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Review: Hoops

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Hoops
By Matt Tavares
Candlewick Press, 2023. Comic. 215 pages.

Are you going through a basketball withdrawal now that college basketball is over and the Utah Jazz season has ended? I know I am. Which is why I was so excited to read Hoops. Hoops is a work of fiction inspired by a true story about a high school in Indiana that gets its first girls' basketball team in 1975 as a result of the passing of Title IX. Judi Wilson has always dreamed of making the winning shot at a state championship game, despite the fact that there is no state championship for girls' basketball, or even a girls' basketball team at her school. Instead, she starts out the novel as a cheerleader. When the school's athletic director makes the announcement at a pep rally that the girls will get a basketball team, Judi, along with all of the other girls who bother to go to the tryout, makes the team. She soon finds, however, that just because they have a team doesn't mean that things are equal. They are forced to practice at off-hours, at an elementary school, and for a time, without a coach.

Anyone who loves sports stories will love this book! Matt Tavares is excellent at ramping up the excitement and you'll be rooting for Judi and her team with breath held to see if they can overcome the various obstacles thrown their way. If you haven't read a comic yet for the Great Genre Challenge, pick up this book!

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