Annotation: Set near the Alaskan Arctic Circle, this book follows a season of the Fort Yukon high school basketball team all the way to the state tournament.
Justification for Nomination: The town of Fort Yukon is located 8 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska. Although it is a pristine location, the town is full of troubles among its inhabitants, most of whom are Native. The average annual family income is less than $30,000/year and there is a major clash between the old and new ways. Hunting and trapping for food is still a major source of sustenance for the townspeople, but the new canned food is moving in and threatening their old way of doing things. Along with the culture clashes, drug addiction and alcoholism play a major role in the local families. And, of course, the weather is a major factor in this town. Temperatures range from the 60s in the summer to 70+ below in the winter, making it one of the harshest climates in the world.
Beyond the obstacles the citizens face, the town has a long history of high school basketball and D'Orso goes into great detail describing it. The history of the team is interesting, but what the author does so well is describing the citizens of the town. By the end of the book, you feel like if you went to visit, you'd know everyone there, and you probably would. The season of 2004-2005 looks promising and the townspeople are hopeful that they will go all the way. Fort Yukon is so remote that the team has to fly to every game, making their annual budget contentious.
Fans of high school basketball will find lots of things to love about this book, but there's plenty in it for everyone else as well. I found the anthropology parts to be fascinating and teen readers will definitely be able to relate to the teens in the book. Although it does get to be long, I think it's a good choice for a teen reader interested in basketball, Alaska, or Native Alaskans.
No comments:
Post a Comment