Deep Green

by Gary Lloyd

After not earning a spot on his junior high school basketball team, Ray is confused on what direction he should take. He has always played sports, but he is now at a crossroads. He takes up skateboarding, and with it come Ray’s downfalls. He lets a stereotype control his life. He stops hanging out with longtime friends. He begins socializing with a rough crowd. He shoplifts, and just when he thinks he has become invincible, he is arrested. A church basketball team intervenes at a crucial moment in Ray’s life. Will it be enough for Ray to get his life back on the right path?

152 pages, Paperback

Published February 25, 2016

About the author

Gary Lloyd has been a reporter and editor at newspapers and magazines in Mississippi and Alabama. He grew up in Trussville, Alabama, and earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from The University of Alabama in 2009.

He is the author of six books:

-Trussville, Alabama: A Brief History (2014)
-Deep Green (2016)
-Heart of the Plate (2016)
-Valley Road: Uplifting Stories from Down South (2017)
-Ray of Hope (2018)
-Sonny Days: Struggles, Scenery and Solace with the World's Strangest Shelter Dog (2020)

He lives in Trussville, Alabama, with his wife, Jessica, and their two dogs, Abby and Sonny.

Reviews

[Liora Ellington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep Green is a moving coming of age story that explores the power of choices and redemption. Ray, once passionate about sports, finds himself drawn into a rough crowd after rejection shakes his identity. His journey through poor decisions, peer pressure, and consequences feels authentic and relatable. What makes this story shine is its honesty showing both the struggles of adolescence and the hope that can emerge when the right people step in at the right time. Gary Lloyd writes with compassion and insight, leaving readers encouraged.

Highly recommended for those who enjoy uplifting, realistic, and redemptive stories.