{{short description|2020 graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang}} {{Infobox book | name = Dragon Hoops | publisher = [[First Second]] | congress = 2018953556 | dewey = | isbn = 978-1-626-72079-4 | pages = 448 | media_type = | published = | pub_date = March 17, 2020 | subject = | image = Dragon Hoops.jpg | language = English | country = United States | author = [[Gene Luen Yang]] | caption = Book cover | alt = | image_size = | notes = }}
'''''Dragon Hoops''''' is a nonfiction [[graphic novel]] by [[Gene Luen Yang]], illustrated by Gene Luen Yang and [[Lark Pien]], and published by March 17, 2020, by [[First Second Books|First Second]].
==Plot== [[Gene Luen Yang]] says he was not interested in sports when he was a child. He was interested in comic books, and he created comic stories after graduation. In 2013, Yang publishes the graphic novel ''[[Boxers & Saints]]''. His family celebrates the book, but Yang quickly starts running out of ideas for the next graphic novel. Yang is inspired by the basketball team at [[Bishop O'Dowd High School]] from [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], where he is a teacher. Yang discovers a basketball coach named Lou Ritchie, and they begin to discuss the sport. After Ritchie reveals his full name, Llewellyn Blackman Ritchie, Yang discovers a yearbook from when Ritchie was in high school. Flashbacks to Ritchie as a freshman in fall 1985 reveal that the varsity men's basketball team made it to the [[California high school basketball championship|California State Championship]]. He wanted to join the basketball team by doing training and exercise skills. By the time of his junior year, he's grown tall and strong enough to play backup point guard. At the time, he and his team, are ready to start the game's championship. The Bishop O'Dowd Dragons are playing the Manual Arts Toilers for the trophy of [[California Interscholastic Federation]]. With seven seconds left in the final period, Dragons coach Mike Phelps yelled "get that ball inbounds! Don't let'em touch it! Then, whoever gets it, make something happen!" Ritchie takes the final shot, scoring two points at the buzzer, beating the Toilers in the final seconds. Just as the Dragons appear to have won the game, the referee calls off the basket, calling "No bucket! Offensive [[goaltending]]!" Phelps is irate that the Toilers have won the game with the last minute call. After Ritchie's graduation, he went to college to play a basketball team, first at [[UCLA]], then at Clemson, before an injury ended his career. He graduated with a degree in history. In fall 2001, he returned to his high school, this time, he as a coach. He began as an assistant to Phelps, and then in 2012, he was promoted to head coach.
In the sub-plot, it tells the history of basketball as Yang looked at the resources in the library. He goes through tough times such as leaving Phelps out of the story, and choosing to leave Bishop O’Dowd High so he can write a comic on [[Superman]]. After Bishop O’Dowd won the championship, Yang chose to leave Bishop O’Dowd, and write for [[DC Comics]] although he decides to teach his kids basketball.
== Reception == ''Dragon Hoops'' received starred reviews from ''[[Publishers Weekly]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2020-01-02|title=Children's Book Review: Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-62672-079-4|access-date=2021-09-27|website=Publishers Weekly|language=en}}</ref> [[School Library Journal]]'',<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Thompson|first=Steven|date=2020-01-24|title=Dragon Hoops|url=https://www.slj.com/?reviewDetail=dragon-hoops|access-date=2021-09-27|website=School Library Journal}}</ref> ''[[The Horn Book Magazine|The Horn Book]]'',<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Carpenter|first=Eric|date=May 6, 2020|title=Review of Dragon Hoops|url=https://www.hbook.com/?detailStory=review-of-dragon-hoops|access-date=2021-09-27|website=The Horn Book}}</ref> [[The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books|Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=March 2020|url=https://bccb.ischool.illinois.edu/monthly/2020-03/|access-date=2021-09-27|website=Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books|language=en-US}}</ref> and ''[[Booklist]]'',<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Karp|first=Jesse|date=February 15, 2020|title=Dragon Hoops|url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Dragon-Hoops-Gene-Luen-Yang/pid=9730530|access-date=2021-09-27|website=Booklist}}</ref> as well as positive reviews from [[Kirkus Reviews|''Kirkus,'']]<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|date=December 21, 2019|title=Dragon Hoops|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gene-luen-yang/dragon-hoops/|access-date=2021-09-27|website=Kirkus Reviews}}</ref> ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]],''<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=Yu|first=Brandon|date=March 13, 2020|title=Gene Yang's latest work traces Oakland high school basketball sorrow and glory|url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/gene-yangs-latest-work-traces-oakland-high-school-basketball-sorrow-and-glory|access-date=2021-09-27|website=San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide|language=en-US}}</ref> and ''[[The New York Times]].''<ref>{{Cite news|last=Craft|first=Jerry|date=2020-03-28|title=No Fan of Sports, a Graphic Novelist Learns to Follow the Bouncing Ball|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/books/review/dragon-hoops-gene-luen-yang.html|access-date=2021-09-27|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gustines|first=George Gene|date=2020-03-27|title=Gene Luen Yang Discovers the Art of Basketball|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/sports/Gene-Luen-Yang-Dragon-Hoops.html|access-date=2021-09-27|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
''Publishers Weekly'' complimented the book's writing: "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."''<ref name=":1" />'' ''The Horn Book''<nowiki/>'s Eric Carpenter drew attention to how "Yang skillfully juggles the stories of multiple players and coaches as well as his own journey from basketball novice to avid fan."<ref name=":3" />
Jesse Karp, writing for ''Booklist'', applauded Yang's artwork: "Combining visual flair, like speeding backgrounds, with nearly diagrammatic movement, he creates pulse-pounding game sequences."<ref name=":4" /> Karp continued, noting, "Most important, through recurring visual motifs that connect a champion basketball player to a self-questioning artist to a Russian immigrant with a new idea, he illuminates the risks that every one of us must take and has, once again, produced a work of resounding humanity."<ref name=":4" />
In varied reviews, the book was called a "standout showing,"<ref name=":2" /> "[a] winner,"<ref name=":5" /> and "emotional."<ref name=":6" />
''The New York Times,''<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-12-02|title=The 25 Best Children's Books of 2020|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/books/review/best-childrens-books.html|access-date=2021-09-27|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]],''<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Dragon Hoops|url=https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781626720794|access-date=2021-09-27|website=IndieBound|date=17 March 2020 |isbn=978-1-62672-079-4 |language=en}}</ref> ''[[Amazon (company)|Amazon]],''<ref name=":0" /> ''[[Forbes]],''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Salkowitz|first=Rob|title=The Best Graphic Novels Of 2020|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2020/12/18/the-best-graphic-novels-of-2020/|access-date=2021-09-27|website=Forbes|language=en}}</ref> ''School Library Journal,''<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Thompson|first1=Steve|last2=Perez|first2=Alea|last3=Maluck|first3=Thomas|last4=Dar|first4=Mahnaz|date=2020-11-23|title=Best Graphic Novels 2020 {{!}} SLJ Best Books|url=https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=best-graphic-novels-2020-slj-best-books|access-date=2021-09-27|website=School Library Journal}}</ref> ''Booklist,''<ref name=":0" /> ''The Horn Book'',<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sutton|first=Roger|date=December 7, 2020|title=Fanfare 2020 Booklist|url=https://www.hbook.com/?detailStory=fanfare-2020-booklist|access-date=2021-09-27|website=The Horn Book}}</ref> ''Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books'',<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stevenson|first=Deborah|title=2020 Blue Ribbons|url=https://bccb.ischool.illinois.edu/blueribbons/2020-blue-ribbons/|access-date=2021-09-27|website=Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books|language=en-US}}</ref> ''and Publishers Weekly''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Best Books 2020|url=https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2020/young-adult|access-date=2021-09-27|website=Publishers Weekly}}</ref> included ''Dragon Hoops'' in "Best of" lists. ''School Library Journal'' included it several reading lists.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Johnson|first=Abby|title=2020 All Star Read-Alikes: Three YA Picks for Fans of|url=https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=2020-all-star-read-alikes-three-YA-picks-for-fans-of-on-my-block-on-netflix|access-date=2021-09-27|website=School Library Journal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Reviews|first=S. L. J.|title=17 Immersive Graphic Novels for Teens {{!}} Summer Reading 2021|url=https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=graphic-novels-for-teens-summer-reading-2021|access-date=2021-09-27|website=School Library Journal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=S. L. J. Reviews|date=May 25, 2021|title=10 YA Sports Novels That Knock It Out of the Park {{!}} Summer Reading 2021|url=https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=10-ya-sports-novels-that-knock-it-out-of-the-park---summer-reading-2021|access-date=2021-09-27|website=School Library Journal}}</ref> {| class="wikitable sortable" |+Awards and honors for ''Dragon Hoops'' !Year !Award/Honor !Result !Ref. |- | rowspan="2" |2020 |[[Booklist Editors' Choice]]: Books for Youth |Selection |<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 1, 2021|title=Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2020|url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Booklist-Editors-Choice/pid=9743352|access-date=2021-09-27|website=Booklist}}</ref> |- |[[Booklist]] Top of the List for Youth Graphic Novel |Selection |<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 1, 2021|title=Top of the List: 2020|url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Top-of-the-List/pid=9743695|access-date=2021-09-27|website=Booklist}}</ref> |- | rowspan="2" |2021 |[[Association for Library Service to Children]] Notable Children's Books for Older Readers |Selection |<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 15, 2021|title=Notable Children's Books: 2021|url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Notable-Children-s-Books/pid=9745857|access-date=2021-09-27|website=Booklist}}</ref> |- |[[Michael L. Printz Award|Michael Printz Award]] |Honor |<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 26, 2021|title=Reviews of the 2021 Printz Award Winners|url=https://www.hbook.com/?detailStory=reviews-of-the-2021-printz-award-winners}}</ref> |}
== References == {{Portal|Children's literature}} {{reflist}}
[[Category:2020 non-fiction books]] [[Category:2020 graphic novels]] [[Category:First Second Books books]] [[Category:2020 children's books]] [[Category:Children's books about basketball]] [[Category:Children's books set in the 2010s]] [[Category:Children's books set in the 1980s]] [[Category:Graphic novels set in California]] [[Category:Graphic novels set in the 1980s]] [[Category:Graphic novels set in the 2010s]] [[Category:Children's books set in California]]