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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm so glad this book exists....and it single handedly put me in a reading slum. Let's get into it:
-Let's start with the good. Graves writes basketball really, really well. Typically, when I get to any kind of action scene in a book, my eyes kind of just glaze over and I let it passively wash over me because I have a hard time visualizing what's happening. That was not the case for this one-- I was on the edge of my seat several times watching the plays in my head. It probably helps that I love college basketball and this was very much giving that level of intensity. Also, I definitely had a "oooh that makes sense" moment when I read the author used to be a basketball player himself. This was very well done.
-Now on to the....questionable. I've never struggle with a first person narration before but I did with this. I think it's because much of the writing was so simplistic (simple actions, low insight), it became grating after awhile. It is possible to write complexly with simple language and that was missing here. Middle grade and YA deserve beautiful sentences.
-The slang was SO cringe and is going to get dated immediately (some of it already is!). It reads...like an adult wrote it! It's very much "Hello fellow kids" Steve Buscemi meme. Also, the scene where Tre and Kiana shares each other's pronouns TWO WEEKS after knowing each other...has this man met anyone in Gen Z/Alpha?! It's never going down like that. It's most likely in their social media profiles or comes up way more organically. I feel like YA needs teen sensitivity readers.
-Speaking of Kiana...all romantic subplots should have been cut. They were completely unnecessary and brought nothing to the story. Stick to the game (and maybe impact on current relationships), no need to try to have a serious romantic subplot....particularly when it's this underdeveloped.
-Let's start with the good. Graves writes basketball really, really well. Typically, when I get to any kind of action scene in a book, my eyes kind of just glaze over and I let it passively wash over me because I have a hard time visualizing what's happening. That was not the case for this one-- I was on the edge of my seat several times watching the plays in my head. It probably helps that I love college basketball and this was very much giving that level of intensity. Also, I definitely had a "oooh that makes sense" moment when I read the author used to be a basketball player himself. This was very well done.
-Now on to the....questionable. I've never struggle with a first person narration before but I did with this. I think it's because much of the writing was so simplistic (simple actions, low insight), it became grating after awhile. It is possible to write complexly with simple language and that was missing here. Middle grade and YA deserve beautiful sentences.
-The slang was SO cringe and is going to get dated immediately (some of it already is!). It reads...like an adult wrote it! It's very much "Hello fellow kids" Steve Buscemi meme. Also, the scene where Tre and Kiana shares each other's pronouns TWO WEEKS after knowing each other...has this man met anyone in Gen Z/Alpha?! It's never going down like that. It's most likely in their social media profiles or comes up way more organically. I feel like YA needs teen sensitivity readers.
-Speaking of Kiana...all romantic subplots should have been cut. They were completely unnecessary and brought nothing to the story. Stick to the game (and maybe impact on current relationships), no need to try to have a serious romantic subplot....particularly when it's this underdeveloped.
Tre recently, after the unexpected passing of his older brother, had dedicated his time and energy to becoming the best basketball player possible, just like his brother. He lives on a Reservation in Minnesota and tries out for his high school bball team. He makes JV and is super upset, but when two varisty players get suspended for two games for drinking, he steps up and goes on to lead the team.
Who doesn't love a young adult book about basketball? Well, probably a lot of people - but, as someone who hates sports books but knows my students love them, I thought this did a great job of filling a hole that was needed in libraries. The book had a great story, but had enough basketball to keep a reluctant reader interested.
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
I absolutely loved reading this book. It had heart-wrenching points but also had points of great success.
I loved this book. I found myself reading faster and faster during the games.
It's not that it's not good, I could just tell I wasn't going to enjoy it. But I can totally see my sports fiction readers loving this one even from the little bit I read.