Bash (vol 1) by Rudy Gobert

Bash! (vol. 1)

Written by Rudy Gobert and Hellef Bay

Illustrated by Vince Serrano

Published by Titan Books

Synopsis (from the publisher):

Young Rudy comes from the poor neighborhood of Nevilia, but dreams of a being a BASH star, and his talent might just make it happen: but can he make it while threats come from every corner of the galaxy? 

Throughout the universe, there’s one sport that everyone’s a fan of: BASH! A brutal, high-octane version of basketball: its players are rockstars, legends, gods, and for young Rudy, a poor kid from Nevilia, his only dream is to be one of them. 

Rudy’s got talent, but talent is nothing without practice and so he sets out to become the best BASH player in the galaxy, always training, always reaching for jut one more dunk. And while Rudy is starting to get noticed by the teams and the talent scouts, other, more sinister forces have started to creep out from the shadows, jealous of this rising young star. 

Review: 

I'll start out with a few disclaimers: my family are lifelong Utah Jazz fans and we were quite disappointed when Rudy Gobert was traded away in the off-season, and Gobert is my daughter's favorite player. So, I'm probably inclined to like this book--but at the same time, as a former librarian and an avid bibliophile, I've read a LOT of books and will be (kindly) honest if I don't like a book. So, that said, when I saw that Gobert had a graphic novel coming out, I immediately went to NetGalley to see if I could get an eARC to read it early; the publisher graciously granted my request. I did have issues with the formatting--the book displayed sideways and split pages into two--no matter what device I tried to read it on. So, it wasn't the smoothest reading experience, and I definitely want to get my hands on a physical copy to read, but I still got a good enough feel for the book to give an honest review. 

The book spent a lot of time on backstory (which makes sense, as it's the first volume in a series), so there's not a ton of action but enough to keep it interesting. There are appealing storylines--the main character wanting to excel at Bash, a hyped-up basketball-like sport; his father having left the family years before and the impact on him and his mother; as well as the political storm that he has no idea is coming, as earth's colonial rule Sybelius is sending a delegation to find that missing father, who is more than he seemed. All of those will draw readers in and want them to know more. There are really cool details--like the rules of bash, which include environmental changes during the game--and the illustrations are terrific. There were some clichés--a parent who doesn't love the game that the main character loves, an opponent with a pretty girlfriend that he doesn't treat well--as well as some ideas that weren't developed as well as I would have liked (I didn't find the mother's reasons for blaming the bash to be strong enough, and the reason why so many people love this game even though it can lead to death didn't come through). Characters are mostly flat, and sometimes the writing felt stilted, with an over-reliance on dialogue to explain things that happened in the past, which didn't quite feel like realistic conversations, as well as moments that the language seemed to reflect the fact that English isn't Gobert's native tongue. None of those are huge problems, and readers who are looking solely for entertainment rather than planning to write a review might well skip right over them. 

Overall, I think it's an interesting book that will appeal to a lot of teenagers as well as fans of basketball and of Gobert himself. I definitely want to continue the series to see what happens next! 

4 stars!

I read an eARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Winners (Beartown #3) by Fredrik Backman

The Winners (Beartown #3) 

By Fredrik Backman 

Published by Atria Books 

Description: 

Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there’s something about this place that prevents it. The residents continue to grapple with life’s big questions: What is a family? What is a community? And what, if anything, are we willing to sacrifice in order to protect them? 

As the locals of Beartown struggle to overcome the past, great change is on the horizon. Someone is coming home after a long time away. Someone will be laid to rest. Someone will fall in love, someone will try to fix their marriage, and someone will do anything to save their children. Someone will submit to hate, someone will fight, and someone will grab a gun and walk towards the ice rink. 

So what are the residents of Beartown willing to sacrifice for their home? 

 Everything. 

The long-awaited conclusion to the beloved New York Times bestselling and “engrossing” (People) Beartown series—which inspired an HBO series of the same name—follows the small hockey town’s residents as they grapple with change, pain, hope, and redemption. 

Review: 

With as much as I have loved Fredik Backman's previous books (both the ones in this series and all of his other books), there was a lot of pressure going into this one--would I love it as much? Would it meet my expectations? Would it rip me apart and put me back together again as much as his other books? So I was definitely on tenterhooks heading into this one....and I have to say, the first little bit didn't capture me as much as I was hoping. The foreshadowing and hinting and me being so nervous about what was going to happen was bugging me (which isn't necessarily a reflection of the writing but of my emotional investment in these characters!)--but there was no way I wasn't going to finish it. And just like with his other books, Backman broke my heart and made me smile (several times but perhaps no more than with BOBO! Oh my gosh! The cuteness!) and made me think so much about why people would make the choices that they make. That might be what I love most of about Backman's writing--it makes me be empathetic, it makes me see the pieces that make up the people who then make the choices that drive us nuts or hurt us or that heal us and save us. It's really hard to dislike anyone in his books--be disappointed by them? Sure? Want to smack them upside the head sometimes? Absolutely. But actually dislike them? No, because we've seen the glimpses into their who they are and why they are who they and seen ourselves in them, which makes us hope for good things for them--and for ourselves by extension. (There are a couple of characters that are the exception to that, but given more page space, maybe even they would be sympathetic characters.) 

I loved seeing the characters from the previous books as well as meeting new characters in this one, and while I tried to savor this while simultaneously reading quickly because I needed to know what was going to happen, I can't wait to re-read it and to look for the things I missed along the way. (I might have to wait a few months until my heart can handle revisiting it, though!) 

Another fabulous book by Fredrik Backman and definitely one of my favorite books of the year. 

I read an ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Lucy Tries Hockey

Lucy Tries Hockey
Written by Lisa Bowes
Illustrated by James Hearne

When Lucy is ice staking with her family, she sees a hockey game going on and decides she's like to try playing hockey. Enrolling in a hockey clinic, Lucy starts learning hockey basics and has fun playing a new sport.

Bright, colorful illustrations and simple text encourage kids to try sports and to be active. I love the fact that this is a series of books featuring an athletic girl trying out a variety of sports. I hadn't read any of the Lucy Tries books before, but I'll happily be looking for more now.


I read a copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

4 stars.