Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Journalist Streep debuts with an earnest account of a Montana high school basketball team's quest to repeat as state champions in 2018. Most players on the Arlee Warriors had familial ties to the Salish and Kootenai tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation, and Streep documents growing excitement in the community during the team's march to victory in the 2017 "Class C" final. He also details a star player's work with a literacy coach to keep up his grades, and an administrator's concerns that the competitive pressure might spike suicide rates, which were already high among Native American boys. During the 2017--2018 season, the stakes were raised, especially for the team's seniors, many of whom sought a college education with the goal of returning to make Arlee better. Streep documents injuries and illnesses that nearly derailed the season, and describes how the players and their coach launched a suicide prevention initiative. After winning a second state championship, some Warriors left Arlee to play college ball. Streep is in top form with the on-court action and insights into the discrimination faced by Native athletes, though he somewhat shortchanges the tribal history. Still, this is a rousing portrait of a long-shot team beating the odds. Illus. (Sept.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Streep expands on his 2018 New York Times Magazine article in this debut--a riveting portrayal of the Flathead Indian Reservation in Arlee, MT, home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The focal point is the Arlee high school men's basketball team, whose members Streep follows as they win multiple state championships and pursue their dreams of playing college ball. Arlee is also the center of a suicide cluster that affects the entire community; recognizing the positive impact of the team's success, their coach urges the basketball players to make videos addressing mental health. The experiences of grandparents, parents, tribal elders, and teachers also figure prominently, adding perspective to the basketball action. Streep's magazine portrait won an American Mosaic Journalism prize for exploring generations of Salish and Kootenai families and their joys and difficulties; this book-length expansion benefits from his talent and compassion. VERDICT In addition to being great sports journalism that will touch anyone who loves high school sports, Streep's book will appeal to readers interested in histories of generational trauma. The focus on high school life and basketball gives it YA appeal.--Laurie Unger Skinner, Highland Park P.L., IL
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
An action-packed yet reflective account of the quest for a high school basketball championship on and off a Montana Indian reservation. "In rural Montana, on the weekend of the state tournament, small towns evacuate, their residents filling arenas designed for rock bands and college teams." So writes Outside contributing editor Streep, setting the scene for a team on the Flathead Indian Reservation competing in Class C basketball, which "occupies emotional territory somewhere between escape and religion." The Arlee Warriors lack nothing in the way of community support; when they travel for away games across the sprawling state, nearly half the Flathead Nation goes with them. In other matters, the players are less fortunate. The school is underfunded, the reservation plagued by poverty and addiction, and prejudice is seldom far below the surface beyond its borders. Much of the success of the Warriors can be attributed to the skillful coaching and encouragement of a young man named Zanen Pitts, who recognizes what his players are up against. "Out of the kids that people are afraid to give a chance to, I'd give this kid a chance," he says of one of his students, a diligent and inventive player who gives his all off and on the court: "To watch him play was to become accustomed to surprise," writes Streep. Other players have their own styles, some brash and attention-seeking, some shy but fearless. Readers will applaud the boys' accomplishments against the long odds while shaking their heads at the many institutional and social obstacles placed in their way, not least of them lack of support from higher education. As the author documents, of 222 Montana students recruited for college athletics, "just one basketball player was Native American, a young woman." With its excellent on-court set pieces and search for context, Streep's book nicely bookends Michael Powell's Canyon Dreams (2019), a story of basketball on the Navajo Reservation. A thoughtful call for social justice as much as a story of striving for athletic excellence. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
