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A review by rainbowbookworm
Rez Ball by Byron Graves
5.0
This was a very strong start to the year. The more I read about Indigenous communities the more overlap I find in our cultures. Living under the yoke of colonialism is hard, especially when you are clinging to your culture.
The build-up to the big basketball game reminded me of watching my own country folk beat the US in the 2004 Olympics (becoming the second team to do that in the Olympics) and the iconic image of Carlos Arroyo and his jersey. It felt as if the entire island watched every basketball game; I know I was a teacher at the time and my students watched them. (I would do the same for other Olympic feats.)
This book took me on an emotional journey. As a former teacher it was hard to see moments that could have cost our protagonists future academic opportunities. I find it hard to think that this may be my favorite book I will read in 2024, as I write this we are only 24 days into the new year, but it is a strong contender.
The build-up to the big basketball game reminded me of watching my own country folk beat the US in the 2004 Olympics (becoming the second team to do that in the Olympics) and the iconic image of Carlos Arroyo and his jersey. It felt as if the entire island watched every basketball game; I know I was a teacher at the time and my students watched them. (I would do the same for other Olympic feats.)
This book took me on an emotional journey. As a former teacher it was hard to see moments that could have cost our protagonists future academic opportunities. I find it hard to think that this may be my favorite book I will read in 2024, as I write this we are only 24 days into the new year, but it is a strong contender.