Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

High school all-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable football dynasty.

Now, as Coach Rake’s “boys” sit in the bleachers waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they replay the old games, relive the old glories, and try to decide once and for all whether they love Eddie Rake – or hate him. For Neely Crenshaw, a man who must finally forgive his coach – and himself – before he can get on with his life, the stakes are especially high.

Average Customer Rating:

Good concept bad execution	Customer Rating:
Generall I love Grisham's work. But this book seemed 'rushed' to get it out i guess is the only way to put it. Way too much 'game' fillers, and you could tell the ending by the first 40 pages. The revalation, was not that thrilling, expected but not the way it happened. A football buff would enjoy this book than just the average reader, and they would only enjoy it because of the 'game' fillers.

Change of pace for Grisham (a review of the audiobook)

Customer Rating:

I, for one, am not especially enamored of Grisham's legal thrillers but I did enjoy Grisham's foray into non-legal fiction. "Bleachers" was read by the author. Grisham's southern accent and good ol' boy style are sometimes helpful but his occassional odd emphasis and flat read can be distracting. The book features a Bobby Knight/Woody Hayes type of small-town high school football coach - the winner of 13 Texas state championships. The coach is dying of cancer and his players are returning home to honor him and await his funeral. They meet several times on the bleachers of the field they played on, thus the title. We see the reunion of players through the eys of Neeley, a former All-American QB who suffered a career-ending injury in college and never reached his full potential as a player. Although Neeley is our window to this workd, he is not the true focus of the book - it is the coach and the love/hate relationship his players and the town have with him. An interesting book. This Indiana University graduate couldn't help but wonder if the alumni of Bobby Knight have similar discussions about him.

Bad reviewers are missing its merits.

Customer Rating:

There are a couple of strong messages that I felt made it worth reading, even if you aren't crazy about high school sports. Number one: It was a relief to find out that in spite of the brevity of high school, we all tend to needlessly dwell on a few negative events that seemed so ridiculously important at the time. Number two: Having tough coaches (or band directors or teachers, etc.) is great for your character. If I hadn't had a few barking drill sargeants in my youth, I'd probably be sitting on the front porch of my mobile home on an upholstered couch, drinking a beer, smoking a cigarette, and collecting welfare. Give Grisham a break. This was an interesting risk in his career and I think it was worth it.

Small Town Football	Customer Rating:
If you like small towns you'll like this book - if you like small towns and football you'll love this book. It's a quick, engaging read. It's a departure from Grisham's legal drama. Great book!

Awesome	Customer Rating:
This book was recommended by a friend as just what my son who is in treatment for addiction needed. He read it twice and then I read it and we both have just one word to describe "awesome". Read the book, it is great.