In Backfield Boys, renowned sports journalist and New York Times bestselling author John Feinstein tells a thrilling story of friendship, football, and a fight for justice.
Freshman footballers Jason Roddin and Tom Jefferson are a perfect pair: Jason is a blazing-fast wide-receiver, while his best friend Tom has all the skills a standout quarterback needs. After summer football camp at an elite sports-focused boarding school, the boys are thrilled to be invited back with full-ride scholarships.
But on day one of practice, they're shocked when the team's coaching staff makes Tom, a black kid, a receiver and Jason, a white kid, a quarterback. Confronted with mounting evidence of deep-seated racial bias, the boys speak out, risking their scholarships and chances to play. As tensions ratchet up with coaches and other players, Tom and Jason must decide how much they're willing to lose in a conflict with powerful forces that has nothing—and everything—to do with the game they love.
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"An intriguing look at racism in contemporary sports and the power private schools have in shaping sports and upholding racist traditions."
— Booklist
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John Feinstein is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous works of nonfiction, including Moment of Glory, Are You Kidding Me?, Living on the Black, Let Me Tell You a Story, Caddy for Life, A Season on the Brink, Play Ball, and others. He has also written sports-mystery novels for young readers. He writes for the Washington Post, Golf Digest, Inside Sports, Golf, Tennis magazine, Basketball America, and is a regular commentator on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Mike Chamberlain is an actor and voice-over performer in Los Angeles whose audiobook narration has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards. His voice credits range from radio commercials and television narration to animation and video game characters. Stage trained at Boston College, he has performed works from Shakespeare and the classics to contemporary drama and comedy.