Undercover Tailback

December 1, 1992
Gr 4-6- -Football player Parker, 12, has a penchant for telling tall tales and outright lies. In a boy-who-cries-wolf scenario, his teammates and coach refuse to believe his truthful account of how he witnessed someone photograph their playbook. The boy proves his story by exposing the spy, and learns a lesson about honesty along the way. This is one of Christopher's weaker efforts, delivering more of a second-rate mystery than his typical, fast-paced sports story. The foreshadowing and development of the far-fetched plot take away from any semblance of characterization beyond the protagonist's and limit the amount of game description. Further, few 12-year-olds would think of offering money to an opposing player, much less provide him with a miniature camera for photographing a playbook. A little syrup is added when the perpetrator says he took and sold the pictures because his father was recently laid off. While the legions of Christopher's fans will undoubtedly read this one, they will also hope his next book offers more. -Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI