Review--Hit Count by Chris Lynch

Hit Count by Chris Lynch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lloyd liked to hit hard and he taught his brother, Arlo, everything he knows.

Arlo makes the junior varsity football team his freshman year which is almost unheard of.  Since Lloyd had taught Arlo everything, Arlo is good at hitting hard.  A sophomore on the JV team, Dinos befriends Arlo and teaches him about conditioning.  Football is more than just hard hitting, you have to be able to last the whole game.  Arlo's dad was a proud papa.  Lloyd, was jealous that he didn't make is as far as Arlo had.  And Arlo's mom, was not into the game at all.  She was so fearful of head injuries that she kept "The File" that had every bit of information that had anything to do with traumatic brain injury.  None of this kept Arlo from playing and becoming "Starlo".  He excelled at the sport throughout his high school career.  He treated his body like a temple and always stayed in top physical condition.  But is all of this enough to avoid the effects of the "Hit Count"?

I love football.  My family and I watch our favorite team every Sunday, Monday, or Thursday, or whatever day they are playing during the season.  I'm not a big fan of high school football, but I have attended a few games as a student.  I have always had a fear of my child playing a sport like football where being slammed around is part of the objective.  While they have made many strides in improving the equipment used, it's hard to avoid concussions when you are constantly hit.

I liked this book more than I thought I would.  From other reviews, I thought it was going to be more oafish.  This is a good YA novel that I would recommend to high school boys.

**I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**


View all my reviews