Boy21

Finley is the main character of Boy21, and the novel is told entirely through his voice. A poor Irish kid from the run-down town of Bellmont, Finley rarely speaks as a result of childhood trauma. When he was young, he was kidnapped by the Irish mob to get back at his grandfather. Fearing for her son’s life, his mother went to the police to try to get him back, and so the mob murdered her. Finley carries a lot of guilt for his mother’s death and his earliest memory is of the kidnapping, although he pretends that it is of basketball. Since his mother’s death, Finley has used basketball to escape the traumatic memories of his past. He refuses to talk about this trauma, using silence as a defense mechanism against the world.

Although not the best player on the basketball team, Finley practices very hard, his persistence based on his nearly obsessive desire to leave Bellmont. He is the only white kid on the varsity team, and frequently feels like a loner as a result. The other students in his high school lightly tease Finley, calling him “White Rabbit” and dumping carrots on his school lunch tray.