This Thing of Ours

Starred review from March 1, 2025
A Black basketball star starts his senior year by pivoting to find his true voice in the classroom. Ossie Brown was destined for greatness before an injury in a game ended his high school basketball career. Ossie feels like his future was stolen--and on top of that, his girlfriend dumps him. Grandma Alice comforts him with a reminder that basketball doesn't define him; still, the game helped Ossie cope with his fractured relationship with his widowed mother. A new opportunity opens up when Ms. Hunt, Ossie's Black English teacher at mostly white Braxton Academy, where he has a full-ride scholarship, tells him about the Mark Twain Creative Writing Program. A vivid dream in which his father speaks to him inspires Ossie's application essay. He connects with Luis and Naima, the only other participants who aren't white, but agitation by conservative students against a "woke agenda" leads to Ms. Hunt's replacement by a teacher who exclusively uses texts by white authors. Ossie's online attempt to support Naima's protest has unintended consequences, and he's forced to reevaluate his solo activism. The central characters' relationships will engage readers, and Ossie's dilemma will resonate with anyone whose good intentions have gone sideways. Committed, pragmatic, and reflective Ossie ultimately learns from Grandma Alice's wise counsel: "This thing of ours--life, you see--is only as beautiful as the bonds we make as we journey through it." A thought-provoking exploration of storytelling dynamics in a social media-driven society.(Fiction. 14-18)

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April 1, 2025
Grades 9-12 After Ossie suffers a torn ACL injury at the state championship, he is suddenly unmoored from the game he built his life around. Basketball isn't his only talent, however; he is also a gifted writer. Joining his school's special writing program, Ossie finds himself inspired by authors like James Baldwin and finds solace in the lessons of his teacher, Ms. Hunt. Sadly, some other students in the class--upper-crust prep kids--don't see the value in Ms. Hunt's curriculum and begin a movement to get her fired. As tensions rise, Ossie begins to consider how he, with his large online following, could support Ms. Hunt, but he quickly learns that the noblest of gestures may result in the direst of consequences. Ossie is a refreshingly complex character who is aware of how others--the school's athletics department, college activists safe in their ivory towers--want to use him for his athletic gifts and the fan base it has garnered him. Readers will be inspired by how he learns to stand up against the disguised race-class fissures that have long existed in his school.

COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 18, 2025

Gr 9 Up-Basketball standout Ossie Brown, who is Black, is back for his senior year at Braxton Academy, still on scholarship despite a career-ending knee injury. He's lost so much: his identity as a baller; the dream that he would at last realize the potential of his dad, a college player who tragically lost his life to an overdose; the attention of his erstwhile fans and teammates; as well as his girlfriend Laura, who is Asian American. Seizing an opportunity for a non-athletic scholarship, Ossie applies for a spot in a competitive writing program with one of the school's only Black teachers. Here he meets his soulmates, Dominican American Luis, the wealthy son of a former NFL star, and confident, fashionable Naima, whose father was beaten by police at a peaceful protest. When Ossie uses his remaining social media following to amplify messages of protest from the writing program, the situation blows up and angry white supremacists provoke a riot at the school. Many references to Black American culture are woven throughout, including writers James Baldwin and Octavia Butler and musicians Solange and Thundercat. A deep dive into the ways prejudice and oppression overlap and the lush portrayal of the contours and connections within a Black community in Yonkers, NY, take the story in decidedly critical directions, earnestly examining motivations and assumptions. However, the complex narrative careens to a terse climax and pat conclusion. VERDICT A rich view into the many ways oppression marginalizes people and a loving portrait of an urban Black community, recommended for high school collections.-Bob Hassett

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