Book #7 Playing For Pizza by John Grisham

I think most people don’t realize that the great writer of lawyer dramas has written on other topics also. Playing For Pizza is the story about Rick Dockery, a third string quarterback who’s met the end of his NFL career after losing a career crushing playoff game within 11 minutes. Not ready to walk away from the sport that means everything to him he is recruited to play for the Parma Panthers in Italy. The idea is not at the top of his list but when it comes between going to Italy to play or home to Iowa the answer is simple. In a sport that barely pulls in a thousand fans and players are paid mostly with pizza; Dockery is a fish out of water. Soon enough coach Sam Russo shows Dockery the ropes of living in Italy and he doesn’t have much of a choice if he wants to play. So begins his journey to learn the game, the culture and how to bring a team of weekend (and evening) players together.

4 out of 5 stars - There are a lot of elements of this book that I really liked. First, Grisham is an exception writer and really pulls you into the story. Secondly, I like how the story progresses and the character of Rick Dockery really develops throughout the book. Thirdly, I think the book captures a lot of the Italian culture and focuses on the relationships between the players. Overall I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would and think others would enjoy it to.