Deep Zone

blafou - Deep Zone is a book about a kid named Ty who is the protagonist of the the book. Ty's brother is a major football star for the New York Jets. Ty is following in his brother’s footsteps and is a star WR for his school team. So everything goes fine for Ty until his brother Thane hurts his knee. Suddenly everything starts to go wrong. Ty finds out that his uncle is coming back into town for a news report. Ty's uncle is in trouble with the mafia because of a stunt he pulled that got two members arrested. But now there is two more members that are the antagonists wanting to hurt Ty's uncle. But the only way they'll find his uncle is by going to Ty. So since Ty's brother is in the hospital that means Ty is home all alone. But when Ty hears a noise one night and calls his brother suddenly there's an FBI agent at his house. Then Ty thinks about another thing he has to worry about. A six in six football tournament! So while Ty is worrying about the mafia he has to try out for a team that will be playing at halftime on Super Bowl Sunday! I liked this book because it is about a kid that plays football and it is written well.

June 15, 2011

NFL insider Green brings together his two heroes—Ty (Football Hero, 2008) and Troy (Football Champ, 2009)—in this gridiron mystery focused on teen football phenoms.

The action takes place during a seven-on-seven tournament for middle-school athletes held during Super Bowl week. As often happens in Green's tales, there are bad guys from the mob attempting to gain an illicit edge. Both Ty and Troy are targets of the D'Amico family, which requires that FBI agents play a role in guarding Ty while his brother, professional receiver Thane, recovers from a devastating knee injury. Ty is the featured character for the most part, but both Troy and Tate, a female friend, have a role to play. The football insights are the best part, as both professional games and seven-on-seven play are described in satisfying detail. All the other shenanigans are icing, and fairly non-essential icing at that. None of the fabulous lifestyle of limos, fancy hotels and big houses is hard to believe, but it distances readers from the characters, as do the overblown plot and inept cartoon mobsters. While mention is made of middle-school life, emphasis is on the game, and using real NFL famous names add spice. Acquaintance with the earlier titles is helpful, but Green recaps well enough that it's not necessary.

Football fanatic fare. (Sports fiction. 10-14)

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