Boy21 by Matthew Quick

Finley has been playing basketball for as long as he can remember. It's his escape from all the violence and drama going on around him: the gangs, the drugs, the Irish mob. It's even how he met his girl. Most of all, it's his ticket out of this place. He's the starting point guard, and this is his senior year. He may not be NBA material, but he's pretty sure he can at least get a scholarship to a community college. This is his year.

That is until Coach takes him aside and tells him there's something he needs him to do. There's a new boy, Russ, and his parents were killed. He's apparently a hot shot player, scouted by the top schools in the country, and almost certainly bound for a career with the pros. Coach tries to prepare Finley for how things are going to be when they meet, tells him that Russ is taking things pretty hard and he thinks Finley could be a good influence, maybe even a friend. He tells him that Russ likes to be called Boy21.

Nothing could have prepared Finley for the reality: Boy21 greets him with a question. "You are an Earthling?" His room is decorated with constellations of stars. Russ tells Finley that he is a test model sent to Earth to gather information on emotions, and his parents will soon be back to retrieve him. Finley asks him about basketball, and while Boy21 responds that he has been programmed to excel at the sport, he doubts he will be around long enough to play.

When Russ starts school, he's dropped the space act. He follows Finley around like a puppy, though, and Finley isn't sure how he feels about it. He wants to do what Coach says, he always has before, but there's a thought building in the back of his head. If this kid is as good as everyone's saying, Finley just lost his starting position on the team.

When basketball season comes around, Coach starts getting pretty aggressive with Finley about making sure Russ comes to tryouts. Russ isn't showing any interest in playing, and Finley is a little relieved actually. If Russ wanted to play, if Finley was the one having to face losing his position, would he still be making the effort to be his friend? Still be doing what Coach wants him to do? They're tough questions, and he's not very confident about the answers.

Boy21 is a poignant look at friendship and loss, and how we all deal with grief in our own way, in our own time. It also explores the difficulties of growing up in a low-income area, and the pressures kids face just to keep to themselves. Sports has become an outlet for many youth, and this is a great example of using it to grow and become the person that you want to be.

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If you liked this, check out:
Forgive Me Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach
Ball Don't Lie by Matt de la Pena

Quick, Matthew. (2012). Boy21. New York: Little, Brown and Co.