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A review by claudiaslibrarycard
Dreamer by Akim Aliu, Greg Anderson Elysée
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
Ooof, this hit even harder than I expected it to. I had never heard of Akim Aliu, but as a lover of graphic memoirs I eagerly picked it up at the library. My familiarity with hockey is limited to Letterkenny and Shoresy. It turns out that a lot of those depictions are actually based something.
Akim is biracial and his parents have an incredible story of facing adversity to marry and then to immigrate for the sake of their children. Canada is the place they chose for opportunity for their sons, not planning for their youngest to fall in love with hockey. Hockey brings Akim great joy and serious suffering as he experiences the racism rampant in the sport.
This memoir is not lighthearted, but it is so well done. I appreciate that even though it is YA, the gross and violent nature of racism in hockey was shown honestly. I do think some particular events were softened around the edges, but the basics are there.
I think this is a powerful read for those who love memoirs, graphic novels, hockey, sports, or any combination of those.
Akim is biracial and his parents have an incredible story of facing adversity to marry and then to immigrate for the sake of their children. Canada is the place they chose for opportunity for their sons, not planning for their youngest to fall in love with hockey. Hockey brings Akim great joy and serious suffering as he experiences the racism rampant in the sport.
This memoir is not lighthearted, but it is so well done. I appreciate that even though it is YA, the gross and violent nature of racism in hockey was shown honestly. I do think some particular events were softened around the edges, but the basics are there.
I think this is a powerful read for those who love memoirs, graphic novels, hockey, sports, or any combination of those.