Russell Boudreaux is guy from a very small town of Lousiana, hius only goal is to establish himself in the world of football in order to get out from his situation. Football represents the only way to salvation for these guys from poor region and cities of United States. Russell’s goal is very simple: get a scholarship trhough football to continue his studies in university.
Main character and narrator Rus is impulsive, loyal, and a good son in addition to being a good football player. His parents have scrounged and saved in hopes that Rus will have better opportunities than they had.
However an event changes his life; indeed his close friend gets arrested unfairly and this puts Rus in front of a crucial choice: stay in silence and accept thre system or take some risks and fight for a right cause.
That’s why he decides to kneel during the national anthem to show his protest against a “rigged system”, however this action results him a lot of hate towards him from the local population.
But during the story he founds more and more people on his side, who ask for a better society and who don’t let him fight alone.
This book is very special because it describes really perfectly the American society and his problems tied with racism and racial injustices, it describes also the life of the young boys who come from lower class and how they try to get out of their situations. Indeed it is written by the point of view of a black teeneger boy to make the reader understand better the life of the subjects decribed in the book.
I would advice this book for everyone who would like to read an adventure book based on realistic events and to everyone who would like to understand by a better point of view some issues of American society.