ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
OLDER FICTION
Tavares, Matt

Hoops

224 pp. | Candlewick | March, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9781536201369 $22.99
(2) YA Tavares's first graphic novel is based on the true story of Judi Warren and the 1976 Warsaw (Indiana) High School girls' basketball team--its rise from nonexistence before Title IX, to filling the bleachers, to winning the state championship. The book finds its main character in Judi Wilson, an athletically gifted high school senior reluctantly funneled into cheerleading, whose ­greatest dream comes true when the Lady Bears basketball team is formed. The girls battle for everything: practice space, uniforms, transportation, spectators. Creativity, ­dedication, and passion for their sport drive them through the systemic barriers that surround them in order to find success. This is a timely exploration of the pre–Title IX United States; and a cinematic, well-paced, feel-good sports story, with a couple of solid subplots to give the main characters depth. Artistically, Tavares, known for such photorealistic picture books as Henry Aaron's Dream (rev. 3/10) and Growing Up Pedro (rev. 1/15), pares back his style to be very readable (if occasionally a bit static) and avoid colliding with the text. The classic championship-game climax is rousing, while the appended author's note brings more nuance to the ongoing fight against sexism and discrimination and tells more about the history-making Warsaw High School team, Judi Warren, and Title IX.
Reviewer: Anne St. John | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

RELATED 

OLDER FICTION

What Beauty There Is
by Anderson, Cory
OLDER FICTION

Between Perfect and Real
by Stoeve, Ray
OLDER FICTION

Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good
by Werlin, Nancy
OLDER FICTION

Home Is Not a Country
by Elhillo, Safia
OLDER FICTION

All Our Hidden Gifts
by O'Donoghue, Caroline
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?