Scan barcode
katyrbw's review against another edition
5.0
this was PHENOMENAL and hurt my feelings
would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading a gorgeously written book about lesbian basketballers in LA in the 80s
would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading a gorgeously written book about lesbian basketballers in LA in the 80s
wildgurl's review against another edition
5.0
The Necessary Hunger
by Nina Revoyr
1997/2019 (due 3-5-19)
Akashic, Brooklyn
5.0 / 5.0
What an amazing book and story! It will stay with me and be read many times.
The protagonist, Nancy Takahiro is an Asian American, 6´0´, and an all-star High School basketball player. And a lesbian. She develops a crush on a rival, Raina Webber, and African American all-star point guard. It becomes interesting and intense when Nancyś dad falls in love with Rainaś mom, and decide to move in together. They move to Inglewood.
Revoyr has developed realistic characters, easy to relate to. She weaves a story of sexual orientation and coming out with the challenge of racial identity and class. The intensity, practice and devotion to womens basketball helps Nancy keep it together and feel comfortable.
This would be great for LGBTQ and cultural studies classes, too.
Thanks to Akashic, Nina Revoyr, and LibraryThing for sending this ARC for review.
by Nina Revoyr
1997/2019 (due 3-5-19)
Akashic, Brooklyn
5.0 / 5.0
What an amazing book and story! It will stay with me and be read many times.
The protagonist, Nancy Takahiro is an Asian American, 6´0´, and an all-star High School basketball player. And a lesbian. She develops a crush on a rival, Raina Webber, and African American all-star point guard. It becomes interesting and intense when Nancyś dad falls in love with Rainaś mom, and decide to move in together. They move to Inglewood.
Revoyr has developed realistic characters, easy to relate to. She weaves a story of sexual orientation and coming out with the challenge of racial identity and class. The intensity, practice and devotion to womens basketball helps Nancy keep it together and feel comfortable.
This would be great for LGBTQ and cultural studies classes, too.
Thanks to Akashic, Nina Revoyr, and LibraryThing for sending this ARC for review.
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
4.0
I came to love basketball later in life than most fans. I was a junior in high school, and the University of Kansas had risen to the top of my list of college options. My grandma had been a KU fan for years, and her enthusiasm mixed with my own excitement at the prospect of heading to college, especially a school where basketball is king. Before I knew it, I had learned what a ball screen was, and I've spent every March since 2002 screaming at the TV.
So, as a basketball fan, I was really into Nina Revoyr's debut novel, originally published in 1997 and set in the mid-to-late '80s. The narrator is Nancy Takahiro, a standout forward on her high school team in inner city LA. As a six-footer with a quick first step, Nancy has been getting attention from college scouts for pretty much her entire high school career. She loves the game of basketball, and she knows it's her ticket out of Inglewood.
Nancy's life becomes more complicated when her father starts dating the mother of a highly-touted player from a different school, Raina Webber. Nancy has had feelings for Raina for a long time—feelings that Raina hasn't reciprocated. When their parents move in together, Nancy and Raina will have to navigate a minefield of issues, on and off the court. They're both incredibly fierce competitors, and emotions run as high and hard as the girls do in practice.
There's so much going on in this novel besides basketball. Nancy's father and Raina's mother have to deal with backlash from their friends over their inter-racial relationship (Nancy's father is of Japanese descent, while Raina's mother is African-American). Nancy has to find a way to swallow her jealousy every time she sees Raina with her girlfriend, Toni. Both their parents have good jobs, so the family isn't living in poverty, but life in their neighborhood isn't always easy or safe. And after all the high school games are finally over, Nancy and Raina are each going to have to choose a college, decisions that will have ripple effects throughout their entire lives.
The basketball scenes are well-placed, building tension throughout the book to a showdown that feels inevitable, though I never could have predicted the outcome. Those scenes on the court are where Revoyr's narration shines the brightest. I could see perfectly every pass, every shot, down to the last heartbreaking second. (Of course, if you don't have at least a basic grasp of the game, those scenes won't carry as much of a punch.) And I didn't live in LA in the '80s, but to my ear, Revoyr's dialogue rings true—exactly how I'd imagine players jawing to each other on the court.
I had to delve deep into the backlist for this one—it's not terribly often these days I'm reading books written in the '90s—but I'm so glad I did. And I'll definitely be checking out more of Revoyr's books in the future.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
So, as a basketball fan, I was really into Nina Revoyr's debut novel, originally published in 1997 and set in the mid-to-late '80s. The narrator is Nancy Takahiro, a standout forward on her high school team in inner city LA. As a six-footer with a quick first step, Nancy has been getting attention from college scouts for pretty much her entire high school career. She loves the game of basketball, and she knows it's her ticket out of Inglewood.
Nancy's life becomes more complicated when her father starts dating the mother of a highly-touted player from a different school, Raina Webber. Nancy has had feelings for Raina for a long time—feelings that Raina hasn't reciprocated. When their parents move in together, Nancy and Raina will have to navigate a minefield of issues, on and off the court. They're both incredibly fierce competitors, and emotions run as high and hard as the girls do in practice.
There's so much going on in this novel besides basketball. Nancy's father and Raina's mother have to deal with backlash from their friends over their inter-racial relationship (Nancy's father is of Japanese descent, while Raina's mother is African-American). Nancy has to find a way to swallow her jealousy every time she sees Raina with her girlfriend, Toni. Both their parents have good jobs, so the family isn't living in poverty, but life in their neighborhood isn't always easy or safe. And after all the high school games are finally over, Nancy and Raina are each going to have to choose a college, decisions that will have ripple effects throughout their entire lives.
The basketball scenes are well-placed, building tension throughout the book to a showdown that feels inevitable, though I never could have predicted the outcome. Those scenes on the court are where Revoyr's narration shines the brightest. I could see perfectly every pass, every shot, down to the last heartbreaking second. (Of course, if you don't have at least a basic grasp of the game, those scenes won't carry as much of a punch.) And I didn't live in LA in the '80s, but to my ear, Revoyr's dialogue rings true—exactly how I'd imagine players jawing to each other on the court.
I had to delve deep into the backlist for this one—it's not terribly often these days I'm reading books written in the '90s—but I'm so glad I did. And I'll definitely be checking out more of Revoyr's books in the future.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
alexblackreads's review against another edition
5.0
I adored this. The characters felt so real. This whole book felt real. There's drama and excitement, but mostly it's about an immature kid who doesn't know how to cope with her own feelings struggling through growing up. I loved the family dynamic and how that grew throughout the book. I loved all the side characters that were fully fleshed out, despite the fact that there were so many of them. This book contained such a developed world.
I loved Nancy and her growth, or at times lack there of. She was such a compelling lead with so much depth, but also such a kid and so full of immaturity. She's wildly flawed in ways that are frustrating, but so so real. And her feelings and behavior are so relatable to the teenage years.
I was all set to give this four stars until the ending hit and I just couldn't anymore. The ending blew me away. It really changed the perspective of the book from a lovely story about a kid in love to something so much more meaningful.
I think as a debut, it is honestly a little bit rough around the edges. Nancy does a lot of eavesdropping, which is kind of a lazy way to insert information the POV character doesn't have legitimate access to. There were too many characters, not enough sense of place. There were a number of little things. But I don't care about any of them. This book took my breath away.
I really thought going in that I'd love Nina Revoyr, but this book was beyond anything I expected. I'm so excited to read more from her. I would highly recommend this book.
I loved Nancy and her growth, or at times lack there of. She was such a compelling lead with so much depth, but also such a kid and so full of immaturity. She's wildly flawed in ways that are frustrating, but so so real. And her feelings and behavior are so relatable to the teenage years.
I was all set to give this four stars until the ending hit and I just couldn't anymore. The ending blew me away. It really changed the perspective of the book from a lovely story about a kid in love to something so much more meaningful.
I think as a debut, it is honestly a little bit rough around the edges. Nancy does a lot of eavesdropping, which is kind of a lazy way to insert information the POV character doesn't have legitimate access to. There were too many characters, not enough sense of place. There were a number of little things. But I don't care about any of them. This book took my breath away.
I really thought going in that I'd love Nina Revoyr, but this book was beyond anything I expected. I'm so excited to read more from her. I would highly recommend this book.
ashwolff's review against another edition
1.0
i just skipped through this book. I don't know if it was the facet that it is mostly written in past tense or the fact that i'm not a fan of basketball. I just could not get into this book.
sophiareads_'s review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Homophobia and Gun violence
liralen's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not sure what to say here except that the pacing is gorgeous: The Necessary Hunger is a slow burn of a book, eschewing dramatics in favour of everyday life and tensions in LA in the 90s. Basketball and matter-of-fact lesbianness, yes, but also race tensions and all-consuming crushes on unavailable people and navigating competition and family and friendship. It's hard to describe the plot in any real depth without getting in way too deep (or throwing in spoilers), so I'll just say that this is far more character-drive than standard YA fare, but once you settle into the pace it's a delight. Nancy and Raina are both such measured characters, with a dynamic cast around them, and I'm not sure what moe I could have wanted here.
letsgolesbians's review against another edition
3.0
There were some things in this book that were incredible. A non-white lesbian protagonist who is interested in another non-white lesbian, and how to navigate being queer and ethnic. The mixing of a black household and a Japanese household, and what that means for both families. What it's like to be a senior in high school, with everything ending.
While those elements were great, the story itself was lacking. Nancy, the protagonist, is very passive. Things just kind of happen around her, and she internalizes things, but it didn't feel realistic--any character growth felt like exposition, and while everyone was changing and doing things around Nancy, she felt the same at the end as she did at the beginning. Also, not a whole lot happens; it's very much a story about senior year of high school and how this one character lives through it.
Overall, it was a relatively quick read, and I think the parts about race were really important, so I'd recommend this.
While those elements were great, the story itself was lacking. Nancy, the protagonist, is very passive. Things just kind of happen around her, and she internalizes things, but it didn't feel realistic--any character growth felt like exposition, and while everyone was changing and doing things around Nancy, she felt the same at the end as she did at the beginning. Also, not a whole lot happens; it's very much a story about senior year of high school and how this one character lives through it.
Overall, it was a relatively quick read, and I think the parts about race were really important, so I'd recommend this.
qofdnz's review
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mxsunny's review against another edition
4.0
1. if I had known about this when it came out, 1997, I think I would have understood myself so much sooner than I did.
2. I wish we got some of what Raina was thinking. I wonder how accurate Nancy's perceptions were but it is what is.
3. there's a lot to like here even if the identity of the protagonist doesn't shout to you like it did for me.
4. actually I am dropping a star because I'm dissatisfied with the ending.
2. I wish we got some of what Raina was thinking. I wonder how accurate Nancy's perceptions were but it is what is.
3. there's a lot to like here even if the identity of the protagonist doesn't shout to you like it did for me.
4. actually I am dropping a star because I'm dissatisfied with the ending.