Rating: 
Summary: Save Your Money!
Review: I, like so many others, have read every one of Grisham's books. Fortunately, I read this one from the public library. If I didn't know better, I would think this book was a first attempt from an aspiring writer. Hard to imagine that the same person who wrote "A Time to Kill" could pen this drivel. Read it if you must, but save your money & borrow it from somewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Character Study
Review: I really enjoyed this book. This book is mostly a character study though. There is no action but there is some suspense about events (the big secret) that occured when the main character was in high school.I would recommend this book mostly because it is entertaining and so short you can finish it in a day. I am glad Grisham didn't try to pad the story to make it longer than the 163 pages. It was just the right length for the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Got it yesterday, finished it today
Review: Grisham is awesome! Once again, he astounds with his ability to suck you into the lives of the characters and really, truly care about them. Only complaint here is the book is too short. It goes by too quick. I also recommend Sovereign Rule.
Rating:
Summary: Legal Thriller or Not, It's Still Grisham!
Review: I love John Grisham's legal thrillers, absolutely love them. And although Bleachers isn't his typical thriller, I genuinely enjoyed the story and the characters. It was a satisfying, lighter read with Grisham's hallmark insight into people and their motivations. Fans of Grisham will enjoy Bleachers. Also highly recommend to Grisham fans The Gravel Drive and Shade of the Maple by Kirk Martin, as well as the Da Vinci Code.
Rating:
Summary: A one-sitting read for every football fan and player
Review: For decades, Coach Eddie Rake was a local icon in the small southern town of Messina. He screamed at and somehow motivated nearly every male in the county to don a green and white Spartan jersey, to push forward, to win and never fail. His record was 418-62. His teams won 13 state titles. And a nearly perfect coaching career was marred by two events -- one that divided the town, and another that was so secretive it still generated gossip and speculation 15 years later. Now the Coach is on his deathbed, and his former players have migrated back to The Field to hold vigil. They come from all walks of life. Some of them never left Messina. Some have found success in a profession, and others haven't. All share the common bond of playing under Coach Rake. Theirs is a football fraternity that spans years and hundreds of teammates. Neely Crenshaw was a quarterback on one of the championship squads of the 1980s. He's remembered by most locals as Messina's only All-American ... and the one whose playing career was cut short by a side tackle during his second year in college. We follow Neely as he returns to his hometown with apprehension but a sense of duty. He's still not sure if he hates Eddie Rake or loves him. It seems his old teammates feel the same way. Grisham's technique is stellar. Just four chapters are needed to fill in the backstory and to get the audience ready for the obvious conclusion, and each chapter connects to the book title. He issues respect by capitalizing the noun "Coach" even when it's not followed by a personal name. For although Coach Rake never appears in person on the page, he is indeed the subject of the story. The writing is so real that at times you can touch the green crest of the manicured turf, and you can feel a cold aluminum plank under your seat. The most emotional scene of all comes 20 pages before the back cover, and yet we cannot stop reading. It's almost like being in Canton on Induction Weekend. [I've been there twice.] Critics might say these characters are stereotypical. Coach Rake is like the Woody Hayes, the Bear Bryants, and the Lou Holtzes of the game. Clones of Neely Crenshaw and Jesse Trapp, the kids who should "make it big," can be found on teams at every playing level. But stereotypes always reflect some truth, and every small town has its own equivalents of the men we meet in this book. That's why we'll all nod and say, "Yup, that's just like -----" when we're finished with _Bleachers_. It inspires us to think of our own former teachers, coaches, and classmates. Pick it up for a jog down memory lane. What a great way to start the 2003 football season!
Rating: 
Summary: Bad Grisham
Review: When I was 18 I enjoyed reading Grisham with all the legal stuff. After that he published 'A Painted House', not a courtroom thriller and I enjoyed that too. He wrote that book so beautifully and he has proved his worth on serious literature.
With Bleashers, he sucks. Can he just get rid of all the overly imaginative numbers? Like they got paid millions for playing collage football and millions people coming to the finals, having a friend with thousands of stores in US alone and hundreds of collage offer him place bacause he excels in football. I rather stick to 'A Painted House'
Rating:
Summary: A nice enough story....but where is the John Grisham....
Review: ....that wrote novels that I could hardly wait to get my hands on? I used to cringe at the though of having to wait for my next Grisham-fix! Bleachers is a pleasant enough tale with a somewhat interesting, albeit annoyingly predictable storyline, I will give it that. But I'd be willing to bet that for those of us who remember the spell-binding and positively riveting storylines of his earlier novels, the fact that Bleachers is somewhat interesting is of very little solace. Those of you who know his work, know just what I'm talking about. I don't know exactly when it started, maybe it was with Painted House, but Grisham's novels have become absolutely forgettable. I used to have no qualms with parting with my hard-earned dollars on hardbacks of his stuff so I wouldn't have to wait a whole year for the paperback to come out! Now, I feel like I got taken for the $5 I paid for the paperback version of Bleachers at my local WalMart! If Grisham's the next effort is as innocuous and cookie-cutter as Bleachers was, I'll keep my money and look for his next attempt as I'm sifting through the inevitable stack of unwanted books at my neighbor's future garage sale.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring and Uplifting
Review: Departing from his legal suspense novels, Bleachers, is a wonderful change of pace for Grisham. I love Grisham's non-legal books and have found them all to be wonderfully entertaining and this book is no exception. The scene where the football players were reminiscing over a past played game was wonderful and the reader felt "right there" reliving it all with them. Grisham reminds us that people are not what they seem. Appearances can be and are deceiving as we see with Coach Eddie Rake. Inspiring each and every one of his players, Coach Rake's influence flowed into all of their lives long after the glory days of high school football playing was over. It isn't until Rake's impending demise from cancer that most of his former players gather for the inevitable and reminiscent over their "glory" days and what Coach Rake has meant to each of them and to their small town as well. Coach Rake has touched each life that was under his tutelage and more often than not, left an indelible and lasting impression. The former players also get to see a more compassionate side of Coach Rake that many did not know existed! I found the book to be not only humorous, but uplifting and inspiring as well. Grisham reminds us that we all make mistakes throughout the course of our lives - what we decide to do with those grievous errors either makes us or breaks us. Highly recommend!
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: i think this book was very interesting. It was nice to read a book that didn't have a lawyer as the main character. I enjoy football, so this book gets 5 stars from me.
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. At times, I could picture it as if it were a movie playing in my head. It involved one set, the football field, and lots of flashbacks. Grisham looked at the small town life and their love of high school football because they don't have any other claim to fame. I grew up in a smaller town and I could see a similar scenario playing out there as well. It was a short book, but I don't think it needed to be any longer, it would have just been filler. Don't hate the book because it's not Grisham's normal legal thriller. Enjoy it for what it is: a story that you can be immersed in and maybe learn a thing or two about people.
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