Book Review: Boy21 by Matthew Quick
I am a fan of Matthew Quick's adult novel Silver Lining Playbook. When I saw this in our school library and read the summary, I thought that this would be a hit for many of our sports fanatic boys.
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| Goodreads.com |
Summary by Goodreads:
Basketball has always been an escape for Finley. He lives in gray, broken Bellmont, a town ruled by the Irish Mob, drugs, violence, and racially charged rivalries. At home, he takes care of his disabled grandfather, and at school he’s called “White Rabbit”, the only white kid on the varsity basketball team. He’s always dreamed of getting out somehow with his girlfriend, Erin. But until then, when he puts on his number 21, everything seems to make sense.
Russ has just moved to the neighborhood. A former teen basketball phenom from a privileged home, his life has been turned upside down by tragedy. Cut off from everyone he knows, he now answers only to the name Boy21—his former jersey number—and has an unusual obsession with outer space.
As their final year of high school brings these two boys together, “Boy21” may turn out to be the answer they both need.
Boy21 was not what I expected, yet I really enjoyed it. I originally thought it would be solely about basketball, but when you get down to the meat of the story, it is more about friendships and working through conflict. In the beginning the focus is on Finley's friendship/relationship with Erin. They both love each other and love basketball. They dream that basketball will be their way out of Bellmont. When Russ Washington (aka Boy21) moves to town, coach asks Finley to take him under his wings. Finley is a loyal person and battles this internal conflict of respecting his coach's wishes and knowing that befriending Russ could cause him to lose his starting spot on the basketball. Throughout Boy21 I fell more in love with the characters, their own individual demons and dreams, as well as how they connected with one another. This is another one I can't wait to share with students next semester!
Russ has just moved to the neighborhood. A former teen basketball phenom from a privileged home, his life has been turned upside down by tragedy. Cut off from everyone he knows, he now answers only to the name Boy21—his former jersey number—and has an unusual obsession with outer space.
As their final year of high school brings these two boys together, “Boy21” may turn out to be the answer they both need.
Boy21 was not what I expected, yet I really enjoyed it. I originally thought it would be solely about basketball, but when you get down to the meat of the story, it is more about friendships and working through conflict. In the beginning the focus is on Finley's friendship/relationship with Erin. They both love each other and love basketball. They dream that basketball will be their way out of Bellmont. When Russ Washington (aka Boy21) moves to town, coach asks Finley to take him under his wings. Finley is a loyal person and battles this internal conflict of respecting his coach's wishes and knowing that befriending Russ could cause him to lose his starting spot on the basketball. Throughout Boy21 I fell more in love with the characters, their own individual demons and dreams, as well as how they connected with one another. This is another one I can't wait to share with students next semester!
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