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		Book Review - Crackback Reprinted from May 2006 Issue -by MARSHA BATES Written by John Coy, ©2005, Scholastic Press, NY, 201 pages. Football means everything to Miles Manning who looks forward to a winning season his junior year. But the season has barely begun and Miles’ joy starts to fade. First the team loses both number one and number two QBs, then coach takes a leave of absence for cancer treatment and his replacement is an insecure bully. When Miles’ teammate, Zach, urges him to take “juice” to bulk up, Miles knows his Dad wouldn’t approve. More importantly, how can Zach forget the “honor code” he and Miles signed? A mistake that allows a winning touchdown earns the new coach’s contempt and gets Miles demoted to second team. At home, Miles would do anything to win his volatile father’s approval, but it takes a homework assignment about immigrants and family ancestry to bring father and son together. The farther Miles’ steps away from the football field, the more he realizes there’s an entire social structure outside the end-zone. One that includes the lovely Lucia Lombrico, smart, funny and best of all, interested in him. His teammates on the second string are a bunch of equally talented, witty crack-ups who teach Miles to look beyond the next defensive play and even the next season. Author John Coy has written several illustrated books for younger readers but this is his first novel for teens. His style is reminiscent of Chris Crutcher’s without the life or death social context. Miles is a regular teenager, neither the handsomest, nor the most talented athlete, but intelligent enough to realize his own worth. He longs for affection and validation from his father, a former football star with a tough façade and despite his rejection by the cheerleader of his dreams Miles manages to find an intriguing newcomer in Lucia, who brings out the best in him. Recommended for teens in grades 9 and up. Reviewed by Marsha Bates, employee of the Kennewick Branch of the Mid-Columbia Library System.