Rhino's Run - by Robert Lipsyte (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Ronnie Rhinehart, better known as Rhino on the field, is the captain of his high school team in Woodhaven, a small town obsessed with football. His only goal is to earn a Division I football scholarship so he can escape this town forever. Until the day he punches Josh Kremens in the face."--

Book Synopsis

"You can't play it safe when you're the captain."

From celebrated author Robert Lipsyte, this powerful coming-of-age follows high school football player Ronnie "Rhino" Rhinehart after a violent incident at school leaves him questioning everything he ever believed.

Ronnie Rhinehart, better known as Rhino on the field, is the captain of his high school team in Woodhaven, a small town obsessed with football. His only goal is to earn a Division I football scholarship so he can escape this town forever. Until the day he punches Josh Kremens in the face.

To avoid serious punishment and stay in school, Ronnie is forced to join Group, a cast of misfits who discuss their feelings with a counselor. At the same time, tensions are rising on the football team. Not everyone is happy that Ronnie, a junior, was named captain, especially Cogan and his friends the Berserkers. Other than his best friend, Andy, Ronnie struggles to find solace and support, even at home, where his dad puts pressure on him to maintain his role on the team. Reluctantly, Ronnie finds himself liking aspects of Group, even if he isn't always a welcome presence to the other members. Then one fateful day, Keith, another Group member, comes to school with a gun . . . and everything changes.

Review Quotes

"Hot-button issues crowd the pages of Lipsyte's latest, as an impulsive punch to a classmate's jaw lands football co-captain Ronald "Rhino" Rhinehart in a mandatory therapy group ... A jumbo package of provocative contemporary issues centered on an appealing protagonist." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Veteran author Lipsyte delivers an empathetic story of a young man grappling with the complex modern world, where deadly violence has become an all-too-real possibility for people his age. ... Exquisite character work combined with hard-hitting subject matter shows that some 60 years since his debut novel, Lipsyte has not lost a single step." -- Booklist (starred review)