Gang Tackle

September 1, 2016
Grades 5-8 When the Southside Saints football team loses funding due to budget cuts, they think their chances are over, until they get sponsored by Fort Sports, a local sporting goods store that donates $20,000 worth of equipment, uniforms, and field repairs in exchange for letting the company's president coach the team. At first the team is on board, but it soon becomes clear that Coach Fort is a racist bully who claims the spotlight for himself. Is there a way for the Saints to sack the coach without losing everything, or does he simply have too much control? Orca Sports can always be depended on to deliver quick reads with high-stakes situations, detailed sports events, and clear moral lessons, and this book is no different. Coach Fort is a bit of a caricature, there is little nuance or layering to the characters, and the ending borrows too heavily from Varsity Blues. And yet this remains an empowering read for reluctant-reader football fans who want to see athletes rise to the occasion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)