Akashic Books, 330 pages, trade paperback, $15.95

Hazing is messed up: fact. And what’s really weird about it is that even though I’ve known football players (and played football in middle school) and known frat boys (I befriended one by mistake once), I still have no idea whether or not the stories that are told about hazing are true (it’s kind of like jail; I don’t know how much rape happens there and fortunately I’ll probably never find out — but I’ll never believe anything until I go through it). So when I started this novel about hazing in high school football, I was intrigued.

It was a little bit of a let down that it ended up just being mildly demeaning homoeroticism instead of really vicious destruction of souls (fulfilling my stereotypes there), but what happens because of it took care of that. This is really more the story of a boy who decides he won’t be told what to do than a dissertation on hazing and the rights and wrongs of it. In fact, Watson, who is an entertaining writer, at times simplifies it to absurd levels, really spelling out the potential “why” behind the acts. These parts feel contrived because it’s from the point of view of a teenage boy, who also has an overly advanced, and aged, view of justice and the world — he’s either the wisest boy ever, or a grown man not being sure how to write from a boy’s perspective.

Overall, it’s actually a really good book, with the exception of the rushed final few chapters — but even that doesn’t detract from a well thought-out story, with a main character who you actually feel is teaching you throughout the book because of his thought-provoking actions. Cliches are there, and Watson doesn’t shy away from having exactly what you think might happen, happen. At the end of it, though, it feels like time well spent. Even if it is a little messed up.