Books I've Read: Don't Know Tough

 

This probably seems like an odd book for me to pick up given I have no interest in sports whatsoever, have only the most basic understanding of American Football and don't tend to sympathise with born-again Christians.

Having read it now, I still think it's an odd book for me to have picked up.  I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.

Set in Arkansas, the book opens with Billy, a poor, trailer park kid whose only real talent is playing football.  And even on the football field he's kind of a liability if he loses his temper.  His narration is in dialect which was initially a little hard to read, but I quickly found myself sinking into his rhythm of speech.  In fact, when the story switched to a new POV in the second chapter, I found it a little jarring.

The other main POV character is Trent, the high school's new football coach who has just moved from California with his reluctant family in tow.  Trent is burning to be a success here after the team he coached back home suffered such humiliating losses, he was fired from his position.After seeing Billy play, Trent knows this big, angry kid is the key to having a winning season.

But keeping Billy on the team might be harder than he initially thought and when he discovers the reason behind Billy's uncontrollable rage, he makes it his mission to save the kid, body and soul.

When Billy's abusive step-father is found dead in his trailer, all eyes are on Billy as the murderer. With the pressure of the football playoffs mounting and fear of being imprisoned for life becoming a reality, no one is getting out of this town unscathed.

For a book written by a former football player, there was very little football in the book.  I still know as little about the game as I did going in.  

And I found the characters difficult to engage with because they all seemed to be just "types".  The born again Christian trying to save his soul through rescuing the abused young man whose life reminds him of his own before being saved.  The unhappy wife whose father gave young Trent all his chances.  The innocent young daughter who gets caught up in the whole mess.  The poor wife who stays with her abusive husband because she has no other choices.  No one felt like a real person with real thoughts and emotions.  Even Billy, whose voice is the strongest throughout the book.  And don;t get me started on Billy's older brother Jesse...

I also felt like the mystery aspect of the story was kind of buried beneath all the suffering and angst going on around it.  No one seemed very intent on finding out what really happened to the dude, even the Sheriff.

So while there were aspects of this book I quite liked, I can't really say I really enjoyed it much.  I felt like there was a really compelling story in there somewhere, but it wasn't realised by the characters as they were drawn.

Shame, really...

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the bulrb:

Friday Night Lights meets Southern Gothic, this thrilling debut is for readers of Megan Abbott and Wiley Cash.

In Denton, Arkansas, the fate of the high school football team rests on the shoulders of Billy Lowe, a volatile but talented running back. Billy comes from an extremely troubled home: a trailer park where he is terrorized by his unstable mother’s abusive boyfriend. Billy takes out his anger on the field, but when his savagery crosses a line, he faces suspension.

Without Billy Lowe, the Denton Pirates can kiss their playoff bid goodbye. But the head coach, Trent Powers, who just moved from California with his wife and two children for this job, has more than just his paycheck riding on Billy’s bad behavior. As a born-again Christian, Trent feels a divine calling to save Billy—save him from his circumstances, and save his soul.

Then Billy’s abuser is found murdered in the Lowe family trailer, and all evidence points toward Billy. Now nothing can stop an explosive chain of violence that could tear the whole town apart on the eve of the playoffs.