Tween Tuesday: Football Hero

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at GreenBeanTeenQueen.  The purpose is "to highlight great reads for tweens!"

Football Hero by Tim Green 

New York: HarperCollins, 2008

ISBN: 978006112767

304 pages

4 out of 5

Ty Lewis can't believe it when Coach V recruits him for the football team.  This is Ty's big chance to prove how fast he is on the field, get a fresh start in a new school, and be like his older brother, Thane "Tiger" Lewis, who's about to graduate from college and is being courted by the NFL.

But Ty's guardian, Uncle Gus, won't let him play.  Uncle Gus needs Ty to scrub floors and toilets for his cleaning business while he cooks up gambling schemes with the local mob boss, a man called "Lucy."

When Lucy hears just how famous Ty's older brother is, he becomes suddenly friendly.  Are the questions Lucy is asking Ty really about fantasy football...or is the Mafia using Ty to get valuable insider info from his superstar brother?  Desperately worried, Ty must come up with a plan to save Thane's football career--and, ultimately, his life.

Author of the New York Times bestselling Football Genius, former NFL player Tim Green will have you on the edge of your seat rooting for Ty--and enjoying an upclose look at what it's like to be inside the NFL.

So Ty is this ordinary, poor, scrawny kid who gets invited to play football.  He's super-fast and has great hands.  Uncle Gus has other plans for Ty's hands--he has Ty join his cleaning business and Ty gets bathroom duty (no pun intended).  When Lucy takes an interest in Ty and the information Ty has access to, Ty is able to bargain for the opportunity to play but gets mixed up in more than he ever imagined.

Ty is only kid I can think of who actually measures up to his older sibling.  Most titles with this story line are about discovering how special they are in spite of a successful sibling, but with these two, football is in their genes.  Even though I'm not the world's biggest football fan, I enjoyed Ty's successes and felt empathy for his troubles.  

Even though this is a football book there are many other things that go on.  Yes, there are games and practices and football jargon, but there's also the story line with Lucy, Thane's entrance into the world of celebrity as a starter for an NFL team, and the two brothers are still coping with the loss of their parents.

Overall this is an enjoyable read and the next time I get asked about a good book for middle grade, I'll lead the parent to the Tim Green books.

America's Favorite Pastime

Beanball by Gene Fehler

Clarion Books, 2008

ISBN: 978-0618843480

It's the bottom of the last inning of a game between rival high school teams Oak Grove and Compton.  Oak Grove is at bat, and the stage is set for star center field Luke "Wizard" Wallace to drive in the winning run, save the game, and be the hero.  Instead, he's hit by a beanball--a wild pitch that shatters his skull and destroys the vision in his left eye.

In this riveting novel, the events surrounding a life-changing moment are presented through powerful free-verse monologues by 28 different narrators.  With its multiple voices, gripping subject matter, and fast-paced plot, Beanball is a rush of adrenaline.

"Wow" was all I thought once I finished reading this book.  It was absolutely Fantastic! Granted, this novel encompasses two of my favorite things: free verse and multiple voices. The story focuses around Luke "Wizard" Wallace who is an all around athlete--football, basketball, and baseball. While facing a main rival, Luke is beaned and partially loses his sight.  Everything in this novel just fits.

As first I was a little confused switching from one voice to the next, but as I got to know the characters I found myself asking "who are you again?" less often.  Some characters get more time than others, but this just reinforces the character and his/her part in the story.  You learn an awful lot about these people even though they spend most of their time talking/thinking about Luke and his accident.  Luke's and his parents and friends, and other bystanders (coaches for both teams, a local baseball fan, teachers) points of view paint a wonderful picture of who is affected by such incidents and, more importantly, how they are affected.

It's also a great sports novel.  There's talk of baseball and the dangers of sports in general, and it's about bouncing back from terrible situations.  It is also a novel in verse, which makes it a quick and enjoyable read.