Final Season
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Final Season is an action-packed story about football, family, teamwork, and friendship. The story centers on a family that lives and breathes football, as the dad is the coach and an ex-NFL player. There's a lot of football talk and on-the-field drama, a fair amount of hard tackles, kicked shins, and brutal training sessions. Players often vomit through their helmets. A boy meanly cuts off one of a girl's braids with scissors. All the kids live lavish lifestyles, with Mercedes Benzes and Xbox consoles and jet skis part of their daily lives. Characters often refer to real-world football references, teams, players, and brands. There's no strong language except for a few instances of "butt" and "fart."
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What's the Story?
In FINAL SEASON, Ben Redd is preparing for the new football season. As the quarterback, Ben wants to become a better leader. Following in the footsteps of his older brothers and their father, who also happens to be the coach, Ben feels it's his destiny to play in the NFL. But out of nowhere his dad is diagnosed with ALS, But the players, teamwork, and the positivity of Ben's dad in the face of his being diagnosed with ALS, a devastating neurodegenerative disease, all contribute to an incredibly positive and winning story.and Ben's family must find a way to keep going.
Is It Any Good?
The story is a little predictable but still satisfies with fun characters, heartfelt moments, and detailed football action. Final Season also asks about the safety of football and whether kids should continue to play the sport. This is a bold and risky move, given readers who love football will likely love this book most. Thankfully, the football here is accurately described, discussed, narrated, and analyzed in terms of strategy. For non-football fans, some football action sequences might be too long and detailed.
Some readers might find the romance storyline a little forced, the number of times kids vomit disconcerting, and the violence of hard tackles tough to stomach. Also, the kids often retreat to "their 5 Xbox consoles" in their Mercedes "G-Wagons" and then go jet skiing, which may seem awfully high-end for many readers. But the players, teamwork, and the positivity of Ben's dad in the face of his ALS all contribute to an incredibly positive and winning story.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Final Season compares with other sports stories you've read or watched? What's similar? What's different?
Given what happened to Ben's dad, would you want Ben to still play football?
If you were Ben, what would you do and why?
Book Details
- Author: Tim Green
- Genre: Sports
- Topics: Sports and Martial Arts, Friendship
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication date: September 14, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 304
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: October 9, 2021
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