Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court

Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court
By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Little, Brown and Co, 289 pages, Young Adult Nonfiction

An autobiography about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his life growing up in New York, becoming the basketball star he's known to be, and getting involved in the world around him as an activist for social change.

Although not as focused on basketball as I was expecting this to be, Abdul-Jabbar has some interesting things to say about his experience growing up as a young black man in Harlem during the days of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Unfortunately, most of the points he raises are still concerns that exist today. I thought this was a good companion piece to The Hate U Give, with the bonus of not having as much sensitive content. Plus, the story of Abdul-Jabbar's rise to basketball fame, and the work he put in to get there, is an interesting addition to the story.

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