Refuse to Fall

by Mike Stagg

In a small town in northern Michigan, three boys and a girl lead a team of high school wrestlers on a quest for a state championship. They battle their weight, stereotypes, and the best teams in the state as they fight to make it to the finals in Battle Creek. A fierce new coach leads them. He’s built a series of tough, winning programs straight across the country but a local priest suspects there’s more – that the coach carries knowledge along with his limp, knowledge that the priest and his order have pursued for centuries. The coach denies knowing anything special, yet he trains at all hours of the night and always watches the stars. The team embraces the pain, hunger, and sacrifice of wrestling even as life outside the sport besieges them. The coach guides the wrestlers as signs grow that something that only happens once in a generation might happen again. As the odds rise against the team and a mystery unfolds across continents and the heavens, they must drive each other to the finish and REFUSE TO FALL.

426 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 2014

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is like a supernatural Friday Night Lights. The sport of wrestling is combined with a compelling mystery to make something entirely new and totally engrossing. Sports fiction has never as compelling as Refuse to Fall. The grit it takes to compete and excel in wrestling comes through in every page. The characters are real, funny, and rise to a challenge through training and their own will. By the end I felt like I was in the stands crying with the parents and cheering for the kids.

The story centers around a high school wrestling team in Michigan and their coach. He's working to help them achieve their goals of getting to the State Tournament in Battle Creek, Michigan. At the same time he's training himself to be ready to fight something much more sinister. The author is incredible at drawing unique characters that feel real. The team isn't a group of stock players but kids with real lives, real humor, and real bonds. I particularly loved reading about the female wrestler on the team. She is just as tough as the boys and her journey is heart wrenching. I don't want to give away one surprise or twist. The suspense of how each team member is going to do in each match kept me turning pages well into the night!

I was a wrestling mom and I have never read a story that so perfectly captures the highs, lows, triumphs, and guts of that experience. If you like Dan Brown there's also quite a bit of supernatural for you dig in with this book but with an emotional depth that had me grabbing tissues.

Refuse to Fall is filled with great characters, a fantastic mystery, and a heck of a lot of action. Author Mike Stagg has pinned this one to the mat! Go Gaylord Blue Devils!