Reviewed by coollibrarianchick for TeensReadToo.com

In the locker room, the word fag is tossed around jokingly between teammates. What they do not realize is that among them is someone struggling to accept that he is different, that he is gay.

It is one thing being gay - it is totally another thing playing a testosterone-driven sport, being the star quarterback, and being gay.

Bobby Framingham, star quarterback, who dreams of playing for Stanford, is an all around good guy; handsome, popular and More...

I loved this book. It's the story of Bobby, a 17-year old quarterback who realizes he's gay and has to make the decision whether or not to come out and be accepted for who he is in his senior high school year. Or whether to stay in hiding, "play it safe", and not "mess up" his chances of becoming a pro football player (as he sees no openly gay role models in any of the four major American sports).

The book brings out all the issues a highschool senior fights with in the context of him being gay a More...

Finally a novel where a boy has the chance to prove that not all teenagers are troubled kid, and that, yes, it’s not simple to be gay, but it’s not even the end of the world. True, Bobby, the boy in question, is probably living in a better situation than the majority of the gay teenagers out there, and it’s easier for him, but still, what strongly comes out of this story (no pun intended), is that, if a teenager has a strong and supporting family on his back, and a good net of relationship in fr More...

Out of the Pocket
Bill Konigsberg
Dutton Juvenile (272)
Drama/ Social Issues
0525479961
Bill Konigsberg’s Out of the Pocket is a powerful Young Adult novel that addresses the bigotry and homophobic nature of both the sports world and the high school environment. Bobby Framingham faces numerous obstacles; football stars aren’t supposed to be homosexual. Bobby’s personal life is big-media news when he is unwillingly outed by an ambitious muckraking school journalist. Out of the Pocket addresses very re More...

I read this book in one sitting, which is a huge compliment because I'm something of a reluctant reader these days. It was compelling and interesting. Each of the characters was very lifelike to me. They did not simply run together and I did not get confused with who was who (which is a huge issue with a lot of books I read). This was definitely a beautiful book that challenges many stereotypes and will likely be a comfort to those gay kids who do fit into the 'Glee/Kurt Hummel' box. When I was More...

What a heartwarming and skilfully written story! This book has a simple, forthright, straight-forward, All-American adolescent maleness all over it. Definitely a guy’s guy book, written with a decidedly male voice, that much is unequivocal. Konigsberg captures perfectly the horror, the confusion, the initial inchoate attractions for one’s own sex. Any man who’s ever experienced the first tremulous premonitions that something is “off”, that the way he looks at a woman’s breasts is not quite in th More...

I first found out about this book during my holiday reading spree. I had run across some YA fiction that focused on gay issues and, not having such things when I was a YA, I quickly immersed myself in lots of different titles and authors.
Having consumed so much in such a short period of time, I was a little burned out on the subject. I created a wish list, adding this title to it, and moved on to some other subjects. The book again turned up, this time as the March selection for www.mygaybookclu More...

Bobby, a 17 year old is gay and he is a star football player. He don't know if he should go public with his choice because it might have an effect on his future. His other decision is telling nobody and just go pro without nobody knowing. He only told 2 people that he was guy and when he told them, they told others. Since people already know, he thinks that he's going to change his attitude towards being gay or just be gay and mess up his future.

Bobby had dreams about males, so when they were on More...

Well, plot wise and writing wise, this book leans more toward 3 stars, but honestly, I'm giving it 4 solely because I'm glad the book exists. So much of LBGTQ themed YA lit features a gay male who is a stereotypical musical theater diva type (Tiny Cooper from Will Grayson x2, Augie from My Most Excellent Year), etc. that it is nice to see a "different face of gay" so to speak. Bobby Framingham is the QB of his HS football team, super hunky, popular, etc. and is outed by a pretty crappy classmate More...

Out of the Pocket
By Bill Konigsberg

This is a novel that involves a 17 year old high school quarterback who realizes that he is gay. Bill Konigsberg’s writing is impeccable. Konigsberg writes in a way that grasps reader’s attention and forces them to feel what the main character Bobby is feeling. Bobby, the quarterback, struggles with the decision to tell people of his realization until he is about to be publically called out by the high school paper. This novel shows a different side to homosexu More...

Sportswriter Bill Konigsberg delivers a winning debut novel with OUT OF THE POCKET - a novel that tackles head-on the challenges faced by a high-school quarterback whose dreams of college and NFL stardom may be compromised by the fact he happens to be gay. Can his coach, his teammates, his family and friends handle the truth? How will the news play out in the media? In a world where no openly gay athletes compete in any major pro sports, how much responsibility for changing people's attitudes sh More...

Out of the Pocket


Today I want to recommend a book that is really amazing: Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg.
If you are interested to find out more about the author:

www.billkonigsberg.com/

A note: Ouotes of the book are signed by --.

Bobby Framingham is the star quarterback at the Durango High School football team, extremely talented and nobody has a doubt he’ll be a successful pro one day. He has nice parents, friends and teammates and everything would be wonderful – if he didn’t know he is dif More...

In his senior year of high school, football star Bobby Framingham has come face-to-face with the reality that he is a homosexual. The novel follows his journey through his decision of weather or not to “come out of the closet.” After weighing his options, Bobby decides he is not ready to come public for the fear that his sexuality will interfere with his recruitment to play college football. After speaking with a “friend” confidentially, Bobby soon learns that his secret has been let out, and al More...

Bill Konigsberg’s Out of the Pocket is an inspirational story of a teenager who is discovering a new identity for himself: he realizes that he is gay. This epiphany is fraught with worry, and it is even more complicated for Bobby Framingham, the high school star quarterback. As Bobby wrestles with all of the feelings and emotions of his discovery, he is torn about whom to reveal his secret. He finally decides to share it with his closest friend, but word gets out. As the news travels quickly thr More...

Bobby Framingham is in his senior year as the quarterback for his high school football team when he is forced to come to terms with his sexuality. This novel comes from a perspective that very few novels come from; and that is from the first person perspective of a gay individual.

Konigsberg tackles the issue of coming out of the closet (or pocket) in highschool, as well as coming out as a national prospect for collage football. Konigsberg addresses the issues that any teen might have in high sch More...

I really, really, really wanted to like this book more. :(
I probably enjoyed getting to meet Bill Konigsberg more than the other two authors. I thought he was engaging and he really made me want to read the book, which is about a high school football star coming out in the spotlight. But when I got into the book, I didn't like it as much as I'd hoped.
Don't get me wrong, it's an AWESOME book. Really great story. But I was hoping for something that would blow me out of the water, something that I More...

Out of the pocket
Bill Konigsberg
Dutton Books, c2008, 264 pages, $16.99
YAL dealing with homosexual issues / sports
ISBN 978-0-525-47996-3

Bill Konigsberg’s first young adult literature book, Out of the Pocket is a refreshing and needed book for young adults and readers abroad. Konigsberg sculpts a world with the head quarterback, Bobby Framingham at the center of the scene. Bobby is beloved by his friends, his team, his family, and especially the college scouts. However, what everyone doesn’t kno More...

Wow! What a great book. OK, so quick synopsis...closeted gay football star makes tentative steps toward coming out only to be outted far quicker than he intended, throw in family, friends and recruiters and you've got yourself a novel! Every scene is well illustrated while not being trite. So easily with gay/coming out fiction it can all get a bit preachy, but Bill K, does an amazing job of being both believable and surprising. The chracters seem natural and well developed.

This was an incredibly well-written book, and though I know close to nothing about American Football I’m pretty sure it’s very well researched too. Unfortunately it just doesn’t move me…at all.

The story is focused on the main character, High school Quarterback Bobby Framingham, and his journey out of the closet. It is a very interesting and important story, the sports world would need a story like Bobby’s. It is told thoughtfully and with attention to detail. I read and I read and I read, and th More...

Bobby Framingham, wow what a great character. His whole experience is so beautifully and accurately written by Konigsberg that I felt as if this young man were real. I graduated in 2008, when this book was published, and to read it now, at a later stage in my life, was very moving for me because of how real each of his characters actions, reactions, values and dialogue seemed to me. At certain points it felt like I was reading about people I had known forever, I was that involved in Bobby's expe More...

When I was growing up, I don't believe there were any young adult fiction books dealing with being gay or lesbian. It's so wonderful to see that in the year 2011, this issue has been remedied by a slew of novels that now sit prominently next to The Hunger Games and Harry Potter series. I also really appreciate the topics these books are attempting to tackle. This nicely written book is told from the viewpoint of Bobby Framingham, a senior quarterback dealing with being gay and outed unwillingly More...

Konigsberg’s YAL novel, Out of the Pocket, deserves tons of praise in that readers are given a glimpse a perfect combination of what seems to be, on the surface, two typically opposing forces: high school football and homosexuality. The story revolves around star quarterback Bobby, secretly struggling with his inward realizations of his homosexual attractions in knowing the detriment it could to his future on the field. Shortly, however, his secret is no longer hidden once revealed in his school More...

The best adjective I could think of to describe this book is perhaps “earnest.”

The reluctantly outed celebrity quarterback’s story is told with such sincerity and truth that the reader cannot but root for the main character. Along the way, there is just the right amount of suspense and uncertainty — how everyone might react to the news and accept or disapprove of his sexuality or decision making — to maintain a high interest level to continue reading. I read through it quickly because I truly wa More...

Bobby Framingham a promising young high school quarterback, is outed by a student reporter and gets lots of media attention, a few taunts but basically comes out of it OK. This is a nice coming of age story that seems to almost present a rosy picture of what it's like for a high school athlete to come out as gay. He still retains his friends, he gets new allies and even finds the time to go out on a few dates. He does have to deal with other family issues involving his parents & his worries More...

A senior in high school and a star quarterback on high school football team, Bobby Framingham seems to have it all. However, he also has a secret -- he's gay. With no openly gay professional football role models to look up to, Bobby has no plans to come out. However, one of the school journalists with college aspirations of his own robs him of that choice and now Bobby must deal with what it means to be an openly gay athlete on a national level.

While it is definitely written by a sports writer, More...

Not a fun read for me. Unfortunately I've never been big into sports and all the football made me go "Woa, what's going on?" The slang terms (that's what I call them) make you feel like your stupid because you don't understand what a snap is in football. When I read fiction I really like to feel what the main character is feeling more, and I couldn't really get there with this novel. It also was sadly predictable. The writing isn't really all that sophisticated compared to some of the other writ More...

Fantastic YA read about a high school football player who's faced with the reality of coming out within the world of athletics. I really appreciated the way that this timely topic was handled. I have a lot of hope that kids in high school, particularly athletes, will one day find a more tolerant atmosphere that will make them more comfortable with coming out before they head to college/pros. There was definitely some angst here and some intolerance, but overall it made me hopeful that, even if t More...

This was my first LGBTQ book, and I enjoyed it very much. I thought that it was very interesting and it really got my thinking about gay athletes in professional sports. I think this needs to be an issue that every person should be aware of. I thought that Bill Konigsberg did a great job of really capturing the feelings of this young teenager as he went through such a difficult time in his life.

I would use this book in my classroom on an independent reading list in which students were able to ch More...

This book related to my life, because in high school a good friend of mine who played on the same varsity basketball team was gay. I played with him for 3 years before I found out he was gay and I had got to talk him about it and he was scared about what people would think of him.

Because I got to relate this book to my life, I enjoyed this novel greatly. It gives you great insight on how one may go through a situation of being gay playing in such a straight dominated sport. It may open the eyes More...