Fantasy League

August 1, 2014
Wish fulfillment is the order of the day in Lupica's latest. Charlie "The Brain" Gaines has an uncanny knack with fantasy-football leagues. Though he lacks the skill to be a standout player on the field, when it comes to his favorite game, no one is a better strategist. No one. Including the professionals. So when Charlie's best friend and football buddy, Anna, introduces him to her grandfather Joe Warren, Charlie can't help sharing a bit of insight. You see, Joe Warren happens to own the local football team, the L.A. Bulldogs, and the Bulldogs happen to have a crummy record, and that means they happen to crave advice, even if it comes from a mediocre middle school football player. Lupica plays the "what if" game to posit the notion of a brilliant football mind trapped inside a youthful body. The ploy falls decidedly short, as Charlie's level of football understanding and insight render him something of a savant. Charlie is far more at ease with football jargon than most middle-grade readers could hope to be. Expert-level dissection of football mixes with the melodrama of a fatherless boy's growing attachment to a team owner to contrive an uneven pace. Lacking the intensity of a sustained drive or the urgency of a fourth-and-long play, the story offers more the feeling of trailing an opponent and deciding to sit on the ball until halftime. (Fiction. 10-14)

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July 1, 2014

Gr 5 Up-Charlie "The Brain" Gaines may be an average seventh grader in most respects, but he possesses an uncanny knowledge about football teams and a sixth sense about game strategy. A so-so linebacker for his own Pop Warner team, the Culver City Cardinals, Charlie would much rather be on the sidelines, calling plays along with the coach. Best friend Anna Bretton shares Charlie's passion for football, as it is in her blood-her grandfather and uncle own and manage the Los Angeles Bulldogs. She invites Charlie to meet Grandpa Joe and Uncle Matt at a game, and it isn't long before Gramps is captivated by Charlie's commentary. His advice to replace the quarterback with an older and relatively unknown player named Tom Pinkett helps to turn around their losing record. Signing Pinkett to the team turns out to be a winning idea, and when word gets out that the call was made by a 12-year-old, Charlie is hounded by the media and thrust into a spotlight he isn't sure how to handle. Nearly losing his friendship with Anna, Charlie learns a lesson about fame and valuing relationships. Tension soars when Joe Warren falls ill, and readers will be alternately cheering and reaching for a tissue during the final playoff-deciding game for the Bulldogs. This will be devoured by young football fans, who appreciate intricate game details and won't mind a touch of heartwarming sentiment.-Vicki Reutter, State University of New York at Cortland

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2014
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Usually a football book is about whether or not the kid makes the teamand the problems that follow. So it's refreshing that those issues are only a part of 12-year-old Charlie Gains' story. See, Charlie is known as the Brain, because he is a football stats genius. He understands which players should be playing where and why. This makes him great at fantasy football; then reality comes center stage. His best friend, Anna, is the granddaughter of Joe Warren, the man who has brought NFL football back to Los Angeles. But the team, the Bulldogs, haven't done much, and Joe's son, the GM, is being blamed. Enter Charlie, who loves the team and soon comes to love Joe Warren as the father and grandfather he never had. Charlie shares his massive football knowledge with Joe, and soon players are being recruited at Charlie's suggestion. Couple this with the fact Anna has turned Charlie into something of a podcast celebrity, and suddenly Charlie is catnip for the media. That's great until things start to go wrong. There's a lot of football here: pro and fantasy teams and Charlie's own Pop Warner career. Veteran sportswriter Lupica handles it all very well. However, it's the heart and depth he adds to the story depicting Charlie's relationships with a sterling cast of characters that make this unique. This Moneyball story with kids is on the money.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)