I can never have enough football books in my classroom library, especially since I teach at a small midwestern high school that is very much a "Friday night lights" kind of place. Orca books is also good for my lower or reluctant readers.

I don't normally read this type of genre but thought I would give it a try and boy was I wrong. I figured it was a sports novel about brotherhood and coming together but it turned something completely unexpected to which made me stop and think and think about how I treat others and if I've been a culprit of anything from this book. It's more than just a bro sports novel but tackles some heavy issues and makes you think afterwards. ( )

In AWAY RUNNING, readers follow Matt and Free over four months while they play American football in an Under-20 league in France. Football is only the premise, though; the real story is about racism, bigotry, and the failures of multiculturalism. As Matt and Free get to know their teammates, teenagers from an impoverished, racialized suburb of Paris, they must choose what kind of men they will be as adults.

This is a hard-hitting novel that asks readers -- even readers who consider themselves fair minded and progressive, even readers who have themselves experienced bigotry and hatred -- to recognize their blind spots. The scene in which Matt and Free compare Matt's québécois French to Free's Black Vernacular English is an early example of the much harder lessons awaiting the boys. I was impressed by how deftly the authors handled some frankly ugly topics.

Despite sad, tragic events at the climax of the story, there is hope at the book's conclusion. We see Matt and Free learn and grow, and can imagine their futures. Their experiences could generate lively discussion in a classroom or teen reading club.

I'd recommend AWAY RUNNING for libraries and classrooms as well as personal collections. As questions of inequality, poverty, and exclusion become ever more urgent in Western society, we need strong books and other art forms to encourage us to talk, act, and find solutions. ( )

won this book from the early review program..... It was a pretty decent book. Takes place in Paris, and is about a football team with different nationalities. I would say its a young adult book, but good for anyone really. deals with the team and them being more of the lower class over there and people clashing with them due to the different races and lower parts of the suburbs there. Wasn't too bad of a book. I found sometimes tho the french language in it a little hard as I dont speak it. the 2 authors were team mates on a football team as well. it be a good book also for someone that understands that game and likes football. one main character is from Canada and the other is from US. ( )

I'm not a sports fan, but this book was about much more than sports. The work chronicles the lives of two football players that are abroad and are playing for a team in France. The book shows us that racism and bias are alive and well throughout the world and not just in North America. The characters are interesting and the authors do an amazing job of telling their stories. I highly recommend this book! ( )