High school senior Sly Jones is a dreamer and a standout football player who has always believed the field was his ticket to something greater. But when his top-ranked team suffers a brutal and unexpected defeat, Sly is forced to confront the uncomfortable truth: talent and hustle don’t always guarantee a win—on the field or in life.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of Richmond, Virginia, Out By Five: The Freshman Chronicles is a coming-of-age novel that follows Sly’s journey through ambition, heartbreak, and self-discovery. With pressure mounting from family, coaches, and peers, Sly must navigate what it means to chase his football dreams while reckoning with college admissions, social expectations, and the impact of loss and legacy in his community.

As his plans unravel and reality sets in, Sly finds new purpose in unexpected places—through guidance counselors who see past the bravado, through friendships that offer hard truths, and through a deeper understanding of what it means to “win” in life. Whether he’s hyping up his team at a pep rally, staring down rivals under the Friday night lights, or contemplating his future at a historically Black university, Sly’s voice remains raw, funny, and deeply real.

Out By Five is a heartfelt, sharp, and relatable chronicle of growing up Black and ambitious in the South, learning when to pivot, and discovering that success isn’t always about scoring touchdowns—it’s about finding your purpose when the clock runs out.

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We first started out as ?The Paperback Exchange,? a chain of physical bookstores where we would part exchange your beloved books for new stories to transport you to faraway places. However, as shopping started to evolve to online shops and marketplaces, we bid our stores goodbye to become ?PBShop.? This transition has only allowed us to blossom as we now ship thousands of titles to book lovers across the globe. We pride ourselves in being a community of local book lovers which allows our passion and devotion to shine in everything we do. In 2020 we not only celebrated our 20th birthday but our 1st birthday as being completely employee owned after becoming an E.O.T in September 2019. We are proud to be different and embrace standing apart on a book mountain by working from a virtual inventory which allows us to provide thousands of books that may be difficult to get for your bookshelf or your studies. Working with a number of different suppliers allows us to explore other avenues such as puzzles, sheet music and even stationery so we really do have something for everyone. Life is about being versatile in all realms of existence. If this is your first visit or you are a returning customer, we would like to welcome you to the PBShop family, for there is no friend as loyal as a book. We are a company who put our customers at the centre of everything we do as we understand the importance of reading because once you learn to read, you will forever be free. There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours that we are yet to explore, which is why we will forever inspire curious minds.

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