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msilkwolfe's review
5.0
Woodson has this immeasurable ability to write about the human experience in such eloquent and observant ways. This book is no exception! A YA text that I can see many of my students (even reluctant readers!) enjoying.
robbynjreeve's review
4.0
I loved reading this book. Written beautifully it verse it tells the story with less detail but in more feeling than a typical novel.
book_concierge's review
4.0
I love poetry and try to get at least one poetry read in April each year. This novel in verse is suitable for middle-school-aged children but deals with a serious issue – brain injury resulting from multiple concussions while participating in contact sports.
ZJ is the only child of professional football star Zachariah Johnson, but to ZJ, his father isn’t a star, he is “Just my dad.” The action takes place beginning in 1999, before doctors had clearly identified chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the role that repeated blows to the head played in development of this degenerative brain disease. ZJ and his parents struggle to make sense of what is happening to the formerly strong, happy, loving father and husband. ZJ is helped by his best buddies: Darry, Ollie and Daniel. These boys comfort and distract ZJ when things get tough.
I am in awe at how much information Woodson can convey in so few words. The poetry format allows the author to get straight to the emotion of the situation. But make no mistake, she paints some vivid pictures and fully realized characters.
At the end of the story, Woodson includes a note about CTE and the efforts of the medical community (and professional sports organizations) to combat it. I recall recently seeing a news article about a newly designed football helmet specifically for quarterbacks.
ZJ is the only child of professional football star Zachariah Johnson, but to ZJ, his father isn’t a star, he is “Just my dad.” The action takes place beginning in 1999, before doctors had clearly identified chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the role that repeated blows to the head played in development of this degenerative brain disease. ZJ and his parents struggle to make sense of what is happening to the formerly strong, happy, loving father and husband. ZJ is helped by his best buddies: Darry, Ollie and Daniel. These boys comfort and distract ZJ when things get tough.
I am in awe at how much information Woodson can convey in so few words. The poetry format allows the author to get straight to the emotion of the situation. But make no mistake, she paints some vivid pictures and fully realized characters.
At the end of the story, Woodson includes a note about CTE and the efforts of the medical community (and professional sports organizations) to combat it. I recall recently seeing a news article about a newly designed football helmet specifically for quarterbacks.
lumos_libros's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
One of my favorite lines: "And how something you thought wasn’t even worth remembering gets remembered anyway."
hishandmaiden's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mdodd517's review
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
iceangel32's review
4.0
This book made me cry. It was so real. So sad. A story of a family struggling with a father that is suffering from the results of too many concussions from playing football. The reality of the time when it was not talked about and no one knew what to do or how to treat it. The book shows how concussion and CTE not only affects the person that has them but the whole family. It also showed the love the game, the reason the father got hit again and again. A very touching book, I am so glad I stumbled upon it.
Favorite Quote:
“Imaging loving something so much, you love
the smell of it?
It smells like leather and dirt and sweat and new snow.
I love football with all
my senses. Love the taste and feel
of air in my mouth running with the ball on a cold day. Love the smell
of the ball when I press it to my face
and the smell of the field right after it rains.
…
“When you love a thing, little man, my dad said,
you gotta love it with everything you got.
Till you can’t even tell where that thing you love begins
And where you end.”
Favorite Quote:
“Imaging loving something so much, you love
the smell of it?
It smells like leather and dirt and sweat and new snow.
I love football with all
my senses. Love the taste and feel
of air in my mouth running with the ball on a cold day. Love the smell
of the ball when I press it to my face
and the smell of the field right after it rains.
…
“When you love a thing, little man, my dad said,
you gotta love it with everything you got.
Till you can’t even tell where that thing you love begins
And where you end.”