{ "item_title" : "The Boys of Riverside", "item_author" : [" Thomas Fuller "], "item_description" : "NAMED A BEST BOOK BY BOOK RIOT, AND MORE - The incredible story of an all-deaf high school football team's triumphant climb from underdog to undefeated, their inspirational brotherhood, a fascinating portrait of deafness in America, and the indefatigable head coach who spearheaded the team, by New York Times reporter and Page One Correspondent, Thomas Fuller.The Boys of Riverside is another example of how anyone can achieve their dreams, making what appears impossible, possible. --Marlee Matlin, Academy Award winnerRemarkable--Wall Street Journal - Narrative nonfiction at its finest, filled with drama, detail and action.--Los Angeles Times - Inspiring. --Parade.com In November 2021, an obscure email from the California Department of Education landed in New York Times reporter, Thomas Fuller's, inbox. The football team at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside, a state-run school with only 168 high school students, was having an undefeated season. After years of covering war, wildfires, pandemic, and mass shootings, Fuller was captivated by the story of this group of high school boys. It was uplifting. During the gloom of the pandemic, it was a happy story. It was a sports story but not an ordinary one, built on the chemistry between a group of underestimated boys and their superhero advocate coach, Keith Adams, a deaf former athlete himself. The team, and Adams, tackled the many stereotypes and seemed to be succeeding. Fuller packed his bags and drove seven hours to the Riverside campus. The Boys of Riverside looks back at the historic 2021 and 2022 seasons in which the California School for the Deaf chased history. It follows the personal journeys of their dynamic deaf head coach, and a student who spent the majority of the season sleeping in his father's car in the Target parking lot. It tells the story of a fiercely committed player who literally played through a broken leg in order not to miss a crucial game, as well as myriad other heart-wrenching and uplifting narratives of players who found common purpose. Through their eyes, Fuller reveals a portrait of high school athletics, inspiring camaraderie, and deafness in America.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers4.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/0/38/554/987/0385549873_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "28.00", "online_price" : "28.00", "our_price" : "28.00", "club_price" : "28.00", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "" } }

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In the fall of 2021, Thomas Fuller, a breaking news reporter for the New York Times, learned about a high school football team steamrolling their opponents on the way to a league championship. The team? The California School for the Deaf, Riverside. In his stirring The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory, Fuller movingly recounts the Riverside Cubs’ rousing tale of courage, hope and triumph on and off the football field. Many of the Cubs had tried to play for hearing teams, but they faced frustration and ridicule; joining the Cubs, an all-deaf team with an all-deaf coaching staff, gave them a sense of brotherhood, belonging and mission. Fuller profiles Dominic Turner, who always felt alienated playing for hearing schools; with the Cubs, he became the standout defensive player he had yearned to be. Phillip Castaneda was living in a car in the Target parking lot across from the Cubs’ field when he found his way into practice and soon excelled as a lightning-fast running back. Head coach Keith Adams, himself a deaf former athlete, emphasized stamina, endurance and teamwork to his players. Adams’ sons, Trevin and Kaden, played on the Cubs, Trevin leading the team as quarterback because of his passion and talent for the game. “I came to see the Cubs as a flesh-and-blood realization of the American dream,” Fuller writes. Their opponents from hearing schools would often talk about how embarrassed they’d be to lose to a deaf team. But lose they did. Being deaf gave the Cubs an edge: The noise of the crowd didn’t distract them, and they could communicate effortlessly using sign language, which often confused opposing players. Fuller follows the Cubs through a full season and change, providing game-by-game synopses that never read as dry or sterile. His knack for vivid, fast-paced storytelling animates The Boys of Riverside and puts readers at every game. He illustrates the Cubs’ triumphs to prove to the world that deafness is “no impediment to sporting glory.”