Running with Lions
Summary:
This novel follows Sebastian Hughes and an array of friends comfortable in each other’s company at their soccer training summer camp. The summer camp is a happy and supportive place, in part created by Coach Patrick who ensures that the environment is welcoming to all participants regardless of their sexual or gender identities. Sebastian has recently split up with his girlfriend who has gone to college and is realising that he is bisexual. Sebastian’s summer gets a bit more complicated when Emir Shah, his best friend from childhood whom he hasn’t seen for years, shows up at the soccer camp. When Emir is withdrawn and moody, not showing any of the team spirit that soccer training camp requires, Sebastian, as team captain feels he has to try to bring him into the fold, and this is where Sebastian’s summer really begins to get complicated.
Edited by: Dublin City University
Comment:
This novel is important primarily for the alternative it offers to the world of sport for LGBTQIA+ young people, often a notoriously difficult and discriminatory sector. This is established early in the novel with Coach Patrick’s strong and simple message of “no exclusions…be who you are! Be proud! Treat each other like family”, inspired by his nephew who was removed from the baseball team at a Catholic school following his coming out. This is so much the accepted norm that Sebastian only really realises its power when explaining the ethos to Emir later in the book. The camp is not without its flaws: there is still some talk amongst the boys associated with stereotypical masculinity, but this exists for the most part without veering into the toxic realm. There are other obstacles for characters throughout the novel: Sebastian struggles with body image throughout, while Grey, Coach Patrick’s niece, struggles to feel accepted within the male realm of sports and soccer. The developing relationship between Sebastian and Emir allows for the exploration of family expectations, Emir’s British-Pakistani heritage and his commitment to the Islamic faith, as well as the direction Sebastian wants to go in his own life.