| Author/Contributor(s): | Crutcher, Chris |
| Publisher: | Greenwillow Books |
| Date: | 4/1/2003 |
| Binding: | Paperback |
| Condition: | NEW |
Louie Banks has it made.
He's got a starting spot on the football team, good friends, and a smart, beautiful girlfriend who loves him as much as he loves her.
He thinks a starting varsity spot is the pinnacle of the world. Between shifts at the Buckhorn tavern and pumping gas at his dad’s station, he and his best friend Carter spend all summer grinding through workouts to earn their places on an undefeated Cougar squad.
Quitting means walking away from the glory and the crowds, but swallowing coach’s dirty tactics would mean losing his self-respect. Early in the fall, he sees all his ideas of fair play go up in smoke; by spring, what he cares about most has been destroyed. How can Louie keep going when he's lost everything?
Standing up for fair play cost him his spot on the team, but walking away from the game is only the beginning.
- Small Town Setting: Life in Trout, Idaho revolves around eight-man football, sawmill shifts, and high school sports, where everybody knows your business and standing against the crowd carries a steep price.
- Standing on Principle: When his ruthless coach orders a vicious cheap shot against Salmon River’s star quarterback, Louie speaks out on the field and refuses to back down, sparking an uproar with school administration.
- Second Chances: Banned from team sports and feeling isolated from his classmates, Louie finds an unexpected ally in a rookie coach who pushes him to channel his grief and stamina into the grueling two-mile event in track.
- Also by This Author: Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Deadline and Whale Talk.