Love of the Game
Middle school is full of new challenges for Jackson, Gig, Isaac, and Diego, four sports-loving friends who have always stuck together. Lockers that won’t open, older (and bigger) kids, classes that are far apart, tons of homework—there’s a lot to get used to.
One thing the boys are looking forward to, however, is making the football team. Not every one will get what he wants, though, on the field and at home.
Here is a story about how life, like sports, can be unpredictable, frustrating, and exhilarating. Love of the Game by John Coy is part of the 4 for 4 series, an action-packed middle grade series for young readers about four boys from diverse backgrounds who deal with family, friendship, and school situations.
KIRKUS Reviews
Middle-grade boys will welcome the latest installment of this popular sports series, this time featuring football.
In the third entry in the 4 for 4 series, the group of youngsters readers met in Top of the Order (2009) and Eyes on the Goal (2010) are back, and this time their focus is the turbulent world of middle-school football. Now that they are sixth graders, Jackson Kennedy worries about all the things they have to get used to, from chaos on the school bus to challenging teachers and subjects in their classrooms: “We’re not going to be stuck with one boring teacher.” “No, now we’re going to have lots of boring teachers,” Gig says. Jackson and Gig have been best friends since kindergarten, and now they have no classes together, something particularly difficult as Gig is still having trouble coping with his father’s deployment to Afghanistan. Jackson’s and Diego’s mothers are concerned about the dangers of football, potentially threatening their ability to play the game they love, and they almost lost their friend Isaac to another school. As with the others in the series, there is a nice balance between the sports action and the portrayal of young people navigating the difficulties of growing up both at home and at school.
Realistic characters, believable dialogue and a genuine feel for the rhythms and issues of middle-schoolers make this a satisfying addition to a solid middle-grade set.
School Library Journal
Jackson’s first day of middle school is rough. In a stereotypical beginning of underclassman woe, he is taken for both his lunch and his money when forced to sit in the back of the bus with the eighth graders. He endures the torment, looking forward to playing on the football team with his friends after school. It turns out that bullying is not the only problem that he and his friends will have to deal with. These sixth graders must persuade their soccer-playing chum’s mother that football is safe, and Gig deals with his father being overseas in the war. Jackson is also coming to terms with the fact he and his mother will be moving in with her boyfriend and his daughters. The culminating experience of character growth occurs when he chooses to play defense because of his skill, even though his friends all play offense. The author tries to weave in meaningful messages about literacy through the “cool” librarian, but they often feel heavy-handed. Still, this realistic novel will attract kids who like a story told without any dressing up. Despite the title, actual sports action takes a backseat to a plot-driven story rich in contemporary social issues. When the author does get to describing a sports scene, however, it is rife with action and will draw readers back to the page.