Leverage

Title: Leverage
Author: Joshua C. Cohen
Published: 2011
ISBN: 9780525423065
Page number: 425
Price: $17.99
Genre: sports fiction, realistic fiction
Reading Level: 8th grade
Interest Level: 10th grade and up
Awards: 
Plot Summary: The story is told in alternating chapters, one from the point of view of Danny and one from the point of view of Kurt. Danny is not a big guy but he is a talented gymnast. Kurt, on the other hand is a massive guy who was recently recruited to play football at Oregrove high school, which both Kurt and Danny attend. The football players rule things at Oregrove high school and when the coach of the gymnastic team demands that the football team shares the weight room the football players make the gymnastic team their main target for harassment. Danny and his teammates are no match for the huge football players whose anger is fueled by steroids. Kurt is a new member to the team and has a very dark past filled with abuse and not so great foster homes. He is just trying to lie low and play football but soon finds himself an unlikely friend with Danny. But his friendship with Danny doesn't sit well some of the senior football players. The players will stop at nothing to humiliate and degrade the gymnasts and soon take things too far. Danny and Kurt want to let everyone know what happened but when the football players hold all the power what can they do?
Review: Joshua Cohen has put together a great story told from two different view points. I enjoy seeing things from the perspective of Danny and Kurt, it gives the reader some great insight into the story. I also like that Cohen doesn't allow his characters to be one dimensional. Kurt could have easily been written as a typical dumb jock but instead he is a teen who has suffered immense loss and abuse and struggles with his past. I think he vulnerability makes him a likable character, unlike his fellow teammates who come off more like the typical egotistical football players. At times I found the story to be hard to read but only because I was so infuriated with how the football players treated other people in the story. I did question why Danny didn't call the police or how the teachers and coaches could be so oblivious but then again things like this do actually happen. The story is compelling and thought provoking and overall a great read. I was slightly disappointed with how neatly the story resolved itself but I think having a happy ending helps the reader deal with some of the more tragic events of the story.
Reader's Annotation: Danny is small but talented high school gymnast trying to earn himself an athletic scholarship and prove to his dad how talented he really is. Kurt, is foster kid who stutters and hides a dark past but his massive size and skills in football have earned him a starting position on the football team. Danny and Kurt, while complete opposites find themselves as friends but when Kurt's teammates are determined to make life hell for Danny and his fellow gymnasts things go terribly wrong. 
Book Talk Ideas: The story is told from two different view points which would make for an interesting book talk. One part could be told by Danny and the other by Kurt.
Issues: The book contains foul language, violence, bullying, teen drinking, suicide,abuse and a very descriptive and disturbing sexual assault scene.
Main themes: sports, abuse, bullying, suicide
Bibliotherapeutic usefulness: There is a lot that a reader could gain from the story. For one there is Kurt who struggles with a stutter and a troubled past of abuse. Then there is Danny who is the victim of relentless bullying from the football team. The story also shows how that lack of support that Ronnie received from his teammates after the football players sexually assaulted him pushed him over the edge. I think it also shows how Danny and Kurt triumphed over the intimidation they received in order to make things right even if it meant risking everything.
Read-alikes: Endgame by Nancy Garden and We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Author Website: http://www.leveragethebook.com/
Professional Reviews: Kirkus Reviews
Publisher's Weekly
Why this book was chosen: The book tells a disturbing story of bullying and high school sports that isn't often discussed.