Welcome friend! One of my favorite books this year, Maggie Hill’s Sunday Money is the perfect mix of familial tensions, coming of age and pursuing a sport. Check out the synopsis below before we dive into my review:
Maggie Hill | Goodreads
It’s 1971, but for Claire Joyce and girls’ basketball, it might as well be 1871. Stilted rules (three-bounce dribbling, two roving players for full-court games, and uniforms that include bloomers) set their play unfairly apart from the boys’ basketball Claire’s older brother John has trained her in.Basketball is the only constant in Claire life, and as she enters her teen years the skills she’s cultivated on the court—passing, shooting, and faking—help her guard against the chaos of an alcoholic mother, an increasingly violent younger brother, and the downward spiral her beloved John soon finds himself unable to climb out of. Deeply cut from the cloth of the Catholic Church, Brooklyn’s working class, and the limited expectations her world has for girls, Claire strives to find a mirror that might reflect a different, future self. Then Title IX bounces on the scene. Suddenly, girls’ basketball becomes explosive, musical, passionate, and driven—and if Claire plays it just right, it just might offer a full ride to a previously out-of-reach college.Sunday Money follows Claire as she narrates her way through 1970s Brooklyn, hustling on and off the court and striving to break free of the turmoil in her home and the rulebook “good” girls are supposed to follow.
Content notes include alcoholism, addiction, domestic abuse.
Sunday Money– Review
The Beginning
Sunday Money is told from the perspective of Claire. The prologue from August 1975 takes place at a pivotal moment in her life when she is trying out for Immaculata College’s girls basketball team. She is far from her home in Brooklyn and her narrative clearly communicates her passion for basketball, the exhilaration of playing the sport and her relationship with the basket. The rest of the book is Claire’s story of how she arrived at this moment.
In 1968, Claire is ten years old. She is the youngest girl with three older brothers. Her father is a cab driver while her mother drinks away her days. They live in a small rental apartment in Brooklyn, not far from a basketball court. Claire is hardworking and diligent. She is also a keen observer and knows her mom’s moods very well. She is close to her brother, John, who teaches her basketball and encourages her to be good at it.
The Family
Sunday Money beautifully explores the challenges faced by Claire and her family, their choices, consequences and evolving relationships. Though told from the perspective of Claire, I got to know her whole family and their relationships with each other. I got to know them in their worst and best, sharing joys and grief.
I loved the relationship between Claire and John. When she is young, she worships him but as she gets older, she doesn’t turn a blind eye to his shortcomings. She has always been an advocate for herself and those she loves and sometimes that means calling out when one of her older brothers is not doing the right thing.
Her observations about her parents were gut wrenching. Her dad is barely around in her teen years but she sees the loneliness he carries. She grew up with a mom who drank and was constantly in a bad mood. This had an effect on her and it shows in her older narratives. The evolution of the mother-daughter relationship was another highlight for me in this book.
Basketball & the Growing Landscape
Like in a basketball game, the narrative is divided into four quarters. The first quarter takes place in 1968, the second between 1970-71, the third in 1974-75 and the final quarter in 1975. There is a 5 min overtime from July 1975. I love this organization of the story with basketball and how central this sport is to Clarie from a very young age. The title of the book is also related to basketball as it refers to the small price games held on Sundays and how Claire saves what she can for a rainy day.
I didn’t play any sports and because basketball was so popular in my school, it was one that was actively avoided. When I started this book, I wondered if my aversion to the sport would have an effect on enjoying this book. I am happy to say that it did! Sunday Money is so well written that I was content to be with Claire and not think about my past experiences. Basketball represents many things to Claire. It is something she shares with John. Even when he is far away, basketball is a topic of discussion in their letters. She shows up at the school yard to play without fail, every day. As she gets older and starts to see girls her age lose interest in the game, Claire stands by it. When her high school doesn’t have a serious coach, she quits the team but continues to play in her free time. It is also her escape from an unhappy home. Through her, I learned how the game changed over the years and the importance of the Title IX legislation.
I haven’t read a story about a teenager going to school in a while, let alone education in the 1970-80s US. I enjoyed Claire’s assignments and her unabashed honesty. The world of Catholic schools and Nuns was new to me. I appreciated how much her school teachers cared for her success when she expressed interest in applying for college, the first person in her family to do so. The support she had from her brother was also very emotional.
Sunday Money is a poignant and moving coming of age story. I loved watching Claire grow into the woman she became in the span of a decade. As she grows older and sees more of the world, her thoughts evolve. By the fourth quarter, she ponders forgiveness, love and god. When she faces unfathomable grief, she finds herself lost and unable to go forward. Those moments of darkness that lead to her epiphany that she must go for her tryout because someone always believed in her gets me teared up thinking about it.
I highly recommend this book. I received a digital review copy of this book for an honest review and will be adding it to my home library as soon as I get a chance. You’ll hear me rave about it for a long time. 🙂
Add it to your Goodreads if you are interested. Check back tomorrow for an interview with Maggie Hill.
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