From the book, NADANDA THE WORDMAKER
Pips was any girl's dream of a boyfriend. Other girls thought he was a gorgeous hunk, but Nadanda didn't seem to care. When Pips flirted with Nadanda, she turned her back. Pips kept trying. Running a football or dunking a basketball started for him at age seven and now he was sixteen. “Winning the game” grew to be part of his everyday life. What it would take to win this girl, he didn't know.
In NADANDA THE WORDMAKER, we see a likeable teen hero with values and ethics. Pips knows how to treat people. In chapter 7, his bravery saves Nadanda.