ezoots's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful book that is a slice of life book of the life on a reservation.
mbondlamberty's review against another edition
4.0
I am torn between 4 and 5 stars. It was a very interesting, inspirational and informative read.
Definitely exposed me to part of the country with which I am not familiar and a culture alien to me (rez ball). Was moved by the injustices of life on the reservation and the challenges facing these students in particular.
Even the fact that the book skipped around from culture, to history, to religion, to sports, to politics worked.
Perhaps it is the ending keeping me from the 5 but not sure. I highly recommend it in any event for a window into Navajo culture in Arizona
Definitely exposed me to part of the country with which I am not familiar and a culture alien to me (rez ball). Was moved by the injustices of life on the reservation and the challenges facing these students in particular.
Even the fact that the book skipped around from culture, to history, to religion, to sports, to politics worked.
Perhaps it is the ending keeping me from the 5 but not sure. I highly recommend it in any event for a window into Navajo culture in Arizona
sarahthereader's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not typically a sports book person, but Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation by Michael Powell was on a list of nonfiction that sparked my interest. I’m glad I read this. It’s more than a story of basketball–it’s a story of people, of places, of hardships and of successes. I enjoyed Powell’s writing.
jenna_cross's review against another edition
5.0
There is so much to learn from this book. I was in awe of the perseverance shown by the kids, coaches, teachers, and family members. An example that sticks vividly in my mind is when a boy wrote his term paper on his cellphone because of the spotty electricity that made his laptop unreliable. Wow. Just living is a form of perseverance on the reservation when there is so much death and loss from the elements, alcohol, domestic violence, lack of basic resources like food, shelter, and medicine, or any combination of these.
sbnich's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 rounded down because it should have been better.
Powell is a talented writer. The story, like the mesas of the Navajo reservation, is beautiful and compelling and haunting, spun with despair and greatness.
However, the narrative was jarring and sometimes hard to follow. It felt like the premise was following a championship bound team of hard scrabble Navajo, interspersed with vignettes and portraits of the land, the people, and the players.
What resulted, however, was a closely collated collection of gorgeous scraps of story, like bits of beautiful paper shoved together in a file.
Even with the jostling of stories, the rough scrabble narrative, it is still worth a read, and a beautiful examination of the Navajo through their love of the game.
Powell is a talented writer. The story, like the mesas of the Navajo reservation, is beautiful and compelling and haunting, spun with despair and greatness.
However, the narrative was jarring and sometimes hard to follow. It felt like the premise was following a championship bound team of hard scrabble Navajo, interspersed with vignettes and portraits of the land, the people, and the players.
What resulted, however, was a closely collated collection of gorgeous scraps of story, like bits of beautiful paper shoved together in a file.
Even with the jostling of stories, the rough scrabble narrative, it is still worth a read, and a beautiful examination of the Navajo through their love of the game.
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
Like all good nonfiction sports stories, it's not really about the sport. It's about the culture surrounding it. In this book, we get to watch a Navajo Nation basketball team seek glory on the court during a tough season. The story follows the individuals lightly, instead focusing on what it means to grow up in this part of Arizona at this time in history, particularly as it comes to the challenges of modern Native life. There is a lot of pain and hurt, as well as a lot of hope -- and it's through basketball so many can rally around and cheer for something outside of personal challenges.
Powell's writing is smooth and engaging, and though it's not from the perspective of a Navajo writer, Powell spent time on the reservation and clearly worked hard to bring as many of those voices to the story as possible. He does it well, and I'd put this book up there with the (myriad!) other great nonfiction sports stories that look at the power a collective game can have on an otherwise challenged community.
The audiobook is fine -- Darrell Dennis is clearly as enamored with the story as Powell is and that comes through in his performance.
Powell's writing is smooth and engaging, and though it's not from the perspective of a Navajo writer, Powell spent time on the reservation and clearly worked hard to bring as many of those voices to the story as possible. He does it well, and I'd put this book up there with the (myriad!) other great nonfiction sports stories that look at the power a collective game can have on an otherwise challenged community.
The audiobook is fine -- Darrell Dennis is clearly as enamored with the story as Powell is and that comes through in his performance.