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Graves, Byron

Rez Ball

356 pp. | HarperCollins/Heartdrum | September, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9780063160378 $19.99
(3) YA The summer before sophomore year, Tre Brun is grieving the accidental death of his older brother as well as living in his shadow -- Jaxon was beloved and idolized for his varsity basketball stardom within the Brun family and throughout the entire Red Lake Reservation. Tre is also on a mission: dedicating himself to rigorous training in hopes of making varsity and, alongside Jaxon’s former teammates, bringing their rez team to the Minnesota State Basketball Championships. Ojibwe author Graves's Morris– and AILA YA Award–winning debut is at once an exhilarating sports thriller, an underdog story, a grieving-family portrait, and a relatable high-school social dramedy. That it is set on a contemporary Native reservation is both a casual detail and a noteworthy aspect of the book, thanks to Graves's authentic depictions of the socioeconomic, racial, and cultural specifics of Tre's lived reality. A YA novel with massive commercial appeal that also opens windows -- hell, wide, welcoming gates -- to an underrepresented community.
Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

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