Boy 21

Boy 21

By Matthew Quick

Little, Brown, and Company (2012)      ISBN: 9780316127974

* 2014 Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifelong Learners

Boy 21 is a story about friendship, love, and basketball. The main character, 18-year old Finley McManus, has always been a quiet boy. With his mother having died eight years ago, Finley pours all of his time and energy into basketball. He, along with his long-time girlfriend, Erin, devote tireless hours to their conditioning and training. At the beginning of his senior year, Finley’s coach asks him to do him a favor: Meet and befriend a basketball superstar, Russ, and help him transition to life in Bellmont, NJ, a town notorious for its drug dealers, gang bangers, and poverty. Torn between helping Russ, who is struggling to come to grips with the murder of his parents and his recent transplant from Los Angeles and potentially losing his starting position on the basketball team, Finley begins to realize that people—not a game—matter most. Through his friendship with Russ, also known as Boy 21, Finley comes to terms with his own mother’s death and what life beyond Bellmont might offer.

Quantitative: Flesch-Kincade Ease—91.2; Flesch-Kincade Grade Level—4.8

Qualitative: Based on language and the linear plotline, students as young as the fourth grade could understand Boy 21. However, due to content, this book would be best for students in the upper grades. Boy 21 addresses such topics as drugs, gangs, violence, police evasion, and murder, younger students may not have the emotional or mental maturity to process these topics. Students, depending on how adept a reader they are, may have difficulty understanding Russ’s focus on outer space. Russ’s fixation on the stars and constellations could be misinterpreted by novice readers.

Standards: RL 9/10.1-6

Subjects: English; Health—Relationships; Health—Mental Health; Health—Trauma; Sports

Curriculum Suggestions:

The mental and emotional struggle of both Russ and Finley demonstrates the depths to which students who have endured a traumatic event bury it only to cope with it privately. Because of the novel’s connections to sports, race, and the death of parents, teachers could examine healthy ways of dealing with tragedy as well as researching the impacts of students being involved in extracurricular activities such as sports programs. Gale-Cengage’s Opposing Viewpoints database, provides portal pages that offer students access to credible and reliable articles that speak directly to the major issues Boy 21 addresses. Overall, I see this book fitting best on an outside reading list, especially since the book appears on this year’s list of outstanding books for college bound and lifelong learners. Teachers and teacher-librarians could also encourage students to read other books by Matthew Quick including the Oscar award-winning story, The Silver Linings Playbook.

Digital Resources:

YALSA--http://www.ala.org/yalsa/2014-outstanding-books-college-bound-and-lifelong-learners  

Personal Thoughts: I really enjoyed Boy 21. This story really speaks to young boys, especially those living in communities where gangs, drugs, and violence are prominent. I see this being a great recommendation for struggling and reluctant readers. 

*Meets the “Reading for Pleasure HS/MS” requirement