Bibliographic
Information
Raiders Night by
Robert Lipsyte. HarperTempest. (2006).
Price: $6.99 for paperback (hardback is out of print)
Pages: 228 for hardback
Plot Summary
Matt Rydek is excited to go off to football camp where he
plans on focusing on football instead of the constant demands from his abusive
father and demanding girlfriend. However once he reaches camp he knows not
everything is going to go as planned. Sophomore transfer student Chris is
on-fire and he is gunning for tight-end Ramp’s spot. Matt knows it is only a
matter of time before Ramp snaps. Sure enough on Raiders Night, the night where
current players haze new members of the team, Ramp does the unthinkable
scarring Chris for life and creating a huge secret among team members and
coaches. Now Matt must decide what to do. Should he disclose what happened that
night and risk his chance of getting a scholarship to a good college or even a
shot at the pros or should he keep loyal to his teammates and shrug it off?
Critical
Evaluation
Raiders Night is
a great book. It’s a hard hitting story that investigates the seedier,
dangerous parts of the sports world. It’s clearly well-researched as Robert
Lipsyte spent countless hours speaking with Dr. Miletic, a renowned sports
psychologist. Lipsyte brings to light several issues that many would rather not
confront including male rape, steroid usage, and the academic double standards
between athletes and non-athletes. However while this book effectively tackles
certain tough issues it leaves others unresolved. Perhaps the most disturbing unresolved
element is the attitude of all the football players, with the exception of
Pete, towards women. It is clear that main character Matt Rydek sees women no
more than sexual objects. Even his relationship with Sarah is highly sexual.
She has no qualms about sleeping with Matt even though he is currently involved
with another woman and Matt has no problems sleeping with other women even
though he is interested in Sarah. Matt’s outlook which is shared by most of his
teammates does not seem to change by the end of the novel leaving some readers
to wonder if some will walk away from this book believing that treating women
like sexual objects is acceptable. However, despite this issue it is still a
valuable book to read and no doubt one that will promote lots of deep
discussions between readers.
Reader’s
Annotation
When something horrific happens at football camp captain
Matt Rydek must decide whether to speak up or keep quiet.
About the
Author
Author of twenty-six books, Robert Lipsyte has always
enjoyed writing both novels and sports articles. After graduating from Columbia
Mr. Lipsyte became a reporter at the age of twenty-one. He gained the idea for
his first young adult novel after covering the famous boxing match between
Sonny Liston and Cassius Clay in 1964. He has been writing ever since. His most
recent book is The Twinning Project, a
novel about aliens, imaginary twins, and saving the world.
To learn more about Robert Lipsyte visit his site here.
Genre
Realistic fiction, Sports story
Readalikes
Center Field/Yellow
Flag/The Contender by Robert Lipsyte
·
All sports novels by Robert Lipsyte
Crackback by
John Coy
·
Another book about high school football &
steroids
Gym Candy by
Carl Deuker
·
Another football book about steroid usage
Tags
Athletes, corrupt leaders, corrupt coaches, football,
football camp, rape, weight lifting
Awards
Won/Lists On
2008—ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
2009—Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award
Nominee
New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age
Professional
Reviews
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
School Library Journal
Booktalk Ideas
Athletes Under Pressure
·
Visualization, players who choke (61-62)
·
Pleasing parents, town, girlfriends, etc.
Steroid Usage
·
Steroids make Matt feel stronger
·
Got to pay the price (119)
·
Coaches turn a blind eye to steroid usage
(67-68)
Bibliotherapeutic
Usefulness
This book could be used to help athletes understand when
loyalty to teammates goes too far. It can also help teens better understand
what constitutes male rape while helping male rape victims heal.
Reading
Level/Interest Level
Reading Level: 4th grade
Interest Level: 9th-12th grade
These levels are according to AR Bookfinder
Challenge
Issues
This book includes the following potentially
controversial elements:
·
Derogatory view towards homosexuals
·
Derogatory view towards women
·
Physically abusive father
·
Pornography
·
Pot smoking
·
Prescription drug abuse
·
Profanity
·
Rape
·
Sex scenes
·
Sexual assault
·
Slurs against homosexuals
·
Steroid use
·
Strip clubs
·
Underage drinking
Librarians can point out that while this is certainly a
difficult book to read it does spark discussions about male rape, faithfulness
to team members and what it means to be a leader.
Why Was This
Included?
I included this novel because it was required reading however
I was also very interested in learning more about sports culture as I have
never participated in sports.
No comments:
Post a Comment