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Ball Boy
Gray Taylor wants to be remarkable but isn’t. Gray gets a chance to change this when his mother moves him from Los Angeles to the dying Kansas town of Beaudelaire, where Gray finds basketball. Gray uses basketball to become someone people notice. And later to save Beaudelaire from itself. Ball Boy is a book about growing up, about the importance of community, and about the power of finding the thing that makes you feel special.
- GenresFiction
241 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 2, 2021
17 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Paul Shirley
16 books63 followersA former college and professional basketball player, Paul turned the stories of his travels and travails into a humor memoir called CAN I KEEP MY JERSEY?
He followed that with STORIES I TELL ON DATES, which also became a renowned podcast of the same name.
Paul's third book -- and first novel -- was BALL BOY, about a kid named Gray Taylor whose single mother moves Gray from Los Angeles to small-town Kansas, where he finds basketball as a way to fit in...and save the town.
Next came a return to nonfiction with THE PROCESS IS THE PRODUCT, a book that leans on his sports and writing pasts to help readers break big projects into achievable tasks and fall in love with their day-to-day.
Most recently, Paul authored his second novel, DAVID, about a rock band of the same name.
Paul lives in Denver, where he runs The Process, a co-working space and productivity consultancy.
He followed that with STORIES I TELL ON DATES, which also became a renowned podcast of the same name.
Paul's third book -- and first novel -- was BALL BOY, about a kid named Gray Taylor whose single mother moves Gray from Los Angeles to small-town Kansas, where he finds basketball as a way to fit in...and save the town.
Next came a return to nonfiction with THE PROCESS IS THE PRODUCT, a book that leans on his sports and writing pasts to help readers break big projects into achievable tasks and fall in love with their day-to-day.
Most recently, Paul authored his second novel, DAVID, about a rock band of the same name.
Paul lives in Denver, where he runs The Process, a co-working space and productivity consultancy.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 10, 2023
Pretty good book! However, I could've used more action to help move the plot along.
February 8, 2023
what a fun read!
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this book was the ideal antidote to our current world. So many things just resonated with me. It’s sweet, good clean fun. Great for those who love sports, who grew up in the Midwest or just want a feel good read. Sad that it’s over - now back to the real world…
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this book was the ideal antidote to our current world. So many things just resonated with me. It’s sweet, good clean fun. Great for those who love sports, who grew up in the Midwest or just want a feel good read. Sad that it’s over - now back to the real world…
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November 18, 2022Ball Boy by Paul Shirley
Imagine moving from a large city in California to a very small town in Kansas. This would be a very life-changing experience since you don’t know everybody in your previous school, to knowing everybody at your new school. Once one person makes an assumption the whole school knows about it. Well, in the book Ball Boy by Paul Shirley Gray Taylor and his mother moved from Los Angeles, California to his mother's hometown. Gray finds the enjoyment he has all been waiting for when he enters his new school for the first time.
The first thing I enjoyed about the book Ball Boy was showing how to get involved with the school. Gray didn’t like basketball since he wasn’t outstanding at the sport. Then, one day he didn’t like it and was almost going to quit, but he never did. He wanted to keep his school spirit and participate in this sport. Have you ever wanted to not let down your school spirit?
The second thing that I enjoyed about this book was that the book shows the importance of growing up. Gray meets people from different parts of the world just from his school. He gets to learn all of the different things they did from their part of the world. He met somebody all the way from Tokyo. The book also shows the importance of being in the community. This shows that being in the community can help you overcome different things.
In conclusion, the book Ball Boy really changed the way I look at things. Being in the community has become important to me since I read this book. It also helped me to become friends with more people. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 since it has a well organized and developed plot. I was extremely attached to this book for a long period of time. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes sports and likes to participate in the community.
Imagine moving from a large city in California to a very small town in Kansas. This would be a very life-changing experience since you don’t know everybody in your previous school, to knowing everybody at your new school. Once one person makes an assumption the whole school knows about it. Well, in the book Ball Boy by Paul Shirley Gray Taylor and his mother moved from Los Angeles, California to his mother's hometown. Gray finds the enjoyment he has all been waiting for when he enters his new school for the first time.
The first thing I enjoyed about the book Ball Boy was showing how to get involved with the school. Gray didn’t like basketball since he wasn’t outstanding at the sport. Then, one day he didn’t like it and was almost going to quit, but he never did. He wanted to keep his school spirit and participate in this sport. Have you ever wanted to not let down your school spirit?
The second thing that I enjoyed about this book was that the book shows the importance of growing up. Gray meets people from different parts of the world just from his school. He gets to learn all of the different things they did from their part of the world. He met somebody all the way from Tokyo. The book also shows the importance of being in the community. This shows that being in the community can help you overcome different things.
In conclusion, the book Ball Boy really changed the way I look at things. Being in the community has become important to me since I read this book. It also helped me to become friends with more people. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 since it has a well organized and developed plot. I was extremely attached to this book for a long period of time. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes sports and likes to participate in the community.
February 3, 2023
I joined the Iowa State Alumni Book Club and this was the first book. Last night I had the chance to listen to Shirley talk about his book, and how he got into writing and publishing.
Ball Boy was a quick read for me, as the characters were well developed and the plot was fun. Moving from LA to a small town in Kansas, Gray had a life changing experience!
Ball Boy was a quick read for me, as the characters were well developed and the plot was fun. Moving from LA to a small town in Kansas, Gray had a life changing experience!
June 23, 2022
We chose this book for a mother-son book club for rising 7th graders. It was not quite what we expected and had a few more mature themes than I had expected but it did allow for multiple discussion topics. The book felt a little old fashioned but overall a positive message.
June 18, 2023
Shirley's first foray into novel writing was excellent. With an imaginative cast of characters and an immersive setting, Ball Boy is a book to get lost in. Shirley also makes excellent use of his Kansas roots and basketball experience when setting the scene on the court or in the field.
March 31, 2023
This was a fun read. I know that’s a generic term used ad nauseam in book reviews, but I don’t know how else to describe it. I found myself wanting to go to bed earlier so I could read this book longer – that's my benchmark for rating a book as excellent.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews