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libreroaming's review
4.0
3.5
A sports book that deals with some serious topics. Ben's father is a football legend but the damage his years of defensive tackling have taken its toll as he develops ALS. Despite this heavy issue, the book is firmly focused on Ben's trials as a quarterback. The warring discussion of whether or not he will play football, or should play football in light of how the game damaged his father, is a running topic but not a consuming one. Tim Green's personal history as a pro player with ALS informs the book, although I think non-football fans would get a little lost in the terminology, especially at the final game that takes up 20% of the book.
A sports book that deals with some serious topics. Ben's father is a football legend but the damage his years of defensive tackling have taken its toll as he develops ALS. Despite this heavy issue, the book is firmly focused on Ben's trials as a quarterback. The warring discussion of whether or not he will play football, or should play football in light of how the game damaged his father, is a running topic but not a consuming one. Tim Green's personal history as a pro player with ALS informs the book, although I think non-football fans would get a little lost in the terminology, especially at the final game that takes up 20% of the book.
yapha's review
4.0
Ben is a 6th grade quarterback, playing on a team coached by his father, a former NFL player, and his two brothers who played through college. Football is the heart of their family which the ALS diagnosis even harder. The family is divided on whether Ben should continue playing or not, which makes the need for a winning season that much more important. This book will appeal to young football fans, with its details of games and practices. It also doesn't spare the details of the long term effects of playing professional football as evidenced by Ben's father's struggle with ALS. (More heartbreaking is the knowledge that Tim Green is going through this as well, while writing the book.) This book raises some great questions about risks versus rewards and new safety regulations, as well as co-ed teams. Highly recommended for grades 4 & up.
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
eehoskins's review
3.0
Benjamin Redd is an athlete through and through just like the rest of his family. His brothers were all-star college players, his sister excels at lacrosse, and his father a former NFL player. Ben plays several sports, but football is his first love- the game that he knows will carry him through high school and college when the time comes. His whole world is rocked though when his father is diagnosed with ALS- a condition the doctors are attributing to his head-crushing football career. Ben's mom immediately insists that Ben quit playing football while his father insists that Ben isn't at high risk at his young age and quarterback position. Ben is torn between the two sides, but more than anything he is devastated that his father is deteriorating quickly and doesn't understand why everyone else seems to be downplaying his condition.
Tim Green pulls from his own experience with ALS and his family to write Final Season. Final Season didn't feel as polished to me as many of Green's other books. It seems to be driven by Green's emotions as he puts what is largely autobiographical onto paper. Though I think it is lacking something, it is well worth putting in my middle-grade library. It fits well into the conversation about the risks included in football and about concussions and introduces readers to ALS and how it can impact the body.
Tim Green pulls from his own experience with ALS and his family to write Final Season. Final Season didn't feel as polished to me as many of Green's other books. It seems to be driven by Green's emotions as he puts what is largely autobiographical onto paper. Though I think it is lacking something, it is well worth putting in my middle-grade library. It fits well into the conversation about the risks included in football and about concussions and introduces readers to ALS and how it can impact the body.
dramalitandtech's review
4.0
Final Season, by Tim Green, is a departure from what I typically read, but as a middle school teacher I’m always on the hunt for good books for my students--all of my students. Final Season is definitely a novel that will interest my students looking for sports books. But it is so much more than sports.
Tim Green, a former NFL player, wrote the novel that is not quite autobiographical and not quite a memoir. Truthfully, I don't know how to classify it, but that doesn’t really matter. It is a novel based on real life, but with changes made. Ben, a 6th grader, is used to being coached by his father and two all-star football player brothers. In fact, they refer to themselves as the Four Brothers. When Ben’s father is diagnosed with ALS, the entire family’s lives change, including Ben’s mom’s feelings about football--which could have very well caused Coach Redd’s ALS. So Ben faces his father’s declining health, his mother’s insistence that this be Ben’s last year of football, and Ben’s own feelings and indecision about football all while attempting to lead his team to the championship.
Final season is an exciting and often emotional read. It is perfect for fans of Mike Lupica and suitable for students as young as 5th through 8th grade. For me, I got bogged down in the football jargon during the chapters with the games, but I was able to make my way through and not miss any important parts. While this was a departure for me, I’m glad I took it.
Tim Green, a former NFL player, wrote the novel that is not quite autobiographical and not quite a memoir. Truthfully, I don't know how to classify it, but that doesn’t really matter. It is a novel based on real life, but with changes made. Ben, a 6th grader, is used to being coached by his father and two all-star football player brothers. In fact, they refer to themselves as the Four Brothers. When Ben’s father is diagnosed with ALS, the entire family’s lives change, including Ben’s mom’s feelings about football--which could have very well caused Coach Redd’s ALS. So Ben faces his father’s declining health, his mother’s insistence that this be Ben’s last year of football, and Ben’s own feelings and indecision about football all while attempting to lead his team to the championship.
Final season is an exciting and often emotional read. It is perfect for fans of Mike Lupica and suitable for students as young as 5th through 8th grade. For me, I got bogged down in the football jargon during the chapters with the games, but I was able to make my way through and not miss any important parts. While this was a departure for me, I’m glad I took it.
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