Sooley
You already know, it’s another book review by a book written by John Grisham. The book starts with
Samuel Sooleyman in the small village of Lotta in South Sudan. He establishes himself as the best
basketball player in his village. He is invited to try out for the under-18 national team which travels to
America for a showcase tournament. Samuel shows off his athletic ability, but he lacks technical
basketball skills. Sadly he is only 6 foot 2 and doesn’t have the dribbling skills to play point guard.
The coaches all want to cut him from the team except Ecko Lam. Ecko saw his determination and hard
work, believing he’ll improve he makes the team. Happily, he returns to his village until his bus is
attacked by raiders. He witnesses a firefight when hostile gunfire is exchanged between two opposing
military. Despite this, he makes it home safely, and a month later leaves for America to participate in
the tournament. Throughout the tournament, every player was given playing time to show themselves
in front of the American scouts. This led to them getting beaten up from other teams knocking them out
of the tournament. Tensions stir just before the last game as Lotta is attacked by raiders who kill his
father and kidnap his sister. With no home to go to, as the rest of his family is still in the refugee camp,
Ecko convinces Lonnie Britt. Lonnie Britt has to go through many legal loopholes to attempt to get
Samuel to the States. Will Samuel go to the States? What will be of his basketball career? Will his
family be safe?
I suggest reading this book because it reflects the upcoming struggles of an international basketball
player. I give it a rating of 9/10. One of the better books written by John Grisham.
- Darshan
Great Post! I also really like John Grisham, this seems really interesting because I never knew he had a basketball book. What was your first John Grisham book?
ReplyDeleteThe Pelican Brief was my first John Grisham book, but The Runaway Jury is my personal favorite.
DeleteHi Darshan, this seems like an interesting book. All the raids and unpredictability is bound to make a good book. And just clarifying, Lotta gets attacked by raiders in the United States?
ReplyDeleteNo, Lotta is a village in South Sudan. It is attacked while Samuel is in a tournament in the States. It's a little hard to read.
Delete"Only six foot two"
ReplyDeleteI notice that you like to read books by John Grisham a lot. I've never read any of his books, but is there anything about his writing that gets you particularly interested? Nice post!
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I never knew basketball players would have so much backstory. This is really interesting, and it's cool how you have a personal favorite author. Are you planning on reading his other books that you haven't read yet?
ReplyDelete