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john grisham

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High school All-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable football dynasty.

As Coach Rake's 'boys' sit in the bleachers waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they replay the old glories, and try to decide once and for all whether they love Eddie Rake – or hate him. For Neely Crenshaw, still struggling to come to terms with his explosive relationship with the Coach, his dreams of a great career in the NFL, and the choices he made as a young man, the stakes could not be higher.

229 pages, Paperback

First published May 7,2003
Literary awards
lincoln award, 

This edition

Format
229 pages, Paperback
Published
July 15, 2004 by Arrow
ISBN
ASIN
Language
English

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About the author

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john grisham

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John Grisham is the author of fifty consecutive #1 bestsellers, which have been translated into nearly fifty languages. His recent books include Framed, Camino Ghosts, and A Time for Mercy, which is being developed by HBO as a limited series.

Grisham is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honored with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction.

When he's not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system.

John lives on a farm in central Virginia.

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Community Reviews

Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
31(31%)
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30(30%)
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39(39%)
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100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
DerpyYume
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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*I don’t review favorite authors*

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Grisham novel, and I forgot how much I enjoyed his storytelling. This was a fun sporty and quick read about greatness, regret, forgiveness, and life.
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Alfredo294
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I doubt if American football is a sport I'd like to watch live.To me,it is a bunch of guys falling in a heap and breaking each other's bones.

I was,therefore,surprised how much I enjoyed this book.This is good storytelling by Grisham.A high school football coach is about to die,and the players he trained,reminisce about him,and the old days.The coach hadn't made it easy for them.

For a Grisham book,this is pretty short.
It was almost as if I was sitting in the bleachers,cheering for that high school football team,which had such a tough taskmaster as a coach.
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SophieSquid
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This was a football book about the death of a coach and an alumni honoring him. At least that's what I got out of it. I was honestly kinda confused about what was going on.
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RomanzAntica
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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AudioBook: Before I listened to this book, I checked out the rating at Goodreads. It was below my benchmark of 3.50 but since I was on a mission to read/listen to all Grisham's books I gave it a try. It was well worth it.
Being 65 I grew up in a time that no longer exists. Life was pretty good for me and all the adults in my life grew with less. My community, Santa Clara County, Ca., had many choices for life's attention, yet sports was still revered. I played sports from 10 to 16; not the star but just making the teams. I observed some pretty good athletes and good coaches. After high school I entered the army and the team mentality that I had learned gave me a leg-up during that experience.
In this novella, Grisham takes on sports thru it's participants and observers.
One might call this an allegory. Why sports? My thoughts are that the emotional and physical training is important to the survival of our community. Think back 1000 years in Britain. The "best" of the community had to prepare for an inevitable place in a shield wall, where they fought for survival. This is still in our cultural makeup and exhibited by participants and supporters. This is now being challenged by "everyone gets a trophy" sports. Think about this when you see people out of shape and still wanting to be associated with the competition so they buy team stuff and hire mercenaries to fight their wars. No skin in the game.
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Duevid
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This is a novella or a short story, not a novel.

When you're a best selling novelist you can get anything published.

This is a homage to those American high school coaches who inspired their teams. Nothing new or interesting here.

Listen to "Glory Days" by Springsteen and he says more on this subject in three minutes than Grisham does in 180 pages.
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Hotaku97
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Neely Crenshaw comes back to his hometown to say goodbye to a beloved coach. The story unfolds to reveal his greatest victories and biggest regrets. An enjoyable read for those who love football.
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Abderahmanyasser
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I do own Grisham books, but only because family members keep buying them for me on birthday's and xmas's. I smile politely and thank them, wishing they would include the receipt. I have read this, and i don't recommend it unless you are 10 years old and want to start reading adult fiction. Dull, dull, dull. How this man is a best-selling writer is reflection of today's society's IQ.
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Coralira
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Holy majoly! I was so glad this book was short! It was lame-o.

Imagine the movie Varsity Blues, then add about 15 years with the full cast of characters coming back to town because the death of the former coach is imminent. That is the plot summary in a nutshell.

Cheeeesy.
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