Sometimes a story can just be cheesy, and that's OK. Jim Stovall's One Season of Hope: An Inspiring Tale of Triumph and Tragedy may be emotionally manipulative, but it's the good kind of emotionally manipulative, the kind that is enjoyable and satisfying to read.
Glen Fullerton is the long-time football coach at Truman High. At his retirement dinner, as he reflects on all the ups and downs he experienced as a coach, on season stood out.
Bradley Hope barely made the team, and only got a spot because the three boys before him had to be cut for unexpected, last minute reasons. But Bradley had terminal cancer. He knew it, Coach knew it, but no one else on the team knew it. He didn't play during the season leading up to the playoffs, but had a deep and lasting impact on the team.
Coach Fullerton had a habit of talking to the statue of Harry S. Truman in the school's courtyard. Stovall sprinkles the book with quotes and anecdotes from Truman, wisdom that carries Coach Fullerton through some big decisions and troubled times.
One Season of Hope is chock full of cliches, things you have seen in other sports movies or movies about a kid who is dying. But, at the same time, Stovall's story telling is strong enough that you don't care if you've heard this story or stories like it before, you still will get wrapped up in the characters and, if you're like me, shed a tear or two. This is a short novel that doesn't pretend to be great literature, but it does deliver on a promise of a feel-good, tear-jerker read. Enjoy.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
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