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lilybear3's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
Gene Luen Yang is unmatched. This instantly became one of my favorite books and one that I'd consider essential. This is required reading for basketball fans, graphic novel fans, and everyone who has a dream. I've been a fan of Gene Luen Yang's for a while now and I don't know why it took me so long to get to Dragon Hoops. It's everything I want in a book. It follows the high school, where Yang teaches, basketball team and their journey to the state championship. I love that he spends time on the players' and coaches' backgrounds and their stories. It feels personal and he's inviting us to be invested in the team as well. He shares basketball history and how we got to where we are today. I learned about the first dunk in the WNBA! This book embodied the competitive spirit and has just so much heart and honesty. I had the same excitement I have when I watch a basketball game while I read. I'm an avid sports person, there's good and bad in sports, and Yang doesn't shy away from that. He's an amazing storyteller.
Seriously, take the step and read this book.
Seriously, take the step and read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
this_momma_is_booked's review
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
I loved the way Yang structured this book. So often when books go back and forth in time, it feels choppy and it can be hard to follow the main story. In this case, Yang made sure to only go back when the main story was harking to something in the past. I didn't really know what to expect when I picked up this book, but I found myself unable to put it down. It felt like watching one of those feel-good sports movies where the underdogs win at the end of the movie and the sweeping soundtrack riles up all your emotions. I also appreciated the hard conversations within regarding racism and bigotry - while I wanted Yang to delve just a little deeper into these topics, I understand that is not the story he was telling.
My friends did warn me this was a "chonky" graphic novel and they were absolutely right. But it was so worth the read!
My friends did warn me this was a "chonky" graphic novel and they were absolutely right. But it was so worth the read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
drsuzbark's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.0
This covered so much from the history of basketball, racism, and more. However, I couldn't give this more stars due to the curse words disguised with *** in a book geared towards younger readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Cursing
bookiecharm's review
adventurous
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Racism
readalongwithnat's review
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Wow. I have so many feelings and so few words.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Sexual assault
library_kb's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Part sports history, part memoir, part journalism, this is another sports book (like Crossover by Kwame Alexander) that will appeal to more than just sports fans. It is a thick graphic novel--around 400 pages, which will really engage some students who just whip through graphic novels! From a teacher's perspective, I would love to use parts of this as a mentor text, because there are some really great scenes depicting authorial decisions and what goes into making those, as well as some really thoughtful use of pacing and format (for example, great discussions could be had about why he chose to put certain panels next to each other and what the reader can understand because of that). There are a couple instances of swearing on the page and a character in the story (or on the sidelines of the story) that deals with a beloved coach accused of inappropriate relations with a student, but for 7th/8th grade readers, there will be a lot of fans!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, and Religious bigotry
lapis's review
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.75
This is about a basketball season, but it's more about the comic writer and artist discovering things about themself
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs
The slurs are censored out.spaghettireads's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Child abuse
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