Game Changer

Scott County Library hardcover 286 pages

Published: 2018

Genre: YA realistic fiction

I have mixed feelings about this book and really appreciated the author's note at the end.

I liked the different perspectives - Teddy's coma thoughts, what different people who visited him in the hospital said, the school social worker's interviews with students, the kids' text messages, etc.

But I didn't love the football aspect of it so much. It almost seemed like an anti-football (due to violence) theme from the get-go. I understand the dangers involved with the hitting and concussions, but I'm always a bit wary of books for teens that come across as preachy on a topic. Perhaps it's my own skewed perception. (I'm NOT a football fan . . . I can't actually put my finger on what bugged me about this.)

It's a quick read. Some of the characters are engaging. I liked his little sister Janey the best! I liked her feistiness. I also really liked the male nurse Ricky.

I put a post-it on page 90, but it's just because that's where Will (football captain) mentioned the Hit Parade during the Rookie Rumble and I was treating it like a bit of a detective novel . . . what actually happened?

Weird to put this at the END of my review, but it's a book about a high school freshman who collapses after an August football practice and is in a coma. Everyone wants him to get better and some people want to know exactly what happened.