Football Hero

First, I have to tell the truth here: I am not a football fan. At all. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not against the sport or anything, I'm just not this sporty girl that can sit around and watch football (or any sports for that matter) all day. Going to games can be fun because I like the community and the spirit and the excitement. Do I know what's really going on? Er, not so much. With that truth kinda being out there, I would never have picked this book up except I wanted to do a book talk on a novel that I thought would gain interest from my boy students.

Ty is a high school freshman and his life could not be more upside down. His parents died in a tragic accident so he's now living with his Uncle Gus, Aunt Virginia, and cousin show more Charlotte. Uncle Gus is a lazy entrepreneur who cleans businesses for a living. Or rather, he claims that he does. In reality, Uncle Gus "teaches the work ethic" to Ty and Charlotte. Yup. After long days at school they must work in the family business.

At school the Coach notices his speed and wants him to play on the team. Ty can't help but be really excited. He doesn't talk about it much but his brother is Thane, aka Tiger, of Syracuse. Ty doesn't get to see Thane that much but he adores his brother and totally wishes to emulate him. Well, of course Uncle Gus won't let Ty play football; it conflicts with the work schedule. Ty is bummed.

Until...one of Uncle Gus's clients - Lucy - finds out that Ty is related to Thane. Lucy is in with the mafia and he figures this is the perfect opportunity to make some big bucks betting on the games. He uses Ty's relationship with Thane to find out who's injured and who's bluffing. Poor Ty is caught in the middle of this mind boggling drama about what it means to be family.

I admit it, I kinda dug this book. Sure, there were plenty of times when I was all, "you've got to be kidding me!" because what happened in the story just didn't seem all likely to play out like that in real life. but it was still a good story and I think that most kids will like it.

Oh, and as for the football stuff ('cuz the book was written by a football player), yah, there was talk about plays, etc., and I admit, I had no idea what they were talking about. But it wasn't enough to take away from the story for me (someone ignorant of the game) and I think that it will definitely add to the story for those football fanatics. show less

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Ty Lewis' parents have died in an accident, so he has gone to live with his dad's sister, Aunt Virginia, and Uncle Gus. Ty's older brother is Thane (aka Tiger) Lewis, a hopeful NFL first-round draft pick from Syracuse University. Thane and Ty are close, but because Thane is finishing up his college degree, Ty is forced to remain with his aunt and uncle.

Living with his aunt and uncle is horrible. Ty remembers the loving home he came from, and misses his parents terribly. His relatives make him sleep on a stained mattress on the floor in the laundry room. His uncle has scavenged an old Porta Potti that he forces Ty to use instead of the indoor plumbing. And now it's his twelfth birthday. Ty doesn't show more expect anything exciting, and it's even worse than he thought possible. His uncle presents him with a work permit allowing Ty to work for the family cleaning business. So while Ty and his cousin, Charlotte, spend their evenings after school scrubbing toilets and floors, his uncle sits back and drinks beer and socializes.

Ty has two shining spots in his life: his brother, Thane, and the chance to play on his middle school football team. Ty is fast and has sure hands. Coach V has great plans for Ty for the upcoming season. But his Uncle Gus does everything he can to keep Ty from playing football and away from his brother.

Then, Thane gets his draft pick and is worth millions. Uncle Gus enters into illegal gambling with the mafia, and Ty and Thane are the unwitting pawns. With the intervention of the FBI, Ty may come out better or worse than he started. But you have to read the story to see how the plot twists and turns.

I admit that I have never heard of Mr. Green before reading this story. Mostly because I will be honest and say I am not a fan of football. I go out of my way to avoid any game that may be on TV. But Mr. Green's story sounded exciting and thrilling. The story moved fast and had plots outside of football to interest those beyond the sports fans. This book will easily have appeal to boys ages 10 to 100. The reader will be satisfied to see the underdog does come out on top in the end! show less

Ty Lewis is just a normal kid that loves to play football. Both of his parents were killed in an accident. Ty is stuck living with his mean uncle Gus, aunt Virginia, and his cousin Charlotte. Ty is really excited when coach V, the coach of the football team, asks Ty to join the team. But, uncle Gus wont let Ty join the football team because he wants Ty to work in uncle Gus's cleaning services. Ty's older brother is in finishing college and going into the NFL. Gus starts to be nice to Ty only because he wants to get information about the football teams so that he can win gambling for fantasy football.Ty finally gets to play on the football team and on the last game makes the game winning catch to score the touchdown, of which is why he show more is called the football hero.

I think this was a great book. I really like sports, so it is my type of book. I think Ty has a great but tragic past because of what happened to his parents. I like how it tied in real things that would happen in a middle school kids life, like when Ty was being bullied in school. I like how it was an underdog story because Ty had never played football on an actual team and then he became the "football hero." I like how Ty wants to be like his brother and play football. I would really like to read the second book to this series. show less

Manny Rodriguez

This book is EXCELLENT. It surprised me how much action and suspense was put into a book like this. I think Tim Green is a not the average former football player. He is an excellent author and should make many more books like this.
The main character Ty Lewis's whole world was turned around when both of his parents dieed in a terrible car crash and is forced to live with his mean aunt and uncle. His brother Thane(Tiger) is a senior at Syracuse and the draft is coming up. He is late home to school on his birthday because he tries out for football. When he gets home he gets a birthday present a workers permit and is forced to work instead of play football. But one of the clients is part of the mob and gets involed in a back show more and forth blackmail. Will Tiger get drafted? What kind of blackmail is Ty getting involved in? Will anybody get hurt? All these questions will be answered in this OUTSTANDING novel by Tim Green. show less

Green uses an out of the ordinary situation to highlight many life lessons. For those students who love football it's a must read. For those who have to overcome adversity, it's a must read.

this book was good. the kid in this book is ty he is a major character because most of the book is about him. he is also a dynamic character because the author has him change through out the story to help it be good.

Football Hero is a story about a boy who loves to play football. One day a big game comes up and he needs to be ready for it. When the ball is hiked he runs out and makes a game winning play. That is why in the book he is called a football hero. I thought this was a good book to read, and was very interesting. Not just a boring book, there was more action to it.