Bleachers by John Grisham

Bleachers, by John Grisham, is a book you will not be able to put down. It is an easy read with a lot of detail and heart. This fictional suspense paperback is about an old football team getting together to reflect on their past memories playing on the field, while they wait in anticipation to see if their old coach, Rake, will soon die. The old team members from all the previous years join the players on the bleachers where they all played at one point in time. You do not need to like football, or know a lot about it, to enjoy this book. It is overflowing with team bonding and old memories of high school. The story takes place in the town of Messina. Messina is an old small town in which everyone knows everyone and their past. If you go to the local store they know you by your first name. It is the kind of town where if you do something in a minute, the rest of the town will find out in two. Since Messina is such an old and small town, the one thing that brings it together, as a whole, is football. Football is the main component of this town. If you play football, you are a superstar. Wearing a green uniform made you feel better than everyone else; hell, we were better than everyone else. No one knew the members of the band or other clubs. But, if you were on the football team, you were legend. Take Neely Crenshaw for example. He is the main character in this book and he represents all the football players who had ever played for Coach Eddie Rake. He was an idol in high school, the number one quarterback in the state and he was a hero to the town. Everyone in town would look up to him; the guys wanted to be him and the girls wanted to be with him. Because he injured his knee in a college football game, he was never allowed to play football again. He left his hometown of Messina and took off for seven years never thinking he would return. On the other hand, he would never know he would have to return to visit his dying old coach, Coach Rake. Rake was not a nice coach. He was more on the lines of a strict coach and you would constantly run if you messed up. Neely did not know why he came back to visit Rake. He didn’t like him that much, along with the other teammates. Also, they were not the best of friends. I can’t believe I am even here right now. I didn’t like Eddie Rake but I had the feeling of wanting to come home and see for myself. Besides, he was not the only player who came back to the hometown to visit their dying coach. All of the players who had ever played on the field went up to the bleachers to reminisce about the old memories. One teammate even brought a radio and a tape of an old game. They all sat together and remembered their high school days in Messina. The old reporter announced the hike; there goes Crenshaw with the big touchdown pass caught by Jesse White in the end zone. TOUCHDOWN SPARTAINS! From the current football team in Messina, to the 1959 team members, and to the entire town, the home stadium bleachers were filled at his funeral. The funeral took place on the field where Rake had coached for 30 years. Like I said before, this book is an amazing view on team bonding and the way old football players can get together and remember the good old days. You will enjoy this book and it will make you remember and look back on your own high school memories. Other books written by John Grisham include A Time To Kill, The Appeal and Playing For Pizza. These books will contain the same characteristics as Bleachers. His writing is phenomenal, filled with as much detail as possible. It will make you feel like you are a character in the book!

Amy B.