Author: Bill Konigsberg
What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Bobby is the star quarterback of his high school, waiting to hear from schools offering scholarships, dreaming of being a pro football player one day. However, Bobby has a secret: he's gay, and he's terrified about how his teammates, friends, and family would treat him if they found out. And then, while Bobby's dealing with his dad's illness and practicing for upcoming football games, a reporter reveals Bobby's secret to the world.
What I think: Y'all, I discovered something incredibly disturbing while reading this book:
Bill Konigsberg is . . . a SPORTS GUY.
A sports guy! I can't believe it. Konigsberg looks like a normal person! How could he have been hiding this secret? What will people think if they find out I was reading a book written by a SPORTS PERSON? Will people think I'm into sports, too? Or what if someone thinks Konigsberg recruited me or tricked me into liking sports when I really don't? Oh noes, I MUST do all I can to reassure people that I'm not one of those "sports" people! 😨
Okay, I'm done. 😉
But seriously, I had no idea Bill Konigsberg was a sports writer for ESPN and the AP before he starting writing YA books, even though it's on his online biography (but in my defense, I didn't read past the adorable dog pictures. Seriously, look at the cute).
Here are two cartoons that accurately describe my relationship with sports (with the exception of the local youth soccer my son plays).
So anyway, it should not be a surprise to anyone that I did not understand most of the technical-sounding football lingo and play-by-play action described in this book. I could only tell what was good and bad by the reactions described by Bobby, the coach, the teammates, etc.
I was also thinking, isn't this book outdated? Surely there are some more gay male players out in sports now. Wasn't there that one . . . football guy . . . a few years ago? Yep, this one, but yikes, that didn't end well. And I know I read about a basketball player . . . wow, also a tough road.
What the heck?? This is 2018, not 1958! With everything that has happened, society SHOULD be farther along. Why are stories like these still in the news?
It's getting better; there are supportive organizations now; people are trying. But in my ignorance of all things sports, I had no idea that homophobia was so still so rampant in professional sports.
Yes, I realize that makes me sound naive. But to us non-athletic people, athletes have it made, and we forget that they have problems--they are still those "super good-looking, popular people in high school" that we idolized/hated.
I even found myself sympathizing with the weaselly reporter who outed Bobby when he says:
Bobby, everyone likes you. You think being gay will stop people from liking you? I bet it didn't. I wrote that article, and for like a day, people came up to me and made me feel like I was something. Then it was over. It was like I didn't write it at all (Konigsberg 225).So, for all of you sports people: KEEP WORKING to eradicate homophobia in sports.
It is always strange to read an author's first novel when you've read others--like the voice you recognize is there, but not quite. It reminds me of when you watch old episodes of your favorite TV show, and the characters haven't hit their grooves yet; you can tell they are the characters you love several seasons later, but they are not fleshed out yet.
The voice in Out of the Pocket was almost Konigsberg's current humorous style, especially in the characters of Dr. Blassingame and Bobby's friend, Carrie.
Out of the Pocket had its non-sports plot points, too: Bobby's relationships with his friends and teammates, and his relationship with his father, and his new journalist love interest. Bobby's life wasn't completely football, and some of the events in the story made me teary-eyed.
The re-release of the book contains a couple of bonus chapters, and I need to find an updated copy so that I can read them.
This book is on the 2009 Rainbow Book List.
My final takeaway (in 75 words or fewer): The teacher in me really likes books that make readers learn something, and this book definitely fit that criteria. I would never have researched LGBTQ athletes had I not read this book.
Out of the Pocket will make more sense if you understand football (I assume! 😉), but it is a good read for everyone regardless, especially if you liked Openly Straight. I promise, you will not catch "the sports" if you read this book.
Memorable quotes/passages from the book:
- "I know you're not serious, but do me a favor, will you? Keep that in mind. Someone has to change the world. Why not you?" (hardback first edition, pg. 60).
- "Carrie was there. She hated football but sometimes she came to my games. She came up behind me and placed her chin on my neck. 'That was one of the finest basketball games I've ever seen,' she said. I turned to her and smirked.
'Hockey,' I corrected.
'Look, I may be white, but the name-calling is totally out of line,' she said, kissing me on the cheek and heading out toward the car.
She's so weird. I love her" (pg. 79).
- "'I'm your fag hag. Oh my God,' she said. 'I'm gonna be the woman with twenty cats in my apartment. I'll wear shawls and live in West Hollywood and never get married. All for the love of a football player. Please say this won't happen to me.'
'Aren't you allergic to cats?' I asked" (pg. 155).
- "Hey guys, I got an announcement . . . I just want to let you know there's an article coming out tomorrow about me. I'm . . . an openly . . . Vietnamese kicker" (pg. 179).
Other reviews: Dreaming in Books and Jeff and Will
This book is available in the Greensboro Public Library.
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