living next door to each other and being inseparable best friends, are incredibly different people. On one hand, Isaac loves basketball and has a knack for it. However, he finds it hard to succeed academically in school and spends much of his time contending with his schoolwork. On the other hand, Marco breezes through school with ease but is challenged by basketball. After all, he is much slighter in stature and less athletic than Isaac, both of which cause him a lot of angst.
But the boys are similar in the sense that they are focused on dealing with a web of complicated relationships with their family members—especially their fathers. Isaac's family life is turbulent: his mother is no longer able to deal with his father's alcoholism and has kicked him out of the family home, hurting Isaac. Meanwhile, Marco deals with the oftentimes overwhelming expectations of his father, who constantly feels that his son has not lived up to expectations. His father is passionate about sports, and Marco hasn't lived up to his expectations. Not only that, Marco feels disconnected from his father because he has started a new life with a new wife and stepson, causing him to rarely reach out to Marco.
Throughout the novel, the novel frequently switches between Isaac's and Marco's perspectives. The book shows how the two deal with their challenges and with the middle school itself, which is challenging regardless. Both boys, despite their shortcomings, are incredibly determined, ensuring that they are successful.
The boys' feelings come to a head at a high-stakes basketball tournament. At the tournament, the two boys discover who they truly are and how they can support each other both on and off the court. They learn, in other words, how to be best friends and brothers. They're also forced to confront their individual fears and their fathers.
