Fast Break by Anjali Joshi follows Arjun, the new kid at school, who finds himself on a path of activism when he speaks out against OmniBoost, a high-sugar energy drink that sponsors the school and negatively affects his performance on the basketball team after he begins drinking it almost every day.

Joshi defies many expected plot points to create an immensely pleasurable and humorous read. If you’re expecting irritating parents and a puberty-fuelled roller coaster of emotions, you won’t find it in this book. Teachers from hell? Nowhere close. Bullies at school? Nope. Arjun makes friends easily; it’s as natural as his good-natured personality. The enemy, however, is all too real: a complacent principal who asks him not to ruffle any feathers out of fear of losing corporate sponsorship that gives the students a cafeteria “straight out of a movie,” with “glowing lights, bright colours, shiny chrome everywhere. Like a buffet-style fast-food restaurant from the future.” It is in stark contrast to the soup, salad, and sandwich options at his previous American school, or his homemade lunches of wholesome biryani and parathas (yum!). But Arjun’s attention to his body wins out and, rightly, he creates more than a kerfuffle.

Joshi’s storytelling is conversational and fast-paced, conveying Arjun’s journey from newbie to athlete-activist with realistic dialogue. Along with his basketball teammates Demar and Jake, Arjun becomes increasingly outspoken about how the sponsored food at his new Canadian school may be making him ill. With the help of his health science teacher, Mr. Rowland, and his friend’s older sister (a popular senior who is also the student body president), Arjun and his friends fight to eat right. It begins when they create a video calling out OmniBoost for Mr. Rowland’s class, which goes viral when posted on social media and attracts the attention of the local news, putting pressure on the principal.

Fast Break does something many middle grade books aspire to do: it is relatable while advocating for a cause that matters to youth. Joshi has outdone herself. Not only is she raising awareness about the lack of healthy options at schools across the country, but through Arjun’s experience she makes the issue worth caring about without being didactic or righteous. It is exceptionally important for athletes to eat well, but in this story, their cause receives the wider attention it deserves.

As someone who always packs a homemade snack and who has also used social media to speak out against institutional complacency, Joshi’s story moved me to tears. In writing about a teenage boy who wants the best for himself and his body, Joshi also shows us what a good education comprises: teachers who encourage their students to think for themselves, students who stand up for what’s right, and a community who will listen – despite the smug contentment of the higher-ups unwilling to make changes for their students. Fast Break is an astonishingly immersive, relevant, and evergreen read.