This book is deceptively simple: structured around the quest of a school basketball team to win state. But on the journey, Yang gently leads us into discussions of racism, betrayal, and teaching and eventually, we realise the book is all about him, in the best possible way. I find it hard to understand how American schools sacrifice so much of players' childhoods/adolescence at the altar of sport, and Yang captures the dilemma well. At one point a coach explains, for example, that his mean-seeming decisions to hold kids off the court for minor rule infractions are necessary to make sure the kids can cope with losing everything overnight: a reality they will face sooner or later. Many of the kids had moved to be in the school district - one had changed continents - and the pressure to perform on everyone is intense. At the same time, the deep love across the team infects Yang, and he infuses this personal growth into the book. It is a pleasure to read, aided by Yang's fourth wall manipulation.