This is a book that I think will resonate with a lot of teens. I'm not the biggest sports fan but it's good for me to be reminded how important football is to the lives of some teens, and especially the way sports scholarships can be a path to college for poor kids who might not otherwise have one. I appreciated that Russell explicitly names Colin Kaepernick as an inspiration and the text here directly engages with Kaepernick's protest and the consequences thereof in a way that again, I think a lot of teens, especially teen athletes, will enjoy reading. The book gives a good sense of how unjust white supremacy is and how the odds are stacked against young Black men (and like, all Black people) in the US while still ending on a hopeful note.

Spoiler

Also there are some things where as an adult reader you're like OBVIOUSLY, OBVIOUSLY GABBY IS ~DANTE'S SHADOW~ IT'S SO OBVIOUS ahem but it's a teen book for teens! also Russell later explicitly acknowledges that he was biased by assuming it was a man. Just wanted to get on top of that, ok bye

also I really thought Marion would be killed and it was such a relief that he wasn't. whew.