This book is based on a true story about a newly formed women's high school basketball team in Indiana. Some of the members are not satisfied with their lack of equipment and resources, so they strive for the same treatment as the boy's team. This book teaches adolescents the importance of standing up for themselves and to strive for equality. ( )

Representation: Side Black characters

7/10, this was a good graphic novel but if the author just tried a little bit harder it would've been even better. The main character, Judi, wasn't that particularly exciting or remarkable yet I could still root for her and her team which I liked. The colour palette was fine and the art style looked kind of familiar, maybe it had a similar art style to the Sunny series by Jennifer L. Holm and the Smile series by Raina Telgemeier, due to how the author drew the faces but it could just be all a coincidence. The ending was well written and it was thoughtful of the author to make the team win and then have an epilogue with the next female basketball team, I enjoyed that part. If you like a thoughtful and entertaining story about basketball, like graphic novels or like books similar to The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat and The Crossover by Kwame Alexander this is the book for you. ( )

I loved this, the way Judi’s story comes full circle on the basketball court, the friendships, and the honest depiction (based on a true story) of what an uphill battle women endure just to participate in sports. I loved the fight in these girls and their coach, they shouldn’t have had to look for solutions when it came to uniforms, gym time, transportation, etc., but the lack of give up in them made for an enjoyable and admirable journey.

The same day I read this graphic novel, I listened to a podcast involving another sport, the guys on the podcast asked the lone female how she’d feel to be the wife/sister/mother watching her man compete, it never occurred to her or to the guys to ask how she’d feel in the athlete’s shoes, that was strictly the guys’ domain. It was kind of nauseating. And listening to that made me appreciate this book all the more.

I don’t have an athletic bone in my body, but for the females who do, I hope that instead of hearing some podcast or person limit them to traditional roles, they find thoughtful books like Hoops that show them that realizing the dream of making the winning shot or even just fantasizing about such a moment, isn’t just reserved for boys. ( )

Judi is a high school senior in Indiana in 1976; she's the point guard on the school's new girls' basketball team, and their team is good - but they don't get any of the support the boys' team gets, like practice time in the high school gym, uniforms, or buses to away games. Judi, Lisa, Cindy, and the rest of the team work hard all season, off the court as well as on, to advocate for themselves and for girls' athletics in general (Title IX passed only recently), and they wind up winning the first state championship, and getting a public apology from the athletic director, and support from their community.

Back matter: author's note, note on Title IX

Quotes

"I'm so sick of being treated like I don't matter just because I'm a girl.
I just feel like...if I keep letting it happen, it's like I'm saying it's okay.
And it's not okay. It's just not." (Lisa, 103) ( )

A straightforward bit of historical fiction based on a real Indiana girls basketball team in the 1970s. (The author read about them in We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History by Phillip M. Hoose.)

Thanks to Title IX, Judi Wilson's school is launching a new girls team, but its a half-hearted and dismissive effort at first without a coach or uniforms or a bus for rides to away games. The story unfolds in a steady, gentle, predictable manner like a Disney movie, even allowing for little asides for BFF conflict, but still satisfies as the team makes its run at the state's championship tournament, one of 360 teams vying for the title. ( )