Hit Count - Hardcover

Lynch, Chris

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1616202505 ISBN 13: 9781616202507

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers, 2015

Synopsis

“I hit him so hard, the clash of helmets and pads sounded like a gunshot across the field. I crushed him with the hit, held on to him, and crushed him again when I slammed him into the ground . . . I had arrived.”

Arlo Brodie loves being at the heart of the action on the football field, getting hit hard and hitting back harder. That’s where he belongs, leading his team to championships, becoming “Starlo” on his way to the top. Arlo’s dad cheers him on, but his mother quotes head injury statistics and refuses to watch games. Arlo’s girlfriend tries to make him see how dangerously he’s playing; when that doesn’t work, she calls time out on their relationship. Even Arlo’s coaches begin to track his hit count, ready to pull him off the field when he nears the limit. But Arlo’s not worried about tallying collisions. The winning plays, the cheering crowds, and the adrenaline rush are enough to convince Arlo that everything is OK—in spite of the pain, the pounding, the dizziness, and the confusion.

Hit Count explores America’s love affair with football and our attempts to reconcile the clear evidence of its dangers with our passion for the game.

About this title

From the Back Cover

“I hit him so hard, the clash of helmets and pads sounded like a gunshot across the field. I crushed him with the hit, held on to him and crushed him again when I slammed him into the ground . . . I had arrived.”

Arlo Brodie loves being at the heart of the action on the football field, getting hit hard and hitting back harder. Arlo’s dad cheers him on, but his mother quotes head injury statistics and refuses to watch games. Arlo’s girlfriend tries to make him see how dangerously he’s playing; when that doesn’t work, she calls time out on their relationship.Even Arlo’s coaches begin to track his hit count, ready to pull him off the field when he nears the limit. But for Arlo the winning plays, the cheering crowds, and the adrenaline rush are enough to convince him that everything is OK--in spite of the pain, the pounding, the dizziness, and the confusion.

“Sharp.” —Sports Illustrated

“Heart-pounding.” —Washington Independent Review of Books

“A powerful provocative look at the dark side of popular sports and their potential cost.” —Publishers Weekly

“This unflinching examination of the price of athletic power with plenty of bone-crunching play-by-play action, is both thought-provoking and formidable.” —The Horn Book Magazine

 

About the Author

Chris Lynch is the author of many acclaimed young adult novels, including Little Blue Lies, Pieces, Angry Young Man, the National Book Award Finalist Inexcusable, and the Printz Honor Book Freewill. Chris is on the faculty of the creative writing MFA program at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When he’s not teaching or visiting family in Boston, he lives in Scotland.

Edition details

• Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1616202505
• ISBN 13: 9781616202507
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 368