Sooley: A Novel

ISBN: 0593359526

Author: Grisham, John

Condition: New

Product Description#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER John Grisham takes you to a different kind of court in his first basketball novel. Samuel Sooley Sooleymon is a raw, young talent with big hoop dreams-and even bigger challenges off the court.Hard to put down ... the pages turn quickly ... building to a climax that wont leave readers doubting whether this is a John Grisham novel. -Associated PressIn the summer of his seventeenth year, Samuel Sooleymon gets the chance of a lifetime: a trip to the United States with his South Sudanese teammates to play in a showcase basketball tournament. He has never been away from home, nor has he ever been on an airplane. The opportunity to be scouted by dozens of college coaches is a dream come true.Samuel is an amazing athlete, with speed, quickness, and an astonishing vertical leap. The rest of his game, though, needs work, and the American coaches are less than impressed.During the tournament, Samuel receives devastating news from home: A civil war is raging across South Sudan, and rebel troops have ransacked his village. His father is dead, his sister is missing, and his mother and two younger brothers are in a refugee camp.Samuel desperately wants to go home, but its just not possible. Partly out of sympathy, the coach of North Carolina Central offers him a scholarship. Samuel moves to Durham, enrolls in classes, joins the team, and prepares to sit out his freshman season. There is plenty of more mature talent and he isnt immediately needed.But Samuel has something no other player has: a fierce determination to succeed so he can bring his family to America. He works tirelessly on his game, shooting baskets every morning at dawn by himself in the gym, and soon hes dominating everyone in practice. With the Central team losing and suffering injury after injury, Sooley, as he is nicknamed, is called off the bench. And the legend begins.But how far can Sooley take his team? And will success allow him to save his family?Gripping and moving, Sooley showcases John Grishams unparalleled storytelling powers in a whole new light. This is Grisham at the top of his game.ReviewHard to put down ... the pages turn quickly ... building to a climax that wont leave readers doubting whether this is a John Grisham novel.-Associated Press"An intensely moving story, told with the same eye for character and descriptive detail Grisham brings to his crime novels. His occasional forays into general fiction are usually interesting, but this one is considerably more than that. Its skillfully written, with a deeply compelling central character and a story that is full of raw emotion and suspense."-BooklistAbout the AuthorJohn Grisham is the author of forty-seven consecutive #1 bestsellers, which have been translated into nearly fifty languages. His recent books include The Judge's List, Sooley, and his third Jake Brigance novel, 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.Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.C H A P T E R 1In April, when Samuel Sooleymon was invited to try out for the national team, he was seventeen years old, stood six feet two inches tall, and was considered to be a promising point guard, known for his quickness and vertical leap, but also for his erratic passing and mediocre shooting.In July, when the team left Juba, the capital of South Sudan, for the trip to America, he was six feet four inches tall, just as quick b