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sophiareads_'s review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Homophobia and Gun violence
jackelz's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Nancy Takahiro is a Japanese-American and the star of her basketball team. It’s her senior year and she is faced with the college recruitment process and her feelings for Raina Webber.
That awkward moment when your rival, and crush, moves in with you because your parents are dating.
The book is set in the mid 80’s in Inglewood, California and the racial tension between the Asian American and African American communities of Los Angeles is very high. There were several racial conflicts throughout the book, but overall it was just about Asian and Black characters living their lives and playing basketball. All of the characters were realistic and relatable.
I’m not a huge basketball fan, but my favorite parts were of the descriptions of the games and the random facts about historical basketball players. Also, the book almost felt like non-fiction; Nancy is telling her story and reminiscing on her last year of high school, and the time she spent with Raina. The ending made me sad, but again, it was realistic.
This book is so underrated! Y’all — It was published in 1997, and features an Asian American lesbian protagonist and several other lesbians of color, who are all in high school. The plot is NOT about coming out or feeling conflicted about being gay or other traumatic consequences of homophobia. It was beautiful and I’m glad I stumbled across this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
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