In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • Gutless by Carl Deuker
  • Elizabeth Bush
Deuker, Carl Gutless. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016 [336p]
ISBN 978-0-544-64961-3 $17.99
Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 6-9

Soccer has always been Brock Ripley’s game, and quarterback Hunter Gates has never been Brock’s friend. Rising freshman Brock is therefore pretty baffled to find himself invited by Hunter’s father to stand in as wide receiver in football at the park over the summer, in hopes that having a sure-handed partner will polish Hunter’s shine for recruiters in fall. With his own dad increasingly incapacitated by a degenerative muscular disease, Brock has missed the pleasures of tossing a ball around, and, truth be told, he’s pretty flattered to have scored the notice of his new high school’s star player. When football season starts, Mr. Gates pulls some strings, and Brock ends up on varsity as a one-trick pony ready to be called in to receive Hunter’s long passes. The same personal issue that hobbled Brock in soccer now dogs him in football, however: he balks when opponents come at him head-on. Moreover, Hunter and his fellow goons on the team have targeted Richie Fang for their special brand of homophobic and xenophobic bullying, and Brock is finding he’s as cowardly about defending a friend as he’s been on the field. Deuker antes up the complexity of a formulaic plot by painting his characters in shades of gray. Richie Fang is stubbornly annoying, and he seems to beg for the role of victim; Hunter is becoming aware that he can’t be a star QB without an equally talented receiver; Mr. Gates is discovering that there are aspects of his son’s future he can’t secure or control; and even the amazing new coach who’s winning everybody’s hearts and minds makes a bad call that costs the Big Game. Fans who count on Deuker to put a provocative spin on an already satisfying story won’t be disappointed.

...

pdf

Share