Too Far

By Mike Lupica

Book Overview

The biggest thing that's ever happened to the Long Island town of South Shore is its high-school basketball team, blessed with two players of national caliber and the white-hot attention of the media. Not even the death of the team's manager can dampen the enthusiasm for long, but then a kid on the high school paper begins to hear things-stories of brutalities at a team retreat, of hazing that went over the line . . . of murder. But no one wants to know, and at every step, the ranks close against him-the school, the parents, the police, the town fathers. Soon the threats begin, then the physical intimidation, and even after he recruits a fallen-from-grace city newsman named Ben Mitchell to help him, the incidents get uglier-and more dangerous. "You always kill for a big story," Mitchell tells him. "You don't get killed for one." But it may already be too late. Things may have gone too far. For years, such top thriller writers as Harlan Coben, Elmore Leonard, and Carl Hiaasen have praised Lupica for his tightly wound plots, rich characters, and dialogue "that is alone worth the price" (Leonard). Now Lupica joins their ranks. Too Faris a major novel of suspense-and a book that makes us all look in our own backyards.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399152105
• ISBN13: 9780399152108
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.4" x 1.2" x 6.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Anal Rule in High School

In TOO FAR veteran sportswriter Mike Lupica has written a thriller from a moral high ground, a plea for tolerance and against sadistic hazing. In the wake of the notorious Mepham High School football scandal, this book comes as a wake up call. It would be fair to say that actually this novel is nothing more than the Mepham case with the names changed and the athletic action switched from the gridiron to the hoops; it's pretty transparent that way. Well, Upton Sinclair wasn't subtle either. Nor is any man on a crusade against sodomy. Old school print journalist Ben Mitchell gets interested in the death of a high school basketball player on Long Island, whose body has floated ashore. With the help of student reporter Sam Perry, Ben quickly maps out the lay of the land in a perverted, though very starry, b-ball organization. Its pecking order is maintained by a strict system of threats and balances, and a pivotal part of team control lies in systemic anal rape of fellow teammates. In one genuinely creepy scene, the boy reporter is lured to a desolate park in the woods where he is assaulted and sat on, his pants and shorts removed. From behind a broomstick, its handle coated in mineral ice to improve lubrication, enters his rectum as he squirms and cries, just an inch, that's all, enough to show him who's in control. When he agrees to lay off his investigation, his attackers laugh sadistically and promise him that if he doesn't obey their threats to the letter, that broomstick gets shoved in all the way. It's no idle threat. They've already made their will known by using a basketball summer camp as a rape staging area, pressing a pinecone up the ass of one outnumbered boy, whispering to him "You like to be close to nature, don't you?" The trouble is that this campaign of intimidation can continue indefinitely, since each raped boy would (literally) rather die than have his assault reported, for fear that other boys would say he enjoyed it. Sam is taunted with the nickname, "Broomstick Boy." Others try suicide. Lupica links this isolated case to a nationwide system of sexual abuse among teammates, citing dozens of real life cases. He suggests provocatively that such abuse is built-in to teams with multiple "stars," since such teams have a radical instability that implodes on itself. Shag and Kobe, he says, dislike each other, because on any team there can be only "one f--ing man." These codes of masculinity may seem outdated, but to the guard with blood dripping out his butt, staining the radiant white of his uniform shorts, it's no laughing matter.

Lupica writes a mean sports novel...

Mike Lupica writes a mean sports novel. His latest, Too Far, is no exception... A "retired" sportswriter, Ben Mitchell, is trying to figure out what he wants to do after quitting his job over someone killing himself over a story. While he's killing time in the small town he came from, a high school reporter, Sam Perry, introduces himself and asks for advice on how to proceed on a story where he has information no one else has. The manager of the small town high school basketball team has turned up dead from a beating. It looks to be related somehow to a hazing incident during a team camp. When another player on the team and friend of Perry also shows "injuries" that might be part of the hazing, things start heating up. Mitchell starts coaching Perry on how to handle the story, but soon it evolves into an effort to keep Perry, his mom, and himself from getting severely beaten or even killed. Since the team is arguably the best high school team in the country, no one wants to rock the boat or expose anything that might be wrong. Mitchell and Perry have to decide how important it is to tell the story and uncover the truth, no matter how unsavory it might be... This is not a novel for the squeamish. Lupica deals with the issue of hazing, or team initiation events that go far beyond playful pranks. In this case, sexual abuse is the problem, and the kids who were abused have to live with what happened as well as knowing that everyone else knows what happened. Add the pressure and threats to keep it quiet, and you start to understand the anguish involved on the part of the kids. You also come to understand the pressures involved by a reporter when they have to choose between the easy path of ignoring a story (sometimes for their own safety) or the harder route of exposing the truth regardless of the personal cost. Lupica does a great job in telling a well-written story with real issues faced in today's society. If you're not easily offended by difficult subjects, this is an excellent read...

Too Good

Lupica delivers another gem with his newest novel "Too Far". The characters are well developed and seem to come right out of your own town. This is a story with twists that you won't see coming, and characters that will keep you turning page after page. Few writers today have the wit and sharp writing style that Mike Lupica has mastered in his books and columns. This is probably his most underrated venture yet. Teens and Parents that loved "Travel Team" should read "Too Far" to see both ends of the spectrum, how teams can be a magical experience, but can also be a harrowing trip. This thriller shouldn't be put off. Go buy it today.

Great suspense thriller

Lupica delivers again! This time with a little different style than he normally uses, not as much comedy in this one as there in his others. But still, a great book and one of my favorites of Lupica. Suspenseful, greaty storyline, he kept me guessing so much i could not put the book down. Literally. Read it in one day because everytime i would say "ok after this chapter i'll take a break" he would end a chapter with a phrase that makes you just keep going. Great writing style, very basic...but thats whats great about it. Read this book, you will have a great time trying to figure out the mystery, i know i did! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Lupica goes yard again!!

Mike Lupica has once again solidified his position as the premier author of our time in sports related books. Too Far is a long overdue wake-up call for the parents of all high school and college atheletes. Hazing in sports has been shoved under the carpet for too long and Lupica is to be applauded for bringing it to the surface in a captivating format. Too Far is a thrilling ride that leaves the reader emotionally charged!