Grisham's latest is a departure for him, perhaps even more so than A Painted House (2001). There are no lawyers on the run or murders to be unraveled. Instead, Bleachers is the story of a high-school football hero returning to the town of his youth when he receives news that his coach is dying. Neely Crenshaw has bittersweet memories of playing football for the Messina Spartans. Without a doubt, his career as the Spartans' quarterback was the pinnacle of his glory days, but his contentious relationship with Coach Eddie Rake taints his memories of the experience. Eddie Rake is man who is impossible to fully love or fully hate; his boys have memories of running miles in the stifling August heat and being yelled at mercilessly by their coach, but they also knew a man who cared deeply about the game and the futures of his players. As Eddie lays dying of cancer, Neely and many of the other former players gather together to remember their coach--his stunning six-year winning streak and many championship games, as well as the tragedy that led to the end of his career, and the incident that Neely cannot forgive or forget. Touching and quiet, this is a meditative, thoughtful tale that should find an audience with anyone from former and current football players to those who cheer them on.

Adult/High School A small klatch of players on Messina High School's 1987 football team assembles on the bleachers of Rake Field, home of the winning Spartans, and named after their controversial coach. Eddie Rake was the bane and bounty of three decades of athletes, and now he is dying. His personality comes to life as his team members recollect what it was like to play for him. As they come to roost on the bleachers, they all have a story from the coach's school of hard knocks. This is especially true of all-American quarterback, Neely Crenshaw. Coping with setbacks, longing for an old flame, and trying to make sense of the impending passing of the man who pushed him to the brink but whom he ultimately eulogizes is Neely's lot, and, readers can hope, the beginning of better luck. Teens will jeer and cheer in the appropriate places as they keep turning the pages, and, like the flavorful characters, will gain understanding from the perspective of the stands. Karen Sokol, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA