Deep Zone (Football Genius Series #5)

by Tim Green

Overview

In the deep zone, even the very best player can find it impossible to beat a foe who’s hungry and waiting. . . .

Troy White can predict a play before it happens. Star quarterback on his state football team, Troy’s a natural for the 7-on-7 tournament that’s being held at the Super Bowl in Miami. With any luck, his “football genius” will also be working for the Atlanta Falcons on that big day.

Ty Lewis is a wide receiver with exceptional speed. His brother, an NFL star, says getting on a 7-on-7 team will prove Ty’s a winner.

From the moment the two football champs cross paths, Troy and Ty begin to size each other up. Troy is suspicious of Ty’s interest in his friend Tate, while Ty worries his speed will never be a match for Troy’s game smarts. But when the two rivals find themselves somehow tangled in the same dangerous web of deceit, they discover that they have more in common than their skill at football.

Uniting Troy, first seen in the New York Times bestselling Football Genius, and Ty, who was chased by the Mafia in Football Hero, Tim Green’s Deep Zone delivers it all—vivid settings, dynamic characters, and high-stakes action on and off the field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062093226
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/23/2011
Series:	Football Genius Series , #5
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Lexile:	790L (what's this?)
File size:	10 MB
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Tim Green, for many years a star defensive end with the Atlanta Falcons, is a man of many talents. He’s the author of such gripping adult books as the New York Times bestselling The Dark Side of the Game and American Outrage. Tim graduated covaledictorian from Syracuse University and was a first-round draft pick. He later earned his law degree with honors, and he has also worked as an NFL commentator for FOX Sports and NPR.

His first book for young readers, football genius, inspired in part by his players and kids he’s met while reading in classrooms, became a New York Times bestseller and was followed by Football Hero, Football Champ, The Big Time, and now Deep Zone. He drew on his experiences playing and coaching Little League for Rivals and for two more New York Times bestsellers: Baseball Great and Best of the Best.

Tim Green lives with his wife, Illyssa, and their five children in upstate New York.

Editorial Reviews

NFL insider Green brings together his two heroes—Ty (Football Hero, 2008) and Troy (Football Champ, 2009)—in this gridiron mystery focused on teen football phenoms.

The action takes place during a seven-on-seven tournament for middle-school athletes held during Super Bowl week. As often happens in Green's tales, there are bad guys from the mob attempting to gain an illicit edge. Both Ty and Troy are targets of the D'Amico family, which requires that FBI agents play a role in guarding Ty while his brother, professional receiver Thane, recovers from a devastating knee injury. Ty is the featured character for the most part, but both Troy and Tate, a female friend, have a role to play. The football insights are the best part, as both professional games and seven-on-seven play are described in satisfying detail. All the other shenanigans are icing, and fairly non-essential icing at that. None of the fabulous lifestyle of limos, fancy hotels and big houses is hard to believe, but it distances readers from the characters, as do the overblown plot and inept cartoon mobsters.While mention is made of middle-school life, emphasis is on the game, and using real NFL famous names add spice. Acquaintance with the earlier titles is helpful, but Green recaps well enough that it's not necessary.

Football fanatic fare.(Sports fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews