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kim_j_dare's review against another edition
3.0
Gr 5-8-This novel has much to recommend it. Troy White is a typical 12-year-old in many ways, dividing his time between school, organized sports, and friends. He has one special talent, though: when he watches football on television, he subconsciously computes team statistics, players, and other variables, and he can call the plays before they happen. What could be a nice parlor trick takes on new significance when his single mother gets a job with the Atlanta Falcons' public relations department. Suddenly, Troy is in a position to help the struggling team win, if he can only make the grownups around him listen. It's an uphill battle at first, but eventually running back Seth Halloway witnesses Troy's uncanny ability and puts his own job on the line to help convince the coach and the team's owner. Drawing heavily on his own eight years as a linebacker for the Falcons, Green gives armchair quarterbacks a rare and realistic glimpse at the pain, sweat, and politicking of professional football. He includes enough cameo appearances from real players (Mike Vick, John Abraham, and Demarrio Williams, among others) to make fact and fiction meld seamlessly. Fictional characters are fairly two-dimensional, especially the scheming assistant coach who wants nothing more than to see the team lose so that he can step in as head coach. Nonetheless, the fast action and plot twists will keep fans of the game glued to the story. A first purchase for libraries looking to bolster their sports fiction.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
parentijulia5's review against another edition
Sounds so exciting! Tim Green is coming to our school! Got to read it for B.O.B.
alboyer6's review against another edition
i really couldn't get into this (way to much football for my taste) but I can see how others would enjoy.
alboyer6's review against another edition
i really couldn't get into this (way to much football for my taste) but I can see how others would enjoy.
bookgirl4ever's review against another edition
4.0
Troy and his friends, Nathan and Tate, LOVE football. Troy, however, has a special gift. He can watch a game and predict the next plays. When his mom gets a job with the home team, the Atlanta Falcons, Troy is sure he can help them have a great season. The only problem is he has to convince them to listen to him. Troy is a sensitive, persistent character who just wants to do the right thing. Action-packed play-by-plays make this an exciting read for football fans. Readers will enjoy imagining themselves in Troy's shoes.
Middle school
Middle school
readertz's review against another edition
4.0
I'm excited about Tim Green's upcoming visit to our school! Football Genius is the first book in a series. So far, I am really enjoying it. The characters are interesting and the story is engaging. I finished this book a while ago, but forgot to write about it! I thought it was a great book. I'm not a big sports reader and I still really enjoyed it. The author kept me interested until the very end. I look forward to reading some other Tim Green books soon!
tami_provencher's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed Football Genius. It took a few chapters to establish the pace and then it really took off. It is an excellent independent read choice for someone who is interested in (or crazy about) football.
Troy White is a sixth grade boy who plays second string quarterback on his football team. The coach’s son is the starting quarterback even though Troy has greater talent. Troy has an amazing ability to read the patterns in a football game and know which plays will happen next. This talent comes to the forefront when his mother is hired by the PR department for the Atlanta Falcons NFL team.
Troy’s attempts to be heard by the coaches, his mom, and one middle linebacker in particular are filled with humor, compassion and excitement. Even when Troy finally succeeds in getting one of the players to listen to him, he must still break through his mother’s stubornness, a malicious coach’s motives and the unreachable ear of the team’s owner.
Troy gets his chance to be special, to fulfill the part of his destiny that is right now. Troy’s story strikes a chord with anyone who has ever had a dream for his future, or has searched for the essence of what makes him different and special within this big world.
I think, however, the book may have limited appeal to readers who are not interested in football or do not really understand how the game is played. (For example: I have read all the Harry Potter books, but find Quidditch, as a sport, boring and would often skim the pages and pages describing the game itself.) I am a HUGE football fan and was enthralled with the descriptions of plays on the field. I could see the games playing in my head while I was reading about them. Green also uses the names of several actual NFL players, but since the book was written in 2007, they are outdated now. As a MN Vikings fan I chuckled at the descriptions of Randy Moss’s behavior as an Oakland Raider. Also, Michael Vick is quarterbacking the Falcons (pre-dog fighting scandal). If you don’t know who Brian Urlacher, Tiki Barber and Drew Bledsoe are then the name dropping is probably going to bore you. If you DO know your football players from the early 2000′s, then it’s kind of a kick to read about them in passing during the story.
Tim Green was a defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons from 1986-1993. His expertise in the arena of professional football is clearly evident in the details of the games and the structure of a pro football team. It is not simply his football expertise that is showcased in this novel. His ability to tell Troy’s story in an exciting and meaningful way.
This is a fun, easy, uplifting read that rises to an even higher level if you are a football fan, like me.
Troy White is a sixth grade boy who plays second string quarterback on his football team. The coach’s son is the starting quarterback even though Troy has greater talent. Troy has an amazing ability to read the patterns in a football game and know which plays will happen next. This talent comes to the forefront when his mother is hired by the PR department for the Atlanta Falcons NFL team.
Troy’s attempts to be heard by the coaches, his mom, and one middle linebacker in particular are filled with humor, compassion and excitement. Even when Troy finally succeeds in getting one of the players to listen to him, he must still break through his mother’s stubornness, a malicious coach’s motives and the unreachable ear of the team’s owner.
Troy gets his chance to be special, to fulfill the part of his destiny that is right now. Troy’s story strikes a chord with anyone who has ever had a dream for his future, or has searched for the essence of what makes him different and special within this big world.
I think, however, the book may have limited appeal to readers who are not interested in football or do not really understand how the game is played. (For example: I have read all the Harry Potter books, but find Quidditch, as a sport, boring and would often skim the pages and pages describing the game itself.) I am a HUGE football fan and was enthralled with the descriptions of plays on the field. I could see the games playing in my head while I was reading about them. Green also uses the names of several actual NFL players, but since the book was written in 2007, they are outdated now. As a MN Vikings fan I chuckled at the descriptions of Randy Moss’s behavior as an Oakland Raider. Also, Michael Vick is quarterbacking the Falcons (pre-dog fighting scandal). If you don’t know who Brian Urlacher, Tiki Barber and Drew Bledsoe are then the name dropping is probably going to bore you. If you DO know your football players from the early 2000′s, then it’s kind of a kick to read about them in passing during the story.
Tim Green was a defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons from 1986-1993. His expertise in the arena of professional football is clearly evident in the details of the games and the structure of a pro football team. It is not simply his football expertise that is showcased in this novel. His ability to tell Troy’s story in an exciting and meaningful way.
This is a fun, easy, uplifting read that rises to an even higher level if you are a football fan, like me.
masonjulia7857's review against another edition
Sounds so exciting! Tim Green is coming to our school! Got to read it for B.O.B.
theartolater's review against another edition
1.0
Tim Green played for the Falcons, and now he writes books. It's tough for me not to say "y'shoulda stuck to football," but, uh, yeah. Premise: a kid can predict what play a team is going to run. Add in the broken home and the football-player-as-surrogate-father subplots, and a healthy dose of unintentional humor every time Michael Vick is namedropped, and you get a pretty crappy book. I really wish people wrote better YA novels for boys...
masonjulia5's review against another edition
Sounds so exciting! Tim Green is coming to our school! Got to read it for B.O.B.