Publisher's Synopsis
Summertime. Leisure-time for most teenagers. Not Jamal Hayes. In less than a year, he has gone from wayward youth on the south side of Chicago to city wrestling champion at Kennedy High School in Memphis. Leisure time and the "idle mind" his grandfather, Pop, has warned Jamal of lead him to the Second Street Gym. Boxing, "pugilism" as Gino, the gym's owner, calls it. By summer's end, Jamal finds himself in a ring in St. Louis with a Missouri opponent. Throughout his summer training, his relationships at home continue to improve, as does his entire life. No longer "wayward," Jamal discovers more of himself in the art of "pugilism."
