Our Boys Review

I had a range of emotions entering my time reading Joe Drape's portrayal of the Smith Center football team. I first fell in love with high school sports, thanks to the book Friday Night Lights, so I was worried that this one might not live up to the high standard. Also, I wasn't sure how well a New York journalist would be able to tell the true story of a small Kansas town.

But after completing the book, I can say that it is truly difficult to find a book with greater appeal to the Kansas reader than Drape's. It's like Friday Night Lights more personalized. I certainly did not grow up farming or in a small town, but the characters in this book are so much more relatable than the ones in Friday Night Lights.

After reading the book, it inspired me to look up more of Drape's work. This made me appreciate his book even more. I could tell he was one of New York's finest and is one of the top feature-length writers in the nation. It is impossible to put the book down in the opening chapter. Drape paints such a vivid picture in your head of this town that you yearn for more information.

Even though it is based around a football team, I think the book appeals to the general audience as well because of the off-the-field issues. Trying to live up to their father's name, working endlessly to support the families and what the boys were like off the field was just as intriguing as any of the win.

I know the winning streak was broken this past season, but it is easy to tell after reading this book that the town will keep on going. Because I don't think Smith Center was built around the winning streak. It is built around the team. It was build on their boys, and as long as they have a team, Smith Center will continue to be the epitome of small town football.

I would recommend this book to anybody that has lived in Kansas, or any sports fan that enjoys high school sports.