This book was a 4 to 4.5 stars for me and was unexpected in many ways. It's a book about football in the sense that the sport is central to the book and the lives of the main characters. Indeed, there are portions of chapters that go into details about specific football plays and strategies that went over my head (and I don't think you really need to know the sport really well in order to get the gist of what's happening). But ultimately this book is about how morality, family and love intersect, influence (or get bulldozed) by tribalism, group think, toxic masculinity, and cults of personality. This was a well-written book that mixed rich imagery of distinct settings (from the Southwest desert to a massive football complex) with difficult and depictions of abuse and savage behavior. There's a lot of idealism throughout the book even in the bleak portions where there seems to be more despair than hope. Ultimately this was a book that left me to continue pondering even after the last page.
Many thanks to Greenleaf and Bookish First for a copy of the book.
Many thanks to Greenleaf and Bookish First for a copy of the book.