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Rating: 
Summary: Great book about high school football!
Review: I didn't know what to expect when I got the book except that it promised to be anything but plain, boring, or ordinary. I'd never heard of the author, and the book sure didn't disappoint. The blurb on the back said, "Jeff Pine wanted to portray a gritty and sometimes not always pretty picture of high school football w/o losing the respect for the game and the individuals who play and coach it." As you read this, you can tell Pine loves these characters and loves football. It comes through in every word. Each of the main characters has a secret that they're trying to hide. Steve Dentry, all-star RB with the beautiful g/f has an alcoholic dad no one knows about; two of the linemen on the team are shooting steroids and don't care about the consequences; and the new starting QB has never started a game in his life - and you wonder does he have the moxy to pull it off? Pine shot for a "realistic" portrayal of high school football. I think the games and action sequences are amazing. I felt like I was watching the games. In fact, two of the games are announced by a couple of cable TV guys. The final game against cross-town rival Eastern High comes down to the last play (of course!). Also, these boys swear, some of them even drink beer. I mean, hey, let's not kid ourselves. Some high schoolers drink, not all, and to ignore this just makes the problem worse. I can imagine that in future books in the series there might even be sex or drugs (besides steroids) or other things Pine wants to discuss. One of the best moments comes when Steve, the all-star running back, drives his dad to an AA meeting. It's got all the awkwardness that moment would have in real life between a father and a son, plus the hope that things could be on their way to getting better. A couple minor criticisms though: 1. the cover looks a little too cut-and-paste with computer graphics. Plus I can't figure out, besides the two people at the bottom (Steve and Rachel), who the others are supposed to be - the black guy's probably Darnell, the sophomore phenom, but maybe the kid in the collared shirt is Ty and the other guys are Tony and Jeff (but their numbers don't match). I'm guessing Pine had no control over his cover artwork. 2. I'm from the Detroit area, where the book takes place, and Western High is supposed to be part of the OAA. This is a huge athletic conference in Oakland County, a suburb of Detroit, but none of the teams that Western plays are in the OAA. Three of the teams, Kennedy, Truman, and Eisenhower, are real Detroit area teams. Two of them are downriver and the other one is in Macomb County.
Minor sticking points, but little things. They didn't detract from the novel. At the end of the book, Pine included a list of websites for those kids interested in learning more on how bad steroids are for them. I checked them out and learned more, especially about former NFLer Lyle Alzado. He died of cancer a few years ago. ... All I know is that I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Great book about high school football!
Review: I didn't know what to expect when I got the book except that it promised to be anything but plain, boring, or ordinary. I'd never heard of the author, and the book sure didn't disappoint. The blurb on the back said, "Jeff Pine wanted to portray a gritty and sometimes not always pretty picture of high school football w/o losing the respect for the game and the individuals who play and coach it." As you read this, you can tell Pine loves these characters and loves football. It comes through in every word. Each of the main characters has a secret that they're trying to hide. Steve Dentry, all-star RB with the beautiful g/f has an alcoholic dad no one knows about; two of the linemen on the team are shooting steroids and don't care about the consequences; and the new starting QB has never started a game in his life - and you wonder does he have the moxy to pull it off? Pine shot for a "realistic" portrayal of high school football. I think the games and action sequences are amazing. I felt like I was watching the games. In fact, two of the games are announced by a couple of cable TV guys. The final game against cross-town rival Eastern High comes down to the last play (of course!). Also, these boys swear, some of them even drink beer. I mean, hey, let's not kid ourselves. Some high schoolers drink, not all, and to ignore this just makes the problem worse. I can imagine that in future books in the series there might even be sex or drugs (besides steroids) or other things Pine wants to discuss. One of the best moments comes when Steve, the all-star running back, drives his dad to an AA meeting. It's got all the awkwardness that moment would have in real life between a father and a son, plus the hope that things could be on their way to getting better. A couple minor criticisms though: 1. the cover looks a little too cut-and-paste with computer graphics. Plus I can't figure out, besides the two people at the bottom (Steve and Rachel), who the others are supposed to be - the black guy's probably Darnell, the sophomore phenom, but maybe the kid in the collared shirt is Ty and the other guys are Tony and Jeff (but their numbers don't match). I'm guessing Pine had no control over his cover artwork. 2. I'm from the Detroit area, where the book takes place, and Western High is supposed to be part of the OAA. This is a huge athletic conference in Oakland County, a suburb of Detroit, but none of the teams that Western plays are in the OAA. Three of the teams, Kennedy, Truman, and Eisenhower, are real Detroit area teams. Two of them are downriver and the other one is in Macomb County.
Minor sticking points, but little things. They didn't detract from the novel. At the end of the book, Pine included a list of websites for those kids interested in learning more on how bad steroids are for them. I checked them out and learned more, especially about former NFLer Lyle Alzado. He died of cancer a few years ago. ... All I know is that I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: Simply put, this was a great book. I played football in high school recently, and Jeff Pine really does a great job of capturing the whole experience in this story. I highly reccommend this book to anyone who really wants to know what its like, or just wants a good story.
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