Raiders Night ****

Lipsyte, Robert. Raiders Night. 2006.

I was excited to see this book from the author of great books like The Contender. This novels surrounds a football team during the season. Matt and many of the players take steroids. In fact, Matt takes other drugs, too, including Vicodin for pain and Ambien to sleep. Matt faces a lot of pressure from home because his father pushes him really hard in athletics. He cheats on his girlfriend and starts to see another girl.

Problems begin for the football team when a new kid moves to town and thinks he is going to make Varsity. The Captain, Rush, feels threatened. At the final night of the pre-season camp, Rush takes the initiation of new players too far by shoving a plastic bat up the new kid's butt, causing him to bleed, and the urinating in his mouth. The seniors keep the mouths shut about the incident but the team really starts to fall apart and the players know it isn't right to keep quiet, especially when Chris stops coming to school and practice. Finally, things come to a head and the boys have to decide what a real Raider would do.

This was a great novel for fans of sports novels. Any student interested in football would enjoy this book a lot. The book felt realistic and as if this story could happen in any HS in America. Highly recommended.