The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Grisham, John. Sooley. Doubleday, April 27, 2021. Kindle.

In the novel Sooley by John Grisham, Samuel “Sooley” Sooleymon wanted to make his family members and fellow South Sudanese proud when he was invited to try out for a national showcase team. Samuel’s family and neighbors celebrated with him when he was chosen to play on the South Sudanese national team. He had dreams of becoming a hero, like the ball player Niollo had become. He never knew he was the last player chosen for the team because he lacked shooting and ball-handling skills. Two officials did not even want him on the team.

While Samuel was in the United States playing with the team, his remote village of Lotta was attacked and his father was killed. If Samuel had been there, he probably would have died. His mother, two brothers, and sister escaped the village, but his sister was taken by guerrillas they encountered outside the village. After days of wandering with nothing to eat or drink, the rest of Samuel’s family found their way to a refugee camp. When Samuel and his team members learned what happened, their hearts were not in their final game. They lost the game, ending their career in the showcase.

Samuel wanted to go home to South Sudan. Ecko Lam, his coach, was an American whose family had immigrated from South Sudan. He convinced Samuel that returning home would be dangerous. Ecko talked to Lonnie Britt, a friend who was the head coach at North Carolina Central, about giving Samuel a scholarship. Lonnie was not impressed with Samuel, but Ecko assured Lonnie that Samuel worked hard and had the potential to be a star.

Samuel was accepted as a red shirt, a player who only practiced with the team. He understood he would not play his first year. Determined to turn his career in basketball into a way to rescue his family from South Sudan, Samuel dedicated himself to the game. Soon, the coach allowed Samuel to play. With Samuel’s height and ability to jump, he helped the team reach the Final Four in college basketball.

Even though Lonnie and the Walkers, Samuel’s adoptive family in America, feared fame might be bad for Samuel, they agreed his best chance was in entering the draft. Many predicted that he would be one of the first players chosen. Samuel was awarded a place with the Washington Wizards. Samuel had just signed a contract that would allow him to pay for his family’s citizenship, when he made a bad decision with disastrous results. Murray Walker, who was acting as Samuel’s manager, and Samuel decided to attend a party at Nassau. While there, a woman Samuel had never met before gave him several tablets of ecstasy or “mollies” (316). Samuel took three of the tablets during the course of the night, killing him.

In the weeks that followed Samuel’s death, Murray set up the Sooley Fund, a foundation for Samuel. Searching through his friend’s papers, Murray discovered that Samuel had been in contact with Gary Gaston, a man whom Samuel intended to hire to remove his family from South Sudan and bring them to the United States. Murray used money from the fund to follow through with Samuel’s plans.