Hoop Dreams Deflated

By Yani

With a crack-whore for a mother, it’s no wonder that life for Davion and his younger sister Janaya, was everything but a crystal stair. Left in a dirty house by themselves with only the roaches to look after them as their tummies rumbled, the two anxiously await their mother to return with food for them to eat. Seeing LeBron James play in one of his first NBA games awakened Davion’s passion for the sport, but hearing his baby sister’s tearful pleas for something to eat makes him vow to become a super star athlete, so he and his sister would never again see days like the ones they were currently living. While salvaging slices of bread from a moldy loaf in the refrigerator, the two manage to make jelly sandwiches, only for the electric to be turned off. They are now alone in the dark, cold and hungry. A phone call placed to their father leads to their rescue and Davion and Janaya are placed in his custody.
His mother’s dope fiend habits wreak havoc in his young life, causing him to get into countless fights while losing all respect for the woman he now only refers to as Joselyn. But a heated confrontation between the two leads to a startling revelation that it was his father who turned Joselyn onto coke and created her habit that ultimately led to her overdose, with Janaya and Davion being the ones to find her. The respect, love and admiration Davion once had for the man he affectionately referred to as Pops, quickly diminishes after that dreadful day, and tragedy seems to make itself right at home in their lives.
Holding on to his hoop dreams, Davion works hard at perfecting his craft with his sister following in his footsteps. But with tragedy striking around them constantly, the dream begins to slowly slip from his grip. Davion soon learns that everyone is not who they seem as he suspects his step-mother played a part in a murder that nearly destroys the family. Through Davion’s eyes, he tells his story down to the final seconds of his fourth quarter when it’s too late for him to realize that his suspicions were misplaced... as was his trust.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Yani
• Release date: Apr 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370802517

Yani

Born in 1984 and raised in both North Philadelphia and the Germantown sections of Philadelphia, Yani knew she would be a writer at a young age. Starting with short versions of her own Tom & Jerry stories at only 5, Yani put her skill and talent to use in her grade school classes by writing other short stories to entertain her teachers and peers. Poetry became an interest to her at the age of 13 when she discovered her ability to free-style lyrical flows. Her first poem "Incomplete Dream" was published in University City's High School newspaper, but her rise to small fame in the school came after performing one of her best poetic pieces during a high school talent show, being the only student to receive a standing ovation. Her poem "Why Tyrone Can't Read" is still remembered by students and staff who run into her almost 13 years later. Yani has performed her poetry on the local hip-hop and R&B radio station Power 99FM, and other open-mic nights throughout Philadelphia. Though her ability to combine rhymes and metaphors together comes easily, her desire to become a published novelist was stronger than anything else. She wrote A Thug's Redemption at the age of 15.

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