PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS
BookList:
Gr. 5-8 Conflicts between head and heart trouble an eighth-grade football star in Lupica’s latest smoothly crafted sports tale. No sooner is quarterback Nate picked in a drawing to try for a million-dollar prize on national TV by tossing a football through a small target than his erstwhile-brilliant passing game goes down the tubes. Knowing that his parents are both working multiple jobs to make ends meet, and also that Abby, his very best friend, girlfriend, and a gifted artist, is losing her eyesight, Nate realizes that he should be putting his own problems in perspective—but still, as his team finds itself locked in a series of unnecessarily close gridiron contests, he sinks into a steady state of confused dejection. Will his arm come around in time, and if it does, what will he do with the money? Lupica injects plenty of suspenseful sports action into the plot and creates a cast of uniformly likable characters whose faith in teamwork and in each other ultimately earns handsome rewards for all. A natural for graduates of Matt Christopher’s sports stories. -- Peters, John (Reviewed 09-01-2009) (Booklist, vol 106, number 1, p109)
School Library Journal:
Gr 6–8— Lupica delivers another smooth, well-paced, character-driven novel. Thirteen-year-old Nate Brodie's life would seem to be the stuff of adolescent boys' dreams: he is the star quarterback of his school football team and has a great relationship with his best friend and soulmate, Abby McCall. However, all is not smooth sailing. The Brodies are in danger of losing their home in the economic downturn, and Abby's eyesight is failing due to a rare congenital disease. Nate thinks he may have the opportunity to solve all of his problems when he wins the chance to make a milliondollars by throwing a football through a small target during halftime at a pro football game. Unfortunately, his quarterbacking skills suddenly and mysteriously desert him just as he is preparing for his big moment. With the support of his family and friends, he fights his way back and regains the confidence he needs to face the challenges in his life. While the serious issues raised about the effects of economic uncertainty on families are resolved a tad too easily, youngsters are likely to accept this as just a good, entertaining read.—Richard Luzer, Fair Haven Union High School, VT --Richard Luzer (Reviewed December 1, 2009) (School Library Journal, vol 55, issue 12, p126)
Publishers Weekly:
In 2005, an army veteran won $1 million by throwing a football through a target during a halftime show at a college football game. Lupica (The Big Field ) inserts a 13-year-old in the contestant role and moves the action to Massachusetts, where QB Nate Brodie stars for his eighth-grade team and idolizes the New England Patriots' Tom Brady. The pressure to win is intense—Nate's father has lost his job, the house is close to foreclosure, and his best friend, Abby, needs money to go to a special school since she is rapidly going blind. Though the entire cast is a bit too perfect, many kids will relate to Nate's fears about his family's finances: “You were going along, having what felt like a pretty cool life, and then all of a sudden came the economy trying to wreck everything.” The ups and downs of Nate's peewee football team provide sports play-by-play, but the thread that will pull readers through is whether Nate can save his and Abby's families with one well-aimed spiral on Thanksgiving night. Ages 10–up. (Nov.) --Staff (Reviewed November 16, 2009) (Publishers Weekly, vol 256, issue 46, p55)
Kirkus:
No matter how complicated things get, Nate Brodie, 13, can always count on the power and accuracy of his football arm. Until, suddenly, he can't, just when he's won the opportunity to score $1,000,000 if he can throw a football through a 20-inch hole during the televised halftime break at a Patriots game. Normally, this feat, though difficult, would be within his remarkable abilities, and he would find fun in the challenge. But tension has been building for a while, sapping his confidence, and his arm is really showing it. The recession has taken a toll on the Brodies, and Nate's family, now in financial distress, could really use the money. Nate is also upset because his adored best friend Abby is rapidly going blind. Sadly, Abby is both a perfect and perfectly unbelievable character, and the scenes with her are mawkish and icky. Still, Lupica's football action engages, and his delineation of the athlete's thought process and emotional highs and lows of competition feels visceral and real. (Fiction. 10 & up) (Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2009)
VIEWER REVIEWS
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6455553-million-dollar-throw
PERSONAL REVIEW:
The book, Million-Dollar Throw is a sports book written by Mike Lupica. The book is about a 13 year old boy that is in the eighth grade and plays football. The young boy's name is Nate Brodie, and he has a friend named Abby McCall. Nate wins the chance to throw a football into a 20 inch hole at halftime of a patriots game to win a million dollars. Nate then starts to feel the pressure coming from all around him. His family is having financial issues, his best friend receives a disease that starts to make her go blind, and his football team goes to state championships. When Nate starts to shut-down, Abby helps him get back on track with a few encouraging words. The book is $17.99 in the U.S., and it is 244 ages long. The author of Million-Dollar Throw is Mike Lupica and it was published by The Penguin Group.
BookList:
Gr. 5-8 Conflicts between head and heart trouble an eighth-grade football star in Lupica’s latest smoothly crafted sports tale. No sooner is quarterback Nate picked in a drawing to try for a million-dollar prize on national TV by tossing a football through a small target than his erstwhile-brilliant passing game goes down the tubes. Knowing that his parents are both working multiple jobs to make ends meet, and also that Abby, his very best friend, girlfriend, and a gifted artist, is losing her eyesight, Nate realizes that he should be putting his own problems in perspective—but still, as his team finds itself locked in a series of unnecessarily close gridiron contests, he sinks into a steady state of confused dejection. Will his arm come around in time, and if it does, what will he do with the money? Lupica injects plenty of suspenseful sports action into the plot and creates a cast of uniformly likable characters whose faith in teamwork and in each other ultimately earns handsome rewards for all. A natural for graduates of Matt Christopher’s sports stories. -- Peters, John (Reviewed 09-01-2009) (Booklist, vol 106, number 1, p109)
School Library Journal:
Gr 6–8— Lupica delivers another smooth, well-paced, character-driven novel. Thirteen-year-old Nate Brodie's life would seem to be the stuff of adolescent boys' dreams: he is the star quarterback of his school football team and has a great relationship with his best friend and soulmate, Abby McCall. However, all is not smooth sailing. The Brodies are in danger of losing their home in the economic downturn, and Abby's eyesight is failing due to a rare congenital disease. Nate thinks he may have the opportunity to solve all of his problems when he wins the chance to make a milliondollars by throwing a football through a small target during halftime at a pro football game. Unfortunately, his quarterbacking skills suddenly and mysteriously desert him just as he is preparing for his big moment. With the support of his family and friends, he fights his way back and regains the confidence he needs to face the challenges in his life. While the serious issues raised about the effects of economic uncertainty on families are resolved a tad too easily, youngsters are likely to accept this as just a good, entertaining read.—Richard Luzer, Fair Haven Union High School, VT --Richard Luzer (Reviewed December 1, 2009) (School Library Journal, vol 55, issue 12, p126)
Publishers Weekly:
In 2005, an army veteran won $1 million by throwing a football through a target during a halftime show at a college football game. Lupica (The Big Field ) inserts a 13-year-old in the contestant role and moves the action to Massachusetts, where QB Nate Brodie stars for his eighth-grade team and idolizes the New England Patriots' Tom Brady. The pressure to win is intense—Nate's father has lost his job, the house is close to foreclosure, and his best friend, Abby, needs money to go to a special school since she is rapidly going blind. Though the entire cast is a bit too perfect, many kids will relate to Nate's fears about his family's finances: “You were going along, having what felt like a pretty cool life, and then all of a sudden came the economy trying to wreck everything.” The ups and downs of Nate's peewee football team provide sports play-by-play, but the thread that will pull readers through is whether Nate can save his and Abby's families with one well-aimed spiral on Thanksgiving night. Ages 10–up. (Nov.) --Staff (Reviewed November 16, 2009) (Publishers Weekly, vol 256, issue 46, p55)
Kirkus:
No matter how complicated things get, Nate Brodie, 13, can always count on the power and accuracy of his football arm. Until, suddenly, he can't, just when he's won the opportunity to score $1,000,000 if he can throw a football through a 20-inch hole during the televised halftime break at a Patriots game. Normally, this feat, though difficult, would be within his remarkable abilities, and he would find fun in the challenge. But tension has been building for a while, sapping his confidence, and his arm is really showing it. The recession has taken a toll on the Brodies, and Nate's family, now in financial distress, could really use the money. Nate is also upset because his adored best friend Abby is rapidly going blind. Sadly, Abby is both a perfect and perfectly unbelievable character, and the scenes with her are mawkish and icky. Still, Lupica's football action engages, and his delineation of the athlete's thought process and emotional highs and lows of competition feels visceral and real. (Fiction. 10 & up) (Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2009)
VIEWER REVIEWS
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6455553-million-dollar-throw
PERSONAL REVIEW:
The book, Million-Dollar Throw is a sports book written by Mike Lupica. The book is about a 13 year old boy that is in the eighth grade and plays football. The young boy's name is Nate Brodie, and he has a friend named Abby McCall. Nate wins the chance to throw a football into a 20 inch hole at halftime of a patriots game to win a million dollars. Nate then starts to feel the pressure coming from all around him. His family is having financial issues, his best friend receives a disease that starts to make her go blind, and his football team goes to state championships. When Nate starts to shut-down, Abby helps him get back on track with a few encouraging words. The book is $17.99 in the U.S., and it is 244 ages long. The author of Million-Dollar Throw is Mike Lupica and it was published by The Penguin Group.