CONTEMPORARY REALISTIC FICTION: DRAGON HOOPS

-

 CONTEMPORARY REALISTIC FICTION: DRAGON HOOPS


  1. BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Yang, Gene Luen. 2020. DRAGON HOOPS. Broadway, NY. First Second. ISBN 9781626720794


  1. PLOT

Gene Luen Yang is a graphic novel writer and artist, a father, and a teacher at the Catholic private school, Bishop O’Dowd High School, and is inspired to follow and tell the story of the school’s basketball team, the Dragons, a team that everyone talks about. In 2014, Yang works to balance his life of family, teaching, and comic book creation while also following the all-star team members influential to the Dragons, and records the games, and conversations of the people who make up the all-star 2014 team, and who are working towards finally winning the state championship this season. 


  1. CRITICAL ANALYSIS 

Based on actual events that Yang experienced in his time as a teacher at Bishop O’Dowd in 2014, all of the characters, namely the basketball coaches and players, as well as a few people influential to basketball in its history, are extremely vital to the story, and help explain the themes and the real events that lead up to the 2014 state championship. The dialogue between the characters, along with the illustrations, help the reader differentiate the vital roles each play, and carry the story forward. 

DRAGON HOOPS is a written account of a series of events and people who made the outcome of the 2014 state championship possible, and is an accurate depiction of the events that occured. Any reader could look to Google to confirm what happened that led to the vital climax and conclusion of the story. Yang seems to struggle to present accurately and honestly the sensitive elements of an emotional story but does so in an utterly unique way. There are no other middle grade and/or young adult graphic novels that present a real piece of sports history in the form of an autobiographical, nonfiction graphic novel. HIs work has attracted all types of readers, both sports fans and others. 

Yang uses his signature illustration style to present scenes of intense and fast basketball games that encourage the reader to read forward, making the reader almost feel as if they are watching the game court side in real-time. He effectively uses onomatopoeia to describe, such as “PAAP!”, “SLAM!” and “PAA …PAA… ” to describe basketball movements and sounds( a player blocking a shot, dunks, and dribbling the ball) and the reader is actively engaged in the scenes playing out in the basketball game. Even for readers who may not choose to watch a basketball game live or through media, the words used to describe the action brings the sport to life unlike any other young adult graphic novel. 

DRAGON HOOPS mainly takes place at the Catholic private high school, Bishop O’Dowd High School, California. In addition to  scenes of the basketball gym, locker room, and classrooms at the school, Yang also uses his illustrations and dialogue to describe  scenes at his home with his wife and family, as well as the other gyms they play. All of the scenes pictured are believable and accurate representations of each of the settings

Yang presents the series of events that lead to the conclusion of the Dragon’s 2014 basketball season through different interviews he has with the team’s coaches and players, as well as US basketball sports history and events). Each chapter is focused on either a coach, player, or real district game of the Dragons against an opposing team. In thirteen chapters, Yang’s creative approach is to interview people with different perspectives of the events that led to the state championship game. This gives the readers a variety of cultural, ethnic, and religious perspectives, as well as presents true problems the players faced competing: anti-Sikhism, anti-Muslim, anti-Black, and Xenophobia.

In Chapter 8, titled “ Jeevin”, the international student is a Punjabi youth who practices the Sikh faith. Yang accurately describes what the Sikh faith is, but also describes the racist attacks Jeevin was faced with both on and off the court with racist slurs and jokes. In an interview with Yang, Jeevin describes:

“Fans will attack whenever they can attack. / With Me, it’s about my race./ Look, it's not like racism against black players has gone away. It’s just hard to be overt in a tight space like a gym, so they’ll do quiet stuff, subtle stuff. Don’t get me wrong. Quiet doesn’t make it okay. Given this country’s history, we gotta fight it. / It's just that with me, they can be loud and it's seen as funny, because I’m the only one. 

Jeevin goes on to describe how his mom has helped him heal and not take their racial slurs, the following big game shows him making a long-shot and it going “SWISH!”. After making his 3-point, a teen from the opposing crowd vehemently yells “F**in’ Arab!” at Jeevin from the stands.
Yang has an internal dialogue about the incident he witnessed that happened behind him:

“It’s not like I didn’t believe Jeevin when he told me about the stuff he’d hear at the games./ But it’s still unnerving to hear it in person.”

Through the different interviews Yang has with different players on the teams, he presents the racial slurs against the non-white players he hears consistently in the games. These situations bring clarity and help create empathy within the reader, and readers may see the danger and harm of racism. Through the story, Yang presents the painful realities that non-white players must face, even at the high school level in sports, as well as the history of racism of the NBA. 

The central theme of DRAGON HOOPS is presented through the characters in each chapter taking a step toward change and the unknown future. At the climax or each character’s story, whether in the present or in the past, Yang illustrates their foot taking an intentional step, with the word “STEP” illustrated in large letters. This theme is illustrated throughout the graphic novel, showing the reader the changes the characters made. Some may seem small and insignificant, but ultimately it was a STEP towards change that was vital to the story, and one that the reader can recognize as vital and real. 

Yang presents his own unique perspective on a sport in which he had no interest when he was growing up, as well as on the historical events surrounding the 2014d basketball season. As both the narrator and participant in the dialogue with others, Yang’s style is natural and believable. While a large book, the visually engaging scenes and minimal dialogue that are to the point and visually appealing to a reader. Earlier in the story, Yang mentions that he was a big fan of superhero comics and their art style, which are renowned for their usage of onomatopoeia to describe visually striking movement. In the same way, as mentioned earlier, he uses large lettering and visually striking words such as “KLANG” and “SWISH” to convey the sound and movement of what is happening in the scene.

While many cultural details are conveyed by Yang in his descriptions of the players,, as well as the US’s history of views towards immigrants, other religions, and general racism in the NBA’s history, the story itself is not overloaded with details. Yang expertly weaves various elements and perspectives to create a clear and defined story that has the power to engage and be enjoyed by all types of readers. Yang expertly presents the real people and the very real problems they must face within the sport in an authentic light. This story  is one that may present readers with a perspective they may have never considered until reading DRAGON HOOPS.

  1. REVIEW EXCERPTS

Kirkus

“The trials of a high school basketball team trying to clinch the state title and the graphic novelist chronicling them.The Dragons , Bishop O'Dowd High School's basketball team, have a promising lineup of players united by the same goal. Backed by Coach Lou Richie, an alumnus himself, this could be the season the Oakland, California, private Catholic school breaks their record. While Yang (Team Avatar Tales, 2019, etc.), a math teacher and former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, is not particularly sporty, he is intrigued by the potential of this story and decides to focus his next graphic novel on the team's ninth bid for the state championship. Yang seamlessly blends a portrait of the Dragons  with the international history of basketball while also tying in his own career arc as a graphic novelist as he tries to balance family, teaching, and comics…”


Publisher’s Weekly 

Using documentary-style storytelling, Yang serves as both narrator and a character, alternating player backstories and the Dragons ’ 2014 season with interstitials about the sport’s beginnings and early tensions, historical and present-day discrimination (Black Lives Matter, Sikh persecution following the partition of India), and Yang’s own work-life balance. Using a candid narrative and signature illustrations that effectively and dynamically bring the fast-paced games to life, Yang has crafted a triumphant, telescopic graphic memoir that explores the effects of legacy and the power of taking a single first step, no matter the outcome. 



  1. CONNECTIONS 

Awards:

  • Honor: Michael L. Printz Award 2021

  • Winner: Eisner Awards 2021

  • Honor: Carter G. Woodson Book Award 2021


Similar Middle Grade & Young Adult  Fiction books to DRAGON HOOPS

  • Feinstein, John. LAST SHOT. ISBN: 9780786279142

  • Lupica, Mike. NO SLAM DUNK. ISBN: 9780525514855

  • Ribay, Randy. AFTER THE SHOT DROPS. ISBN: 9781328702272

  • Van Lente, Fred. THE COMIC BOOK STORY OF BASKETBALL: A FAST BREAK HISTORY OF HOOPS. ISBN: 9781984856180

  • Volponi, Paul. LAST SHOT. ISBN: 9780670012640


Similar Graphic Novels to DRAGON HOOPS 

  • Alexander, Kwame. THE CROSSOVER. ISBN: 9781328960016

  • Andrews, Ryan. THIS WAS OUR PACT. ISBN 9781250196958

  • Jaimeson, Victoria. WHEN STARS ARE SCATTERED. ISBN: 9780525553915

  • Takei, George. THEY CALLED US ENEMY. ISBN: 9781603094702


Activities: 

Public Library Book Club for Tweens

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
  HELLO LIGHTHOUSE  BIBLIOGRAPHY     Blackall, Sophie. Hello Lighthouse . Hachette Children's Group, 2019. ISBN   9780316362382 PLOT SUMMARY      “Hello Lighthouse” takes its readers young and old through the later history of the lighthouse before its modernization of automatic lights, and it details the significance of the keeper who lived in the lighthouse and cared for the lamps to keep sailors safe on the sea. The story starts with the arrival of the new keeper of the lighthouse, how he makes it his home, and the daily routines he must keep for the lighthouse to stay running. Soon, the keeper gets lonely in his home, and his wife arrives at the lighthouse, and they make a home together. However, a storm rushes in, and they both must act quickly together, the sea raging, and they must save the sailors whose boat crashed against the rocks. Some time later, the keeper and his wife welcome the birth of a baby girl, and the three make their home in the lighthouse together. Not l
Read more