"The Player" by Paul Coccia tells the story of a high school student named Ezequiel who navigates the complexities of identity, relationships, and the pressures of teenage life. Ezequiel is passionate about basketball and dreams of earning a scholarship, but he also grapples with his family's expectations and his own self-acceptance. As he faces challenges on and off the court, including friendship dilemmas and romantic interests, Ezequiel learns to embrace his true self and finds strength in vulnerability. The narrative explores themes of belonging, the pursuit of dreams, and the importance of staying true to oneself amid societal pressures. [Generated by language model - please report any problems].

This book is part of a book series called Lorimer Sidestreets .

This book has been graded for interest at 13-17 years.

There are 160 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2021 by Lorimer Children & Teens .