ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: Leverage
Author: Joshua C. Cohen
Published: 1 February 2011 by Dutton Children's Books
Source: eBook Bought
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The football field is a battlefield
There's an extraordinary price for victory at Oregrove High. It is paid on - and off - the football field. And it claims its victims without mercy - including the most innocent bystanders.
When a violent, steroid-infused, ever-escalating prank war has devastating consequences, an unlikely friendship between a talented but emotionally damaged fullback and a promising gymnast might hold the key to a school's salvation.
Told in alternating voices and with unapologetic truth, Leverage illuminates the fierce loyalty, flawed justice, and hard-won optimism of two young athletes.
THE REVIEWThere's an extraordinary price for victory at Oregrove High. It is paid on - and off - the football field. And it claims its victims without mercy - including the most innocent bystanders.
When a violent, steroid-infused, ever-escalating prank war has devastating consequences, an unlikely friendship between a talented but emotionally damaged fullback and a promising gymnast might hold the key to a school's salvation.
Told in alternating voices and with unapologetic truth, Leverage illuminates the fierce loyalty, flawed justice, and hard-won optimism of two young athletes.
One of the biggest misconceptions of anabolic steroid usage is that it is solely used by athletes as a performance enhancing drug.
But in fact, half of the users of steroids aren't even athletes. These “mirror athletes” use steroids in order to achieve an “ideal” body. This practice roots from prevalent adolescent body image issues that are often perpetuated by misguided internalized messages in pop culture. Often, boys are obsessed with bulking up in order to fit in with what they see as societal ideals.
An astounding 57% of teenagers admit that they felt compelled to take the drugs what with leading “health” magazines constantly featuring ripped guys.
The percentage of teen athletes who do not receive any education about what the side effects of steroids: 85%
The percentage of high school boys who admit to having tried steroids at least once: 11%
Joshua C. Cohen's Leverage is a mature Young Adult novel that focuses on an issue that is often ignored - Steroid usage among adolescents. But Leverage goes above and beyond your average sports fiction novel.
Social hierarchies in school, dismissal of male victims of rape, bullying, substance abuse, abuse of the power and authority, speech disorder - No stone is left unturned. It's an incredibly hard book to read but also hopeful in its own way. Narrated in distinctive dual POVs of a gymnast and a football player, Leverage is a homage to beautiful friendships found in unlikely places.
But in fact, half of the users of steroids aren't even athletes. These “mirror athletes” use steroids in order to achieve an “ideal” body. This practice roots from prevalent adolescent body image issues that are often perpetuated by misguided internalized messages in pop culture. Often, boys are obsessed with bulking up in order to fit in with what they see as societal ideals.
An astounding 57% of teenagers admit that they felt compelled to take the drugs what with leading “health” magazines constantly featuring ripped guys.
The percentage of teen athletes who do not receive any education about what the side effects of steroids: 85%
The percentage of high school boys who admit to having tried steroids at least once: 11%
Joshua C. Cohen's Leverage is a mature Young Adult novel that focuses on an issue that is often ignored - Steroid usage among adolescents. But Leverage goes above and beyond your average sports fiction novel.
Social hierarchies in school, dismissal of male victims of rape, bullying, substance abuse, abuse of the power and authority, speech disorder - No stone is left unturned. It's an incredibly hard book to read but also hopeful in its own way. Narrated in distinctive dual POVs of a gymnast and a football player, Leverage is a homage to beautiful friendships found in unlikely places.