69 pages • 2 hours read
Hoops
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
Published by Ember, a Random House Children’s Books imprint, Hoops is a fast-paced young adult novel about basketball. Originally written and published by the American author Walter Dean Myers in 1983, Hoops has remained a popular text due to its relatable protagonist, Lonnie, and Myers’ realistic portrayals of the struggles Lonnie faces. Myers is a prolific, highly regarded author; Hoops was one of his four publications cited when he was awarded the esteemed ALA Margaret A. Edwards Award in 1994 for significant contributions to the field of young adult literature.
Plot Summary
Hoops is narrated by Lonnie Jackson, a young Black man living in Harlem. Lonnie splits his time between his mother’s house and a bedroom at a local motel, the Grant, where he works. A rising basketball star, Lonnie has had many experiences outside of school and off the court that have negatively impacted him: He has been in jail, he sold drugs, and he watched his father leave his mother. Throughout the book, Lonnie struggles to find a path that will allow him to find true success and happiness given the environment he lives in.
Much of the novel follows Lonnie and a team of other Black teenage boys as they compete in a new basketball tournament.
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By Walter Dean Myers
