Leverage
by Joshua Cohen
Leverage is one of the most difficult and necessary books in young adult sports fiction. Joshua Cohen tells the story from two alternating perspectives: Danny, a small, fierce gymnast who has earned his place on the team through relentless work, and Kurt, a hulking football player whose stutter and foster care history make him a target despite his size. These two boys exist in separate worlds within the same school — until a horrific act of violence bridges the gap.
When members of the football team sexually assault a gymnast, the school's culture of athletic privilege moves to cover it up. Danny and Kurt are drawn together by what they know and what they witnessed, and the novel becomes a searing examination of what it costs to break silence in a system designed to protect the powerful at the expense of the vulnerable.
Cohen writes with controlled fury. The violence in Leverage is not gratuitous — it is the point. The novel insists that readers confront what happens when institutions value winning over the safety of the children in their care, and it asks the hardest question of all: what would you do?
Falling Apart
The falling apart in Leverage operates on every level — personal, institutional, and moral. Danny's world falls apart when the assault shatters his belief that the gym is a safe space. Kurt's world falls apart when he realizes that his size and strength did not protect the person who needed it most. The school falls apart when the cover-up begins to unravel. And the reader's assumptions about justice fall apart when the system fails exactly the way systems often do.
Courage in this context is not heroic in the traditional sense. It is ugly, terrifying, and costly. Danny and Kurt do not ride in to save the day. They stumble toward the truth, dragging their own trauma behind them, and the courage they find is the courage to speak when every force around them demands silence. The Falling Apart archetype here reveals that sometimes things must break completely before anything honest can be built in their place.
Emotional Arc Breakdown
Descent Phase
The descent is swift and devastating. The assault occurs, and the school machinery immediately moves to suppress it. Danny watches his teammate suffer in silence while the football players walk free. Kurt, who has survived his own abuse in foster care, recognizes the pattern of institutional betrayal and is paralyzed by the memory of his own powerlessness.
Turning Point
The turning point arrives when the victim's suffering becomes impossible to ignore — and when the consequences of the assault escalate to tragedy. Danny and Kurt are separately forced to decide whether they will comply with the system or defy it. Their decision to act is not coordinated or clean. It is desperate, imperfect, and born from the refusal to carry the weight of complicity any longer.
Growth Outcome
Courage in Leverage is measured in scars, not victories. Danny and Kurt emerge from the novel changed but not triumphant. They have spoken the truth, but the cost has been immense. Their growth is the recognition that courage does not guarantee justice — only that you can live with yourself afterward. It is one of the most honest portrayals of moral courage in YA literature.
Who This Book Helps
- Readers who have witnessed or experienced sexual assault and felt the pressure to stay silent
- Boys who struggle with the toxic aspects of athletic culture and locker-room dynamics
- Young people grappling with the gap between institutional promises of safety and reality
- Anyone who has been a bystander to injustice and is haunted by inaction
- Readers exploring the intersection of masculinity, power, and vulnerability
- Educators and counselors looking for a text that addresses sexual violence in school settings with seriousness and care
Discussion Questions
- Why does Cohen choose to tell the story from two perspectives — Danny and Kurt? What does each voice reveal that the other cannot?
- How does the school's response to the assault mirror real-world institutional cover-ups? What systems are in place that allow this to happen?
- Kurt has a stutter that affects how others perceive him. How does his communication difficulty relate to the novel's larger themes about silence and speech?
- What does the title "Leverage" mean in the context of the story? Who has leverage, and how is it used?
- Is the ending of Leverage hopeful? Why or why not? What does the novel suggest about the possibility of justice?
Emotional Intensity
Leverage registers at a 5 out of 5 on the emotional intensity scale — the highest rating. The novel deals with sexual assault, suicide, systemic cover-ups, and the physical and psychological aftermath of violence. Cohen writes with unflinching honesty, and this book is recommended only for mature readers ages 15 and up. It is devastating, but it is also one of the most important books in the YA canon for its refusal to look away.
Related Books
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
A swimmer confronts institutional failure and abuse, learning that loyalty sometimes demands you put yourself in danger.
Inexcusable
The other side of the coin — a football player's self-deception unravels after an act he refuses to acknowledge.
The Outsiders
The foundational text about boys, violence, and the systems that fail to protect the vulnerable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Leverage tells the story of Danny, a small but determined gymnast, and Kurt, a massive football player with a stutter and a history of foster care abuse. When football players commit a horrific act of sexual assault against a gymnast, Danny and Kurt must decide whether to stay silent or risk everything to expose the truth.
Leverage deals with sexual assault, suicide, systemic cover-ups, and physical abuse. Cohen does not shy away from the horror of what happens, making it one of the most emotionally challenging books in the YA sports fiction canon. It is recommended for mature readers ages 15 and up.
The "falling apart" in Leverage is institutional and personal. The school's culture of athletic privilege collapses when the assault is exposed, and both Danny and Kurt must confront the destruction of their assumptions about safety, justice, and who protects whom.