Rez Ball was highly anticipated before it’s release—and it lives up to the hype. It’s both a personal narrative about growing up on the Red Lake Indian Reservation and a sports book for teens. Whether you see this title as a mirror (you’re Native, a baller, grieving a family member) or a window, prepare yourself for an enjoyable foray into the hopes, dreams, and angsts of a teenager.

Title: Rez Ball​

Author: Byron Graves

Genre: Realistic fiction

Age range: 13+

Summary: Tre’s dream is to play in the NBA, but first he needs to continue putting in the work so that he makes varsity. Once he makes the team, he’s sure he can lead his Red Lake Indian Reservation high school team to a state championship—a feat never achieved by his Ojibwe rez. But the tragic death of his older brother (and star baller) and the weight of his entire community’s deferred dreams adds a pressure that threatens to derail Tre from his goals.

Rez Ball is similar to:

• ​After the Shot Drops by Randy Ribay (Star high school baller who believes that his athletic abilities can positively change his family’s lives)
• ​The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (Teenage boy who sees basketball as a respite and a bonding opportunity with brother and dad)
• ​Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Teenage boy who turns to sports to cope and overcome racism)

Why it’s an engaging addition to your classroom library:

You no doubt know Toni Morrison’s beautiful request: “If you find a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” I’ve heard smart people expand on that along the lines of: “if there’s a book your younger self needed, then you must write it.” That’s what Rez Ball feels like. It’s Byron Graves’ debut novel. He is Ojibwe and was born and raised on the Red Lake Indian Reservation (where Rez Ball takes place). It feels like he wrote the book that he needed and that he knows this current generation needs now. For all of your students who are like Graves, add this mirror to your bookshelf.

Graves isn’t just offering a mirror to his community. He has extended an invitation to those who are not Native, who did not grow up on a reservation or in a Native Nation or Tribe. Through Tre, Graves offers his perspective on life in Indian Country—the tight-knit community, the cultural practices, the racism from outsiders, and the hopes of its people (young and old alike).

It’s also a brilliant story of a young athlete facing immense pressure to perform, to win, and to fit in that any competitive student athlete will appreciate. There’s a particularly meaningful series of scenes around teenage partying and drinking that offer a positive roadmap for your students who may be navigating these pressures.

Learn more:

• Do you do First Chapter Friday? If yes, then let Graves himself take over and read aloud the first chapter of Rez Ball.​
• Hooked? A bit more of Graves’ background and his hopes for the book are heard in this brief interview.

Final two cents: Introduce Rez Ball to your students during November’s Native American Heritage Month but keep talking it up all year long.

Was Rez Ball a hit with any of your students? Tell me about it!

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