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by S. A. Fanning (Author)
It was only supposed to be a high school football game, but when racial tensions spill from the bleachers, one person is left bleeding on the field. Senior linebacker, Ben Hoy, is still reeling with emotion when the local news arrives and asks what he's feeling. His answer changes his life.
Ben's call for peace and unity spark a firestorm. His coach urges the team to put the "incident" behind them, calling the victim a thug and placing the blame on the other school and town council for their decision to relocate a confederate statue. For Ben, it's not so simple. As a White person, he's never given much thought to the statue but is jolted by the violence at the stadium. So when the school superintendent requests he take part in a press conference with opposing linebacker, Devin Calloway, who is Black, Ben reluctantly agrees. He isn't even out of the parking lot before his first death threat rolls in.
No longer welcome at his own school, Ben enrolls across town, where he and Devin find resistance from all sides, and Ben finds he's not the only one making sacrifices. A pro-monument demonstration is gaining traction. Soon Ben and Devin are thrust into the thick of violence, once again, where they can only hope their calls for unity have made any difference at all.
