Book Love: Leverage

LEVERAGE
Joshua C. Cohen
Dutton

Leverage, told through the dual perspectives of Danny, a scrawny and fearful gymnast and Kurt, a tough but troubled football player, is one of those stories that just completely knocks you out. What starts as a nasty rivalry between the football team and the gymnasts grows increasingly hostile as the tyranny of a few of the football players seems to know no bounds. Without giving much away, the event that lies at the center of this novel is incredibly terrifying and told with a gritty realism that makes it all the more monstrous.

I'm not joking when I say that this is, quite possibly, the most disturbing book I've ever read. Firmly rooted in reality and worst possible scenarios, Joshua C. Cohen paints a vivid portrait of two guys who, despite their obvious differences, are trapped in their fear and fighting for courage.

Kurt, the newest member of the football team, is an incredible character full of heart and a need to be bigger, tougher, stronger than anyone else so that nobody can hurt him. He's has plenty of weaknesses but more than makes up for them with how amazing and protective he is. On the other side of the story is Danny, a talented gymnast who finds an unexpected friendship with the hulking Kurt; in spite of the animosity that exists between their respective teams, neither of these boys realizes the horror they'll soon be wrapped up in.

You guys, this book is amazing. Amazing and gritty and horrifying and terrifying and incredible and written so well I almost can't believe it. Kurt has skyrocketed to a place on my list of Favorite Ever Characters while a few of his teammates earned themselves a place on the Characters Who Should Die Die DIE!!! list. And that list didn't even exist before this book. I can't stop thinking about it. I emailed the author before I'd even finished just to go OMG OMG OMG THIS BOOK. If you're a fan of Courtney Summers, if you like gritty, edgy contemporary, you should definitely read this book. I hesitate to recommend it to everybody, omg just because it is so intense and it doesn't shy away from the horribleness of the events. But really, truly, this is a great story. The characters are developed so well it's scary, the writing is incredible, and it's a story that stays with you well beyond the last page.