Bleachers
By John Grisham


One day during class our teacher gave us a list of books that we might be interested in. One of them happened to be Bleachers by John Grisham. I soon picked up the book and was intrigued by the first paragraph. The way Grisham describes the characters and stories; it feels like you are a part of the small town Messina, Missouri.

The main character, Eddie Rake, has been the Messina football coach for 34 years and is now on his deathbed. The book begins a few days before Eddie is to die. The entire town is in sorrow just waiting the day their hero will be lost. Football in Messina was like no other sport. Every Friday night the entire town would head down to Rake Field to watch the game and cheer on their heroes, the Spartans. The coming death of the legendary Coach Rake draws all the former players back to Messina. His players gather on the bleachers and together remember all of their memories they had out on that glorious field, some good and some bad, but nonetheless they are all a huge part of them. The many stories tell all about the glory days and the life of being a high school football star.
While retelling the stories one of Rake's most well known players, Neely Crenshaw, an all-American quarterback, has to decide, along with the rest of the small town, if he really loved or hated Rake once and for all.

I really loved this book. It helped me realize how much one person can affect a small town. Where everything one person does or says can make or break someone's day. Also, this excellent, well thought out book explains how one person can be so loved and yet so hated by all. I would recommend this fast and easy read to anyone who wants a look at how one town can unite to honor a great legend.