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Gene understands stories—comic book stories, in particular. Big action. Bigger thrills. And the hero always wins. But Gene doesn’t get sports. As a kid, his friends called him “Stick” and every basketball game he played ended in pain. He lost interest in basketball long ago, but at the high school where he now teaches, it’s all anyone can talk about. The men’s varsity team, the Dragons, is having a phenomenal season that’s been decades in the making. Each victory brings them closer to their ultimate goal: the California State Championships. Once Gene gets to know these young all-stars, he realizes that their story is just as thrilling as anything he’s seen on a comic book page. He knows he has to follow this epic to its end. What he doesn’t know yet is that this season is not only going to change the Dragons’s lives, but his own life as well.
First sentence: “I’ve hated sports ever since I was a little kid. Especially basketball.”
For all you people who are usually uninterested in basketball (like I am), prepare to become a fan because of Dragon Hoops!
This graphic memoir captivated my attention with the very real people that Gene Luen Yang focus on, the history of basketball through different cultures, and the process Yang goes through to create an accurate portrayal of the events. It’ll convince you that you need to be in the front row for all the action at Bishop O’Dowd High School.
I have a mouth, but I mustn’t speak;