Hope A school, a team, a dream

*Starred Review* As he did in Fall River Dreams: A Team's Quest for Glory a Town's Search for Its Soul (1994), sports journalist Reynolds spends a season with a high-school basketball team, this time in inner-city Providence, Rhode Island. Hope High School was once a thriving and diverse school, but today it is a struggling institution in a disadvantaged neighborhood. Dave Nyblom is the head basketball coach, but he is also trainer, counselor, caterer, and janitor to a group of kids trying to compete for a state basketball championship. His players are assailed by family troubles and subject to neighborhood violence, but Nyblom's brand of tough love seems to resonate with the players (the team motto is AFP Argue, Fight, Pout). Reynolds' style is intimate and thought-provoking, and his conversations with players and coaches offer insight into their dreams and the outlook they have on basketball and life. He also presents a historical primer on the Rhode Island schools and the changing political landscape that has deeply affected Providence's neighborhoods. A basketball book but also a candid look at inner-city life that should garner it a broad audience.--Clark, Craig Copyright 2015 Booklist

In this uneven book, longtime Providence Journal sports columnist Reynolds (Fall River Dreams) follows a basketball squad at Hope High School in Providence, R.I., a once-proud school that has been ravaged by gangs, unstable families, and indifference. At Hope, it's a small miracle if the kids attend class. Amid the chaos, head coach Dave Nyblom, who regularly brings food for his underfed players, fields a competitive squad. Nyblom is part disciplinarian and part father figure to these rudderless boys, most of whom probably won't appreciate his attention until they're gone. Early on, Reynolds expresses a keen interest to learn more about the students, but while examining the challenges Nyblom faces as a coach, Reynolds rarely follows the kids beyond the gym. That distance, coupled with the columnist's voice-from-the-mountaintop approach, reduces Nyblom and his players to footnotes in a tired narrative of a white knight in the urban jungle. So much about these kids-who they are and how they get through each day-remains unexplained and underreported. Reynolds says he cares for Hope's players, but he never shows it. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Journalist Reynolds (Success is a Choice) follows the 2012-13 basketball season of Hope High School, an inner-city school in Providence, RI, in his effort to understand the challenges and dreams of young athletes. Not the typical inspirational sports narrative, the team's return to the state playoffs seems impossible as they start off the season 0-4. Between practices that are plagued by laziness and games by selfishness, players must ride two city buses to school and avoid gang violence, while eating one meal or less a day. Meanwhile, between the yelling and pleading to work harder, coaches provide food and equipment out of their own pockets, assist alumni in getting into college, and attend the funerals of former players. Led by Coach Nybolm, the team must overcome injuries, drug issues, and suspensions in order to turn their season around. Intermixed with stories of the team's season, Reynolds examines how the effects of violence, poverty, race, and the education system have impacted the lives of Hope's players. -VERDICT Although repetitious at points, Reynolds's book succeeds in providing a glimpse into the daily struggles of inner-city players and their coaches. Recommended for readers who work with young athletes.-Chris Wilkes, Tazewell Cty. P.L., VA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.