The Walk On (The Triple Threat, 1)
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein kicks off a new series for middle grade featuring Alex Myers, a student athlete who tries to take on the sports establishment in his new town.
Alex Myers is a quarterback, but from the first day of football practice, it’s clear that that position is very much filled by the coach’s son, Matt.
Alex has the better arm, but Matt has more experience—and the coach’s loyalty. Alex finally gets a chance to show what he can do when Matt is injured, and he helps win a key game to keep the Lions’ bid for the state championship alive. But just when his star is rising, Alex gets blindsided—the state has started drug testing, and Alex’s test comes back positive for steroids. Alex knows that’s not right. But he doesn’t know if it’s a mistake—or if someone wants to make sure he can’t play. . . .
John Feinstein has been praised as “the best writer of sports books in America today” (The Boston Globe), and this first installment in the Triple Threat series is his most thrilling and suspenseful novel yet. Fans of Mike Lupica, Tim Green, and Paul Volponi will want to check out The Walk On, and its companion, The Sixth Man.
“A cliffhanger of a football novel bristling with social, personal, familial and ethical issues to complement the gridiron action. . . . All the goods for the sports enthusiast—and more.” —Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Freshman Alex Myers believes he's destined for gridiron greatness, graced with an unnaturally strong and accurate throwing arm. But when his parents' divorce means starting school in a new town, he learns the quarterback position is already taken by the coach's son. The tyrannical head coach wants to win, but not at the expense of his son's playing time. This first installment in the Triple Threat series follows roughly the same formula as Feinstein's Sports Beat mysteries: lots of play-by-play action, sensational plot developments, and an attractive, whip-smart, sports-crazy romantic interest for Alex. Feinstein skillfully captures the mania that surrounds high school football, but does so uncritically, making it easy to see how high school athletics can become breeding grounds for entitlement. Though Alex's chances of getting to play are never in doubt, his path injury, fake injury, doping takes some highly improbable routes. Fans of sports fiction won't care about that, but an ending that leaves the outcome of the Big Game hanging might make them impatient for resolution, presumably coming in the next book. Ages 10 up.
