Thatcher Heldring

Literary Merit: Good
Characterization: Good
Recommended: Recommended
Level: Middle Grade (6th-9th grade)

Tessa, a soon to be freshman, has to figure out what it means to be a girlfriend, teammate, best friend, and a football player. The struggle between family dynamics and finally doing what she wants to do Tessa has to make choices not everyone likes. And then there is Caleb, he knows exactly what he wants to do. But will he be Tessa’s, the girl playing football, boyfriend.

This book would be great for 6th-9th graders, whether they are a reluctant reader or not.… (mere)

Thatcher Heldring has written a book with a strong female lead who shows that when you really want something and are willing to work hard for it then gender boundaries begin to dissipate.
Don’t let it fool you. Although this is the perfect junk food book, as in one to read to just to pass the time and not expect life changing mantras from, there is still a good bit to glean from it.

It’s not a bad book but I can see this being for a very niche audience. There’s a lot of play by play football scenes so if you’re not into football or not into reading about football you’re probably going to get bored easily. But if you’re into women exploding across gender boundaries and succeeding at it, even if you don’t like football, then you’ll be able to find something worthy about using your time to check this book out.

There is more than football though. There’s the obligatory romance since it is after all a YA novel. There’s also the prototypical parents who don’t seem to care about anything other than themselves. As an adult reading this, although I didn’t care about the romance aspect, seeing the parent-child relationship was eye opening because I think as adults you do get too wrapped up in your own life and forget how that can appear to your kid particularly if it seems your child has become more of a tool to further your image than a human being in need of your love.

It’s a very short book, with very short chapters and is written with a quick pace so you have no excuse to not check it out unless of course you’re anti-football.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for allowing me to review this book.… (mere)

Wyatt is the good kid in his family- the one who gets good grades and plays golf with his dad. But at the end of eighth grade, he must decide whether he will follow his parent’s plans for his summer and go to golf camp, or whether he will make his own summer plans and play in a rogue football league, even if it means lying to family and friends. This is a sports book that goes beyond sports to raise all sorts of issues that middle school readers are facing, from growing independence from parents and dealing with first crushes to honing their sense of right and wrong. Wyatt is a sympathetic character who is shown making realistic decisions, both good and bad, along the way and shows real character development through the course of the book. There are plenty of blow-by-blow descriptions of football games and golf to keep sports fans interested, and the pace rarely lags. Diagrams of football plays at the end of the book add appeal. The League makes for good independent reading, but could also be used as a starting point for discussing what readers would do in Wyatt’s place at various points.… (mere)