Rez Ball by Byron Graves

Rez Ball

Byron Graves

HarperCollins · Print & ebook · September 12, 2023

A Young Adult pick for readers exploring Rez Ball.

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Who it’s for
Accessible, grounded sports fiction with a straightforward pulse and easy momentum.
Genres
Basketball, Native American YA, Death & Grief for Teens
Published
HarperCollins, September 12, 2023

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About this book

This compelling debut novel by new talent Byron Graves tells the relatable, high-stakes story of a young athlete determined to play like the hero his Ojibwe community needs him to be. These days, Tre Brun is happiest when he is playing basketball on the Red Lake Reservation high school team—even though he can’t help but be constantly gut-punched with memories of his big brother, Jaxon, who died in an accident.

Continue reading

When Jaxon's former teammates on the varsity team offer to take Tre under their wing, he sees this as his shot to represent his Ojibwe rez all the way to their first state championship. This is the first step toward his dream of playing in the NBA, no matter how much the odds are stacked against him. But stepping into his brother’s shoes as a star player means that Tre can’t mess up. Not on the court, not at school, and not with his new friend, gamer Khiana, who he is definitely not falling in love with. After decades of rez teams almost making it, Tre needs to take his team to state. Because if he can live up to Jaxon's dreams, their story isn’t over yet. This book is published by Heartdrum, an imprint that publishes high-quality, contemporary stories about Indigenous young people in the United States and Canada.

Straight Shot

Accessible, grounded sports fiction with a straightforward pulse and easy momentum.

Come here for

  • fast, accessible sports-fiction energy
  • performance and staging in a sustained read

Expect

  • basketball, football, and soccer touchpoints
  • a clean, immersive read rather than a sprawling one

Where it sits

Basketball81%
Death & Grief for Teens76%
Native American YA70%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • YA Stories About Boys & Men
  • Coming of Age
  • Diverse YA Fiction
  • Native American YA
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Death & Grief for Teens
  • Addiction & Substance Use for Teens
  • Emotions & Feelings for Teens
  • Friendship for Teens
Authors
Byron Graves
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
September 12, 2023
Format
Print & ebook
Reading lane
YA Stories About Boys & Men