Graves, Byron. Rez Ball. HarperCollins/Heartdrum, 09/2023. 368pp. Fiction. Trade $19.99. 978-0-0631-6037-8. GRADES 6–12. OUTSTANDING.
This debut novel tells the story of a high school basketball team from the Red Lake Ojibwe Reservation in Minnesota that is in the running for the state championship for the first time in many years. The main character, Tre, feels enormous pressure to lead the varsity team while also nurturing his own dream of NBA stardom. Tre is also grieving the sudden death of his brother and trying to fill his supersized shoes as a successful basketball player. Graves, who is also Ojibwe and played high school basketball on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, authentically portrays family grief, first crushes, and the extreme pressure to achieve success for a whole community amidst racism and disadvantages.
Rachael Reiley—Hillcrest Elementary K–8 / Oakland Unified School District