Betrayal captures the gritty reality of elite sports through the intense friction between two brothers competing for the same future. The story thrives on visceral locker room tension and the difficult moral choices that arise when personal ambition clashes with family loyalty. Books in this family share high stakes sibling rivalries and fast paced emotional conflicts.
Reach for this book when your teen is grappling with the heavy weight of a secret or feels torn between their own achievements and the happiness of a sibling. It is a powerful tool for navigating the messy intersection of personal ambition and family debt. The story follows Reed, who faces an impossible choice when he is offered the very football position his brother T.J. has been working toward for years. Through the lens of high stakes sports, the book explores profound emotional themes like survivor guilt, the burden of promises, and the fear of causing disappointment. It is highly appropriate for the middle to high school years, offering a realistic look at how one person's success can inadvertently feel like another's failure. Parents will appreciate how it models the internal struggle of choosing between self-advocacy and family loyalty.
