"The story of what it means to be a man in our culture is an important, vital narrative and it has found one of its best chroniclers in Sterling Watson. This is a powerful, beautifully written book about attitudes and practices that we want to believe are safely in the past. Instead, as Watson reminds us, corruption and cruelty survive through their uncanny ability to take on new shapes."
--Laura Lippman, author of I'd Know You Anywhere

"Sterling Watson's Fighting in the Shade is an unflinching novel about loyalty and manhood. Like Pat Conroy's The Lords of Discipline, it is simply unforgettable."
--Ann Hood, author of The Red Thread

"Sterling Watson's polished prose carries this coming-of-age story smoothly from the enthralling to the unsettling, from the poignant to the disturbing, leaving the reader in emotional knots. An uncompromising look at sports, secrets, sexuality, and the South that makes a commentary on relationships ranging from personal to universal."
--Michael Koryta, author of The Cypress House