School Library Journal Starred Review (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Gr 10 Up —Nobody from the Red Lake Ojibwe reservation in Northern Minnesota has ever gone on to play basketball at a Division I college or in the NBA. Sophomore baller Tre Brun is committed to being the first. His dad and older brother Jaxon both are legends, and since Jaxon's death in a car accident less than a year ago, Tre is feeling the pressure to excel. Graves strikes a balance between a broadly accessible portrait of teen experience—all-night video game tournaments, basketball practice, and sometimes out-of-control partying—with a pointed view of Indigenous life, including harassment by racist cops and ill treatment by white teams from Bemidji and Minneapolis, and yet all the comforts of hope, family, and tradition. An awkward friendship/not-quite-romance with emo girl Khiana nearly ends when she starts dating best friend Wes, an aspiring filmmaker who has been making a documentary about Tre. Everything comes together when Tre leads the Red Lake Warriors to the state tournament for the first time. A glossary defines several Ojibwe terms that appear in dialogue. In a concluding author's note, Graves writes that while the story is fictionalized, it incorporates much of his own experience as a young Ojibwe growing up at Red Lake. Frequent teen drinking and occasional drug use make the novel more appropriate for high school. The novel is written at a level accessible to striving readers. VERDICT Richly detailed and emotionally powerful, this gripping tale is highly recommended for libraries serving older teens.—Bob Hassett

ALA Booklist

It's been a year since Tre's older brother, Jaxon, died in a car crash, and with him went the best chance the Red Lake Warriors have ever had at winning a Minnesota state basketball championship. Tre's still reeling when he's unexpectedly brought up from junior varsity to fill in for varsity players suspended after being caught drinking. Though he quickly becomes aware of the expectations of his school, his peers, and his family, he shows everyone that he is every bit the player Jaxon was rhaps even better. But with that spotlight comes the pressures of shouldering the hopes of the entire reservation while still trying to figure out who he is as a person. Tre's story is populated with authentic teen characters contending with the disdain of the majority-white towns and cities that surround the reservation. Debut author Graves, who is Ojibwe like Tre, doesn't shirk from showing his community's ugly experiences, but he never languishes in them. Well-paced and exciting e action of the basketball games is exceptionally well written is is a solid piece of sports fiction.

Kirkus Reviews

Tre wants to play basketball-for his brother, for his reservation, and for his future.Ojibwe sophomore Tre Brun from Red Lake Nation Reservation in Minnesota recently lost Jaxon, his high school basketball star brother, in a car accident. All Tre wants to do these days is read graphic novels, hang out with his friends, get new girl Khiana to like him back, and play basketball. With dreams of making it in the NBA and one day becoming the subject of best friend Wes' first documentary, Tre hopes to make varsity this school year and help his brother's old team, the Warriors, finally make it to states. Basketball is taken seriously on the reservation, and Tre must learn to have faith in himself despite his father's lack of belief in him while also navigating racism, the resentment of those who think he falls short of his brother's legacy, and the pitfalls of partying and trying too hard to fit in. Debut author Graves (Ojibwe) presents a deeply personal look at grief, the weight of expectations, and the ways we find connections with those we have lost. While the start feels a bit forced, the novel quickly settles into its coming-of-age sports-underdog story, giving readers tense, fast-paced descriptions of high-stakes basketball games interspersed with textured descriptions of life on the reservation.This one shoots and scores. (glossary, note from Cynthia Leitich Smith) (Fiction. 13-18)

Publishers Weekly (Thu Oct 03 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Basketball means everything to Ojibwe 15-year-old Tre Brun, who lives on the Red Lake Nation Reservation in Minnesota. What started as a bonding activity between him and his older brother Jaxon, who was their high school’s basketball star and a pillar of their reservation community, becomes his life’s purpose following Jaxon’s fatal car accident. After trying out for—and unexpectedly making—his school’s varsity basketball team, despite his belief that he’d never be a good enough player, Tre determines to win the state championship in Jaxon’s honor. But interpersonal challenges involving his and his family’s unresolved grief, his developing connection with a new two-spirit student, and issues with his documentarian best friend drive Tre to distraction, jeopardizing his future goals. Can Tre stay true to himself and be present in his own life when he’s stuck in the shadow of his brother’s legacy? Debut author Graves, who is Ojibwe, realistically depicts life living on a reservation via Tre’s earnest first-person POV, and plentiful fast-paced basketball game sequences will appeal to fans of sports fiction. Ages 12–up. (Sept.)