Snap Decision

Two teenage boys struggle to shine on their varsity football team even while their own friendship suffers after one of them is injured.Archie F. Carr School is unusual in that it serves all students grades one through 12 in Lincoln, Fla. This means that the varsity football team is potentially open to even eighth-graders like Chase. He's thrilled when he's asked to start practicing with the varsity team and attend their games as a backup quarterback, but this realization of his dream doesn't come without a price. His best friend, Tripp, suffers a head injury on the field, and when Chase tells the truth about the severity of the concussion, Tripp ends the friendship. Will their bond be strong enough to weather the rough patches? Whitaker's (Uncommon Marriage, 2014, with Tony and Lauren Dungy, etc.) foray into middle-grade fiction never manages to break free of its flat tone. The characters, both children and adults, display a lack of energy, even on the football field. Their dialogue is stiff and monotonous. Emotional issues that deserve center stage-such as Chase's fraught relationship with his dad and his sister's recurring nightmare-are mostly ignored in favor of play-by-play accounts of football losses and wins.A sports tale infused with moments of Christian prayer and frequent lessons in morality that never establishes itself as a realistic account of young teens, either on the field or off. (Fiction. 9-12) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2014

Gr 5-8-Chase Clark, an eighth grader quarterback of a losing JV football team, is poised to move up to the Loggerheads's varsity team if he plays his cards right. The Florida teen's best friend, Tripp, has already moved up, and another classmate, Meghan, was chosen as varsity kicker. Chase practices with both teams when senior skip day tempts some players to risk being benched, and it is just one lesson on the importance of making wise choices. A child of divorce, Chase looks to his coaches, and his religious friend, JB, for a moral compass. When Tripp hits his head during a game and doesn't want to stop playing, Chase knows he must tell the truth about Tripp's blackout-and obvious concussion-but it costs him the friendship. Days go by as Tripp is kept out of the playoffs, and Chase goes in. Playing on both teams causes Chase's grades to suffer, so it is no surprise when his math teacher suspects him of cheating on a test. His answers matched Tripp's, even in the mistakes, and Chase is suspended from football. Embarrassed and bewildered, Chase is eventually exonerated when the truth comes out, and is reinstated in time for the final, nail-biting game. The slow build to climax may frustrate readers who crave faster-paced action, but the football plays are detailed and authentic. Appended information about concussions highlight the symptoms and dangers. Librarians may also add this to character education and/or Christian fiction bibliographies.-Vicki Reutter, State University of New York at Cortland

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