Sooley
Publisher,Hodder & Stoughton
Publication Date,
Format, Paperback
Weight, 200 g
No. of Pages,
Shelf: Fiction Books / Literature / Literary Fiction
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ONE MAN
Seventeen-year-old Samuel Sooleyman comes from a village in South Sudan, a war-torn country where one third of the population is a refugee. His great love is basketball: his prodigious leap and lightning speed make him an exceptional player. And it may also bring him his big chance: he has been noticed by a coach taking a youth team to the United States.
ONE HOPE
If he gets through the tournament, Samuel's life will change beyond recognition. But it's the longest of long shots. His talent is raw and uncoached. There are hundreds of better-known players ahead of him. And he must leave his family behind, at least at the beginning.
ONE CHANCE
As American success beckons, devastating news reaches Samuel from home. Caught between his dream and the nightmare unfolding thousands of miles away, 'Sooley', as he's nicknamed by his classmates, must make hard choices about his future. This quiet, dedicated boy must do what no other player has achieved in the history of his chosen game: become a legend in twelve short months.
I'm a fan of Grisham's stories but I didn't enjoy this story as much, not because it wasn't well-written, but rather because it left me feeling sad and disturbed. A young innocent was propelled into a world of possibilities and undreamed-of wealth, He was on the cusp of greatness, but in a single act of youthful stupidity, he ended up another victim of drugs and all that bright talent was simply snuffed out. It had a happy ending of sorts with the rescue of Sooley's family and the recognition of a budding talent in one of Sooley's brothers, but one can't help but feel that more should be done to protect young athletes in a similar situation as Sooley who was out of his depth.