BOY21~ Matthew Quick

Boy21, by Matthew Quick, is without a doubt the most unique, complex, and moving sports novel you will ever read. I cannot say enough good things about this novel. Protagonist Finley is a star basketball player on his high school team. Basketball and his girlfriend, Erin, consume his life until his coach asks him to befriend a new kid on the team, Russ. Completely obsessed with outer space, insistent upon being called “Boy 21”, and completely silent about a very mysterious past, Russ changes Finley’s perspective on life, basketball, and what it means to grieve. Not only could I not put this book down, I also could not stop thinking about it after I finished. This is one of my favorite books, and one I know I will read again.  

Buy the book here!

Maturity: 3/4

This novel is mostly very appropriate for readers in seventh grade and up. However, there are several parts of the novel that have some content that may make certain students or parents uncomfortable. As stated on the back of the book, Finley and Russ live in a town "ruled by the Irish mob, drugs, violence, and racially charged rivalries." Gang violence is referenced and directly affects the lives of several main characters, particularly at the end of the novel.

Pages: 250

Lexile: 830L

Lexile is a score that helps educators and parents match students with an appropriate text. A Lexile score is a measure of both a child’s reading ability and a text difficulty. However, Lexile does not take into account the content of a novel. So, pairing readers with a text is a complex process, and knowledge of a novel’s themes and plot is necessary to make a high-quality recommendation.If you are curious about the grade-level equivalent to Lexile scores, check out the conversion chart here!