Too Far by Mike Lupica is a captivating novel that held my interest from page one. Most folks have heard of Mike Lupica - the tell-it-like-it-is sports columnist. But not everyone knows that he's written a fairly large number of books. Some are non-fiction, some are written for kids, and some, like this one, are written for adults. In fact, this book deals with a very adult subject matter, and many adults will be uncomfortable with the topic.

Too Far revolves around a high school basketball team. The nation's eyes are on this team as they are breaking all the winning records, and hosting two of the sport's best players. The town is basking in the team's glory. So when the team's manager ends up dead, it seems like no one wants to look too deeply into the cause.

But a high school reporter, Sam Perry, has overheard something related to the manager's death. He tells retired reporter Ben Mitchell what he's heard, and the two of them start digging around. The problem is, no one is talking. Not the players themselves. Not the Coach whose career is soaring right now. And not the police chief, whose son happens to be a player on the team. And then the threats start coming. Someone wants the reporters to back off the story. And when another player is hurt badly enough to end up in the hospital, but refuses to discuss what happened to him, it's clear that someone in the town will go a very long way, to make sure the team remains protected.

The Issues

Hazing. What happens when "innocent team initiation rituals" go too far? What happens when a group of strong teenaged boys decide to pick on the weaker kids? And their chosen method of torture is deviant sexual abuse? And when the victims would (literally) rather die, than have their humiliation publicized, and be known as the snitch that brought down the favored team. Or, when the victims are coerced into silence, by threats that they'll be hurt again, or told that their loved ones will be hurt next. And what if some adults know this is going on, but opt to look the other way? What happens when a town cares more about protecting its sports teams, than its citizens?

Those are the issues dealt with in Too Far. Mike Lupica holds nothing back. He doesn't skirt around the issue, or use politically correct phrases to hold the issue at arm's length. He calls it what it is, and we get to read about it, in full detail. This will make many people uncomfortable. After all, this is not a pleasant topic. It's not something we want to admit goes on, in the real world. And, sometimes, we want our fiction to be of the light-hearted kind, only. This is not the case with this book. It's in-your-face telling you that this does go on. And not only in the fictitious world of Ben Mitchell and Sam Perry. In fact, as Ben and Sam research the issue, they read up on (and therefore tell us about) real-life stories with remarkable similarities to what's going on in their town.

When it gets down to it, Too Far is basically telling us the Mepham High School Football scandal, with the names, locations, and the sport changed. So, don't say I didn't warn you - this is a novel, but not one for the squeamish.

So, did I like this book?

Yes, I did. Even though it's a tough subject matter to read about. I liked that the main characters in the story were extremely well defined. We get to "know" the main players on the team. We get to "know" the Coach. Trust me, it doesn't mean that I "like" these people, but at least I have an understanding of where they're coming from, and why they do what they do. The "good-guys" in the story are also well-defined. We understand what makes a retired reporter like Ben Mitchell come out of his haven in order to get to the bottom of what's happening in this town. And it's quite delightful to see Sam, a high-school reporter decide to get involved, for the sake of the truth, despite what he knows he might uncover about his school-mates, and the adults he's supposed to be able to trust. And the relationship of trust that develops between Sam and Ben is endearing. Ben sees in Sam a younger version of himself. You just know that Ben will eagerly put his own life in danger, if it means protecting Sam.

While I wouldn't say that there are "twists and turns" in this novel, you don't know exactly who's guilty of what, for quite a while. Your gut just tells you that a person or multiple people did something very bad, and that others are covering for the perp(s). But you don't get the full story until the end. Thus you end up hooked, hoping that not all the adults in this town are guilty. And, hoping that the offenders will be brought to justice.

Recommended?

I wish I could choose "Maybe", but since I have to choose "Yes" or "No" in the "recommended" field, I'll have to choose "No", because I think there's a very limited audience for this book. But I do recommend this novel for those adults who can handle the subject matter. All others should walk away.



Another Mike Lupica novel: Red Zone

Recommended: No