Rez Ball by Byron Graves

 

This is a story that follows Tre Brun, and Ojibwe teen that lives in the shadow of his deceased older brother, a star basketball player who died in a car accident. While Tre is figuring himself out, he slowly begins to crawl out of the shadow when he picks up a basketball. Tre becomes dedicated to becoming a star just like his brother. He wants to continue the basketball legacy but shine in his own ways as well. Tre faces challenges on and off the court, though. Outside of hooping, he deals with the struggles of grief, family expectation, school pressure, complexities of friendship, the perils of romance, and self discovery. Will he be able to take the Red Lake Warriors further than they ever have before? Read and find out for yourself as he battles against it all in Rez Ball. 

About the Book                                                                                                      Awards and Recognition

• Title: Rez Ball                                                                                          • Booklist Top 10 YA Sports Book

• Author: Byron Graves                                                            • Starred review from School Library Journal

• Genre: YA Contemporary Sports Fiction                      • Featured in NPR’s Best Books of the Year (2023)

• Published: 2023                                                       • Praised for authentic voice and Native representation

• Pages: 352                                                     • Longlisted for the American Indian Youth Literature Award

Why this book? 

Well, I recently attended a conference in which the author of this book was the Keynote speaker and I have heard a lot about it! Also, I enjoyed the glimpse into modern day indigenous life in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and wanted to read more works in that same sort of avenue! 

Teaching and Content Considerations

• This book could work well as a whole class read going over the struggles of youth and high school life. It could also work really well for independent read if Indigenous students are wanting to see themselves represented in stories. Or even if they’re sports players themselves!

• I would recommend this to students grades 8-12. Students who want to read up on contemporary sport fiction or indigenous culture would find both in this book. 

• Content Warnings include use of drugs and alcohol, strong language throughout, racism, and themes of grief and loss. 

Instructional Ideas

• Theme analysis and exploration around grief, camaraderie, cultural identity, and community would be great topics with this book as the source content.

• Literary Techniques: This book serves as a great mentor text for creating authentic voice, character arcs, and emotional tension. 

Potential Read Aloud Passages

• Pages 1-3: The opening scene of this books sets the tone and lays the foundation for all of what Tre is going to be working through across this text. It introduces us to how much his brother Jaxon loved basketball, how much people loved him for that, and how Tre wants to become just as great as his brother was. 

• Pages 70-72: Tre is trying out for the varsity team for the first time since playing his first year on the JV team. He faces the largest obstacle of joining the team, a current member of the starting lineup named Mason. He stands up strong in the face of external doubt and internal uncertainty. This is a high energy scene that shows just how hard Tre will work to make his brother proud and make a name for himself. 

Overall Thoughts and Reflection

This was a stellar book that took a bit of getting used to. In the beginning, the voice of Tre, our narrator, was a bit off-putting. But, as the story went on I was taken back to the mindset of being in Highschool myself and the colloquial Highschool boy talk starts to feel natural. The story was incredible, and I am not even into sports. The struggles, internal and external, that Tre went through were moving and emotional, which I really enjoy in a book. I loved the romance. I loved the complexities in the friendships and the team. This was a captivating story! 

Next Steps

I am unsure of where I will go next after reading this, but I did really enjoy this novel by Byron Graves! I wonder if they have more fun books out that I can read. I would love to support this author and their community by reading through these awesome books!