Sooley
A Novel
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4.1 • 199 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • John Grisham is at the top of his game in this novel of a raw, young basketball player with big dreams—and even bigger challenges off the court.
“Grisham is about as good a storyteller as we’ve got.”—The New York Times Book Review
Samuel “Sooley” Sooleymon is just seventeen years old when he and his South Sudanese teammates come to the United States to compete in a basketball tournament. The opportunity to be scouted by college coaches is a dream come true. Though he is an amazing athlete, his technical game needs work.
And then Sooley receives devastating news from home: as a result of the civil war raging across South Sudan, his father is dead, his sister is missing, and his mother and two younger brothers are in a refugee camp. Moved by his story, the coach of North Carolina Central offers him a scholarship. Sooley moves to Durham, enrolls in classes, and prepares to sit out his freshman season.
But Sooley has a fierce determination to improve. He works tirelessly on his game, and soon he’s dominating in practice. With the Central team losing and plagued by injuries, Sooley is called off the bench. But how far can he take his team? And will success allow him to save his family?
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
John Grisham is a master of high-stakes drama. With this powerful novel, he takes on some of the most vital questions of our time through the story of a desperate young refugee, Samuel “Sooley” Sooleymon. Sooley gets the chance of a lifetime when he’s invited to travel from South Sudan to a basketball camp in the United States. But while the talented 17-year-old is playing for scouts, his village back home is decimated by a raging civil war, leaving his family broken and stranding Sooley thousands of miles away. This is so much more than a sports story. We felt every pang of hope and fear that drives Sooley to make it into the NBA so that he’ll finally have the resources to save the people he loves. Grisham paints a vivid portrait of the horrors of war, but also of the unbreakable human spirit. Sooley is a deeply moving read about the power of hope in the face of even the worst tragedy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Grisham (A Time for Mercy) shoots an airball in this sappy novel about a South Sudanese teen's journey from his impoverished home to the world of American sports. Samuel Sooleymon, 17, described as the best basketball player in his village of Lotta, is invited to try out for South Sudan's national basketball team amid the civil war's relative peace. Despite undeveloped passing and shooting skills, Sooleymon's natural athleticism appeals to the national team's coach, Ecko Lam. With Sooleymon away in the U.S. for an exhibition game, a rebel rampage through Lotta is described in grisly detail, with the fate of his family uncertain. When Sooleymon learns of the attack, he's determined to return home, but Lam convinces him there's nothing he can do. Eventually, he accepts a full scholarship at North Carolina Central, where he's nicknamed Sooley, dedicates himself to practicing, and determines to gain attention from the NBA so he can earn the money needed to bring his family to the U.S. As Sooley's star begins to rise, though, Grisham tosses in a jarring tragic episode, and clunky foreshadowing and thin characters, such as Sooley's love interest, don't help. This is a disappointing outing from a writer capable of much better.
Customer Reviews
Fabulous read
Heartwarming well written
Ugh
Grisham’s disaster. Disappointing.
Really not bad for what I think
This book was very. After purchasing new shoes that I really need I loved this book. If only for the ending it was and will always be. I fell asleep woke up had breakfast. I might read it again but I don’t know