Ball Boy

Product Description
Gray Taylor wants to be remarkable. But he isn’t. Gray gets the 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 The Karate Kid meets Hoosiers meets The Shortstop from Tokyo. It’s a book about growing up, about the importance of community, and about the power of finding the thing that makes you feel special.
Review
“A coming-of-age tale any sports fan will love.”

–Two-time NBA MVP
Steve Nash

“A fast-paced underdog story. You’ll feel like you’re at a high school game–missed shots and all. But Ball Boy is about so much more than basketball. It’s a celebration of community, grit, and perseverance.”

—
Amy Meyerson, bestselling author of
The Bookshop of Yesterdays and
The Imperfects

“This book is just a flat-out fun read. It’s one of those books about growing up that feels authentic without being self-serious. The characters are so real that I immediately hooked into them and Paul’s writing style is so sure of itself that I just felt like I was along for a ride, which is my favorite part of a good novel.”

—
Justin Halpern, bestselling author of
Sh*t My Dad Says and
I Suck At Girls
About the Author
Paul Shirley played for 17 professional basketball teams in a nine-year career, including stops in Spain, Greece, Russia, and with three teams in the NBA. He’s the author of two works of nonfiction: Can I Keep My Jersey? and Stories I Tell On Dates. Paul is the founder of Writers Blok, a co-writing space in Los Angeles, and The Process, a virtual co-working platform. Ball Boy is his first novel.