You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
Listened to the audio book. An amazing story. I felt so inspired to step outside my own comfort zone after reading it. Highly recommended.
This is a beautiful book. It's 'Boys in the Boat' 1999. A group of boys, black boys, who take on crew to find a way out and a future. Preston invites Arshay to go to an intro to crew (they provide pizza) in exchange for giving Arshay an introduction to his dream girl. The girl eventually goes away and Arshay finds an alternative to the only life he knows. It was certainly eye opening to the struggle kids of color have to break the cycle they know of gangs, drugs etc...It's also convincing themselves that they are worth it, that it's ok to trust a white guy, it's ok to join a team that includes a rival gang member and it's ok to dream big. Love this book!
3.5 stars. Really moving and inspiring. A feel-good sports book, and one that I think is going to stay with me for a while. Arshay unflinchingly talks about growing up in Chicago and the impact that crew had on his life and the lives of his friends. At times it was a little hard to focus on the audiobook, but that is totally a me thing, not a knock on the book itself.
Inspiring story of success against all odds. The writing is patchy but the story makes up for it.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.5 stars, rounded up. Listened to the audiobook. The story is awesome, really wonderful; I just wish I’d felt more captivated by the telling of it.
Thank you Flatriron Books and NetGalley for the ARC of A Most Beautiful Thing by Arshay Cooper. I read so many inspiring moments while reading Arshay’s telling of his and teammates’ historic achievement. At times I felt conflicted; this is still a great story of overcoming and becoming greater than what society may label you.
What an incredible read. It is devastating and wonderful; heartbreaking and inspirational. A Most Beautiful Thing is a book for all to read - you don’t have to be a rower to see the power of this story. The number of challenges these student-rowers have to face is innumerable: being poor, a minority, not having a support system, having broken and substance-using families, being in an under-funded school, living through gang violence and seeing death from a young age. The list goes on. These boys had to face these challenges on a daily basis just to survive. And yet, a group of athletes was able to change Chicago’s rowing landscape to be more diverse, in a sport that is so wealthy and white. The epilogue made me so happy and simultaneously broke my heart. The stories of the men who are doing everything right, and still experience violence and death is unacceptable and tragic. I am very excited to see the documentary and learn more about the Manley Rowers. This book shows that support and community can change kids’ lives, if we choose to invest in them.