Which is the lesser of our losers?

Anybody got a bracket in which both books really ought to be advancing? Because we'd be happy to give you a spot. We were pretty meh about our first bracket (Ordinary Hazards versus Snapdragon) and are disappointed to be in that situation again. Neither book was awful, but neither was strong. 

American as Paneer Pie has some amazing descriptions of food. The vegetarian dishes Lehka's family prepares are described in some detail; they sound delicious - spicy with layers of flavour. The writing, on the other hand, is bland. Multiple reviewers mentioned not being really hooked until halfway through. Will kids slog through boring for that long? Lots of kids would be able to relate to Lehka's experience as the child of immigrants. Many in our schools would identify with her culturally. Lots of other kids need that window to understand the impact of racial microaggressions. There's important content here and the story had potential, but it needed work.

We also weren't big fans of the protagonist. Lehka is whiny and annoying. Shouldn't a protagonist be likeable? We've noticed that self-absorbed protagonists seem to be a trend. Perhaps it's mimicking our reality, but it's not something we'd like to see encouraged. Avantika would have been a heroine we could get behind.

Dragon Hoops is hard to categorize. It's listed as nonfiction. Is it a memoir? A history of basketball? A sports story? A series of character sketches? It's Gene Luen Yang writing a book about Gene Luen Yang writing a basketball graphic novel, that is, this book. There are sections that are pure nonfiction - the history of basketball, the development of women's basketball, how and why basketball took hold in China, a primer on Sikhism. There are sections that are play-by-plays. There are sections that focus on a particular player or coach. There's hints of a great controversy which never really goes anywhere - as sometimes happens in life. A lot of it's about the author thinking about how to write this book and what to do with his life. Some liked this unique approach. Some found it be amateurish. One of the consequences of this approach is that there is no central conflict. There is no plot arc. Many of us didn't feel connected to the author, the characters, the tale.

In the end we had two votes for Hoops and three for Paneer, mostly because its anti-racist content gives it slightly more to offer. 

Fingers crossed for two gripping reads next round!

Renée, Kelly, Nicole, Lynette, and Kristen