Author: E Lynn Harris
Title: Just Too Good to be True
Genre: Multi-cultural
Publication Date: 2003
Number of Pages: 336 (audio: 9 hours, 52 minutes)
Geographical Setting: Georgia
Time Period: Present
Series (If applicable):
Plot Summary: Brady Bledsoe is the only son of single mother Carmyn Bledsoe and the star senior on his college football team. They are very close and Carmyn is proud of the fact that Brady has been involved in their church and is part of the “Celibacy Circle”. As his final football season ends changes start building between the two. Brady gets his first serious girlfriend; aggressive sports agents start knocking, and secrets about Carmyn’s past and Brady’s father start coming out. The relationship between mother and son is tested in ways it never has been before.
One interesting thing about the audio book is that three different readers read each point of view.
Subject Headings: Mothers and Sons- Fiction, African-American college athletes-Fiction, Family Secrets- Fiction, Celibacy- Fiction, Football- Fiction
Appeal: compelling, deliberate pacing, dramatic, multiple points of view, character centered, episodic, layered, strong language, racy, hard edged, candid, colorful
3 terms that best describe this book: character centered, candid, multiple points of view
Similar Authors and Works (why are they similar?):
3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors
Fifty Years of College Football- Bob Boyles and Paul Guido
Jam-packed with information about college football, the book is perfect for the reader looking up a fact or in search of a good read. As the ultimate college football reference book, it is a must-read for true fans. Readers who enjoyed the college football aspect of Just Too Good to be True and want to know more about the sport will enjoy this book.
License to Deal: A Season on the Run with a Maverick Baseball Agent by Jerry Crasnick
During baseball’s evolution from national pastime to a $3.6 billion business, the game’s agents have played a pivotal role in driving the sport. License to Deal follows Matt Sosnick as he deals with up-and-coming clients while trying to keep his love of baseball and his integrity. The integrity of sports agents is a big subject in Just To Good to be True and this book examines one sports agent and his quest to keep his honor in this profession.
Raising Sons Without Fathers: A Woman’s Guide to Parenting Strong, Successful Boys by Leif Turdel and Patricia Kennedy
Dr. Leif Terdal and Patricia Kennedy describe the problems faced by sons without fathers and advise single mothers about how to raise more self-reliant young men. Providing practical, hands-on advice, the authors offer solutions to a variety of problems, including but not limited to, raising a boy’s self-esteem; discipline from preschool to adolescence; helping a boy get the best education he can; and how mothers can survive alone. Readers who appreciate the dynamic between Carmyn and Brady will enjoy this non-fiction parenting book.
3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors
The Preacher’s Son by Carl Weber
Bishop T.K. Wilson, popular pastor of the largest African American church in Queens, New York, has decided to run for borough president. In public, his wife and two children are a shining example of respectability. Yet privately, the Wilson kids are giving in to the same temptations as any other young adults. And their parents have no idea what’s going on behind closed doors. This page-turner also deals with the way family dynamics can change when secrets come to light.
Mothers & Sons by Jill M Morgan, Diana Gabaldon, and others
This book is an anthology of memoirs and fictional stories about relationships between mothers and their sons. Some stories are wonderfully sweet, while some are painfully sad. Readers who enjoyed the dynamic between Brady and Carmen in Just Too Good to be True will appreciate this collection of stories about mothers and sons.
Romancing the Zone by Kenna White
Liz Elliott is a business woman and single mother to nineteen-year-old daughter, Becca. Becca is a freshman at Ashton College and a star of the basketball team, like her mother was years ago. But in those early days, a dirty little secret collapsed Liz’s world. When Liz accepts Becca’s challenge to return to college and complete her degree as well as play her last year of basketball eligibility, she is met with resistance from the new head coach. Coach Sheridan Ross has no patience for babysitting an over-the-hill athlete, but sparks soon begin to fly. This is another sports fiction book that deals with family secrets. Romancing the Zone is similar to Just Too Good to be True, but with GLBTQ themes.
Name: Becky Ozinga