California School for the Deaf in Riverside went from underdog to state champions … in the midst of so many obstacles (including COVID).

This book alternates between the teams rise in performance with information about the deaf and sign language and technologies for those with deafness.

Even though Riverside’s football team played 8-man football, there really are a lot of characters in this book. I hope that the final version contains a roster and pictures (although some players were so versatile that played multiple positions). I also hope it contains pictures of the team and players; I'd love to put faces with some of the key players.

I do like non-fiction, memoirs and football. There is a nice mix of non-fiction with football, but football dominates the last 1/4 of the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books Publishing for approving my request to read the advance read copy of The Boys of Riverside in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is Aug 6, 2024.

I picked up this book after watching Deaf contestants on the Amazing Race, and this was such a fascinating look at a culture most of us never encounter. There may have been a little much football play-by-play for my liking, but the personal stories and insights into Deaf culture were more than worth it.

You do not have to be a football fan to read Thomas Fuller's terrific book The Boys of Riverside. The Boys are students at a school for the Deaf in Riverside, CA. They play same school eight man football and Fuller chronicles two seasons of action.
Not only does the writer provide ample information about the players and their coaches; he includes background for the history of sign language, cochlear implants, and the challenges of living in a hearing world.
Not detail is to small, Fuller sets the scene for each game including the travel time, field conditions, and the weather!
It is difficult not to root for The Boys of Riverside, and it is equally hard not to enjoy this book.

This is an amazing story about the football team at a Deaf school in California that clawed their way to the state championship against all odds. I really wish there had been more about and from the players and those in their lives rather than an almost play-by-play account of endless games. This extraordinary story fell flat from a lack of personal stories. I wanted to hear the thoughts of the young men who have been assumed to be voiceless by a hearing society.

This book is excellent! The story of the football team from the California School for the Deaf Riverside is inspirational, fascinating, heart-warming and heart-wrenching all at the same time.. The author does a wonderful job of interspersing the personal stories of the players and coaches along with historical information about deaf history and culture. The stories of these players will stick with me for a long time to come. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves stories of underdogs triumphing over adversity. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

As a member of the Deaf community, I was thrilled to receive a copy of "The Boys of Riverside" by Thomas Fuller to review for NetGalley. The book does a great job of telling the backstory of the coaches and members of the team as well as their underdog climb to the top. So much information about Deaf history and culture was included seamlessly as well. We follow the team as they realize that they can win and they redouble their efforts to get to the championship and succeed. The advantage of deafness, known as Deaf Gain, is shown throughout--there is no pity here for the "loss" of their hearing. Instead, the focus is on the gains they have because of their commonality of deafness. The Cubs are stronger together and want to prove they can do anything a hearing team can. For example. the boys do their snaps differently and throw off other teams who are used to hearing the count, they use their eyes and do not need their ears for the game. Even the quiet in the crowd at home games is difficult for the hearing teams who are used to music, cheering and clapping.
The difficulty of being a Deaf football player on a hearing team is explored in this book as well since several of the boys had previously played on hearing teams. When plays are called and you cannot hear them (and having an interpreter on the field is not really an option) it is extra challenging to be on a hearing team. It is a whole different ballgame when everyone (including your coaches) signs.
Football fans and those who enjoy learning about another culture will enjoy this book. Five stars from me.

This is the story of the football team from the California school for the Deaf, Riverside (CSDR). I found that the book taught me and provided me more understanding about the deaf community and some of the experiences they have. It was also a fascinating read about the football team and their success in winning the California state title. I continue to wrap my head around how deaf players play football - from no snap counts, to not hearing the referee's whistles. Each time the author mentioned the complete silence at the games (no loudspeaker/announcer, no band, etc), I was reminded of the very different scenarios that we may think are the norm or are familiar with.

Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday for an opportunity to receive a copy for this arc. The title and cover initially intrigued me and I believe that this team has a documentary short on Netflix but don’t quote me on that. I enjoyed reading this book. I liked learning about the team and you truly get a deep dive from Thomas Fuller as he spent time with the team. I had never heard of eight man football until reading this and I liked learning about that. The balance of the team with deaf history/deaf culture was done pretty well. With it being a shorter book, I felt that it was trying to pack so much into so little and at times, it was a little dry. Other than that, it was a good read. If you like football and want to get some information about deaf culture (not expecting to learn absolutely everything about deaf history/culture because I am sure that there a lot of great books out there highlighting this), then I would highly recommend this book when it becomes published.

Thank you for the ARC! I work in sports and always love reading these compelling stories and this is one of the best. While the riverside team has overcome so many of the challenges that come in adapting the sport, the author did a fantastic job ensuring that readers are left inspired, not feeling sorry for this team. These young men are true athletes, not athletes despite. I think this book will be a hit.

This book is incredibly informative and inspirational. There is so much depth to the characters and their backstory, their journey from where they came before to join the community at this school system. It was a brilliant perspective and raw feature to these football players and the deaf community that rallies in their successes.

Before I begin, I need to tell you that I was a high school football statistician for the Texas Sports Radio Network (TSRN) from 1997 to 2014 and for Thursday Night Lights (TNL) from 2009 to 2015. TSRN broadcasted games on the radio, the internet, and on their app. TNL broadcasted games on television, the internet, and their app. I also wrote about the high school football games I worked from 2011 to 2017. I even covered a small private Catholic school for a season as they had hired the basketball coach (who had just taken his team to the state championship game) to become the football coach. How did they choose me. Well, I will make it quick…

The basketball coach read one of football stories, and contacted me through Twitter to inquire if I would want to cover his basketball team. When football season ended that year, I did indeed attend a few basketball games and got to meet the coach, some staff members from the school, and the Principal. It was the Principal who has reached out to me to cover the football team, and they even paid me.

So, now, back to the California School for the Deaf, Riverside (CSDR for short). I, for one, can’t even imagine a high school football game without noise. I loved hearing the fans, the drum-lines, the PA announcer, the music blasting before the game, the whistles, the coaches, the players, the bands performing at halftime, and the chatter of everyone in the press-box. CSDR had none of this as they communicated in sign language, not even the National Anthem played. They were a well coached team and disciplined, and worked together to have a very successful program in the two years that Thomas Fuller covered the team. They made it to the state championship game twice; winning it once. Not many teams and players can say that.

So far, this has been my my favorite book I have read this year. I enjoyed learning a lot about the background on deafness and schools for deafness, as well as a biography of the players and coaches on the team (where they grew up, was deafness in the family, and how hard it was for all when they played on a normal football team).

After I finished the book, I watched a short NFL film on YouTube about the team, and it was nice to put names and faces together.

I'm not a huge football fan, but I do enjoy a good inspirational sports story. The author weaves in football play-by-plays with the history of sign language and the background of each of the coaches and players, and makes it all come together into a strong story about the meaning of community and team work.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

This is a difficult book to rate believe it is one of those books that could have an equal smattering of ratings from 1 to 5. If you love football, love it enough to enjoy reading about plays (vs watching them) then you should love this book. The story of these deaf young men winning a championship is as inspiring as any sports story. However if you don’t like football don’t even attempt this one. And if like me, you like watching football try this one. I did find all of the detailed description of plays a bit tedious but the story made it worthwhile.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

“The Boys of Riverside” by Thomas Fuller is fast-paced look at California’s high school champion football team. A team that comes from a school for the deaf in Riverside, CA. The book will challenge your notions of the deaf community. It is not disability heroism either. Fuller does not make the story maudlin at all. It’s a wonderfully compelling read. Thanks to #netgalley and #doubleday for the opportunity to get an advance copy of this book. #theboysofriverside

I have spent time in Riverside so I’ve known about the school its location right across from Target. and we cheered for this amazing team.This was a well written wonderful read a chance to get to know the team their coaches their dealing with being deaf and facing all the challenges.#netgalley #doubleday

At the moment I write this, I am sitting about two miles from the CSDR campus. CSDR suffers from a kind of identity crisis, but thanks to great books like this, they won't for long. This was a fantastic book about a fantastic team of young men. Go Cubs!