For 2023, I decided to read books that are true-ish. Most will be true crime, some will be about real people and then there will be some that are not really true but may be based on an actual person. That is what Sooley is. Sooley is Samuel Sooleymon, a young man from South Sudan who loves to play basketball. He's not great, but he's tall and has a massive vertical leap. He is recruited to come to America to play basketball and gets a scholarship to North Carolina Central University (know as "the other school in Durham") where he quickly becomes a fan favorite, with everyone calling him Sooley.

Shortly after leaving Sudan to come to America, his town is raided and his family is forced to flee. Sooley is able to talk to his mother once a week thanks to a caring nurse located in the refugee camp where the family ends up.

Sooley is told in two stories - Sooley and his mother. As a basketball fan, I didn't mind all the basketball descriptions but if someone doesn't really understand basketball, this might not be the book for you. There are some twists that I didn't see coming and didn't particularly like but you'll find yourself rooting for Sooley.

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In the summer of his seventeenth year, Samuel Sooleyman gets the chance of a lifetime: a trip to the US with his South Sudanese basketball team to play in a showcase of tournaments. 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 needs work, making the American coaches less than impressed.
During the tournament, Samuel receives word that a civil war is raging and has destroyed his village leaving his father killed and his mother and siblings in a refugee camp. Samuel desperately wants to go home, it it’s just not possible. Out of sympathy, the coach from North Carolina offers Sooley a scholarship. ( )

Book Title: Sooley
Author: John Grisham
Format: Paperback

Review:
John Grisham is a celebrated author for many reasons. Most of his books are based on courtroom dramas. During the 90s, US courtroom dramas from him were absolute treats and informative too. It is indeed from his books many scenes related to court, trials, and lawyer firms etc., were introduced to many readers, primarily Indian readers. It is not exaggerating to mention that many young readers dreamt and chose law as a profession by reading his books. His books give the readers information on the law basics, the relationship between law and politics, corporate lifestyle, and its pros and cons in detail. Some other reasons like social and political issues, the ways to tackle them, corruption and crime face of the other side of the country and people also involved reasonably entertain. Most of the web series now that are available that deal with law and spying as subjects were long before introduced in John Grisham's books.

Coming to his new book that was released in March 2021, Sooley is a pleasant surprise to the readers. Moving away from his usual writing style and weaving the story around court, law and politics, this story is about a person from the African country Sudan and basketball. Being not his pet genre, i.e. the legal thrillers, this book is different. Though he talked about baseball and football in his previous works, this book is quite an attempt.

The story of Sooley is an intertwining between the many tragedies of the African continent, most of Sudan. The civil wars that made masses of people move away from the country, economic crisis and political vendetta that prevails still have taken centre stage in the story. His research and co-relation between African politics and basketball sport are absolutely stunning.

Born into a family that is in the hemisphere of a political environment that does atrocities on its countrymen to stare and die for the oil companies' existence, Samuel Sooleymon or Sooley, the central character, is a 17-year-old guy who loves basketball. At this juncture, NBA Talent Hunter Ecko Lam scouts various countries for future players, and his encounter with Sooley makes him bring the new talented teenager to the USA. Sooley joins the college and also prepares himself to play.

While this is the story's plot, on the other side, his family becomes refugees and live in extreme derogated situations. His life in the USA is much more different, and he also is a prospective immigrant of the country! Though Sooley may be John Grisham's first basketball story, his writing prowess in presenting the readers with entertaining morality stands on top. He often focuses on the issues that are discussed and debated in the national and international media. In this book, readers move between politics and basketball exploits in America and the suffering of citizens in African refugee camps.

The game is also described in detail. But, there are some critic reviewscomments on the book few from the former players, that some points mentioned in the book about the game stand absurd. While shrugging out such comments, as a reader of his works for many years, I recommend this book to every Grisham book lover! ( )

Inspired, heart wrenching story of possibility

When I first read the summary of the book, I couldn't help but wonder why one of the most heralded legal thriller authors would write about a basketball player from Somalia; but the question was quickly answered. Grisham's experience with pacing and character driven plots is evident as takes the reader on an impossible journey of a teen boy in a strange country. Living in war torn Somalia, Samuel Sooliemon and is family have become fearless, one of several qualities necessary for greatness. Recruited hesitantly by a small US college coach, Soolie's relentless desire to be his best seem fruitless at the first; but with a coach that believes in him, he dedicates himself to the game and soon finds himself in the midst of a frenzy. Over time, Soolie leads them to unimaginable heights while NBA scouts hover. With a coach as an advisor and his roommate's mother as a protector, Soolie achieves what most teens dream about. At its core, its an inspiring story of an unusual boy that never gives up on his dream, and a roommate whose family believes in him. Whether you're a sports fan or not, this one of the most unusual stories Grisham has written and ranks highly with his others. ( )

This 'not a history book' is a must read.

So many events, points in history and true motives were eye opening to me. Stuff that I feel like should be in the history classes in any public school.

I recommend listening to the audiobook, the authors voice moves the words forward in a riveting way. His interjections, and voice brought the history to life. (I borrowed it from Libby.)

Even if you think you know everything about the topic, or find yourself thinking: this topic doesn't apply to me, I would recommend this read. There is always more to learn, more to share, and the more people that pick up and review books like this, the more eyes they get in front of.

Make history common knowledge. ( )