Football Genius

Football Genius #1

by Tim Green

New York Times bestselling author and former NFL player Tim Green scores a touchdown with this exhilarating and action-packed story about an ordinary boy who becomes a hero you can really root for. Perfect for fans of Mike Lupica.

Twelve-year-old Troy White has a phenomenal gift: He can predict football plays before they even happen. Any position. Any player. Any team.

When Troy's single mom gets a job working for the Atlanta Falcons, Troy sees this as an opportunity to show what he can do. But first he has to get to the Falcons—and with tight security and a notoriously mean coach, even his mom's field passes aren't much help.

Then Troy and his best friends devise a plan to get the attention of star linebacker Seth Halloway. With Seth's playing and Troy's genius, the Falcons could be unstoppable if they'll only listen. But if he can’t convince Seth he’s telling the truth, the Falcons’ championship and his mom’s job are at risk.

Genres: Sports, Football, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Middle Grade

256 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2007

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 books for adults as the New York Times bestselling The Dark Side of the Game and a dozen suspense novels, including Exact Revenge and Kingdom Come. Tim graduated covaledictorian from Syracuse University and was a first-round NFL draft pick. He later earned his law degree with honors. Tim has worked as an NFL analyst for FOX Sports and as an NFL commentator for National Public Radio, among other broadcast experience. He lives with his wife, Illyssa, and their five children in upstate New York. Football Genius is his first novel for young readers. For more updates, visit www.facebook.com/authortimgreen

Reviews

[Joey R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the novel, Football Genius, written by Tim Green, Troy White has a special ability. He has the ability to predict any football play before it happens. Troy lives outside of Atlanta with his single mother. He plays football in his high school with his best friends, Tate and Nathan. Troy is a quarterback who is overshadowed by his coach’s son, who isn’t nearly as good as Troy, but still starts over him. When his mom gets a job with Troy’s favorite NFL team, the Atlanta Falcons, he thinks he can help them win games by predicting plays. When Troy goes to his first NFL game he is thrown out for trying to tell the coaches what the plays will be. He knows that he must try and reach the players in a different way, so he goes to star linebacker, Seth Halloway’s house. Troy runs into problems when he tries to convince Seth that he is telling the truth, and he has a defensive coordinator with a secret agenda trying to thwart him at every turn.
Overall I liked the book, but I didn’t love it. I liked how the author used real life players and actually put their personalities into writing such as when Terrell Owens scored a touchdown,“Owens held the ball high and strutted around the end zone like a crazy chicken.” (46) I also liked how Troy would call actually call real plays that are ran in the NFL. I think some characters could have been developed more like his mom, all you really knew about her was that she worked hard and didn’t make a lot of money. I think the author also should have mentioned what happened to Troy’s father because he is brought up constantly but you never really know why he isn’t in Troy’s life. I thought the author developed one of the main antagonists, Coach Krock, very well. I liked how Krock was made out as a bitter ex-player who suffered an injury that left him injured, who now is the defensive coordinator for a team that is going down the drain. I really didn’t like the stereotype that his football coach only favored his son and that he handed out unrealistic punishments, such as making Troy run twenty laps around the field. I know from my experience as a football player that coaches are not afraid to bench their own kids if they are not playing as well as other players. In summary I thought the book was good and that people who love reading about sports and friendship will enjoy this read.

[Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, because I play football every day at recess (I'm in second grade). I do this thing at school called Lit Circles, and I chose this book and read it with a few classmates. I found the book very good, because I like football. The premise the book is that a middle-schooler named Troy can figure out the plays before they happen. The Atlanta Falcons get ahold of him first because his mom has a job with the team. One of the players of the team, named Seth--a very famous football player--believes Troy, even though he's a kid and even though Troy stole a football from him at the beginning of the book. I liked that the author made Troy a good character. He's a good character because at first he lies a lot, but then he changes and stops lying. He was lying because he thought that was the only way out and the only way people would give him a chance. There was one thing I didn't like about the book: Coach Krock never changed, was mean up until the end.

[Justin Jakstys · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books and I think that the author, a former professional football player, did a good job on his first book. I liked how Troy's, the main character, life was put before his football life. I also liked how how real former NFL players were tied into the book.

[Karessa A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great!! I loved it!! I really recommend it to people that love football and understand football and like Mike Lupica books.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

its awsome

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just ok

[Blake]

Football Genius
I read the novel Football Genius by Tim Green. The story takes place around Troy White’s house and the Atlanta Falcon’s football stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The main character in the book is Troy. Troy is an ordinary 12 year old boy except when it comes to his special talent. He can predict plays before they happen on the football field. Even with this talent he still sits the bench for his pee wee team the Duluth Tigers. He is the backup quarterback right behind the coach’s son, Jamie Renfro, who is not near as good as Troy.
Troy discovers that his mom got a job working for the Atlanta Falcons. This excites Troy because he sees his chance to show everyone that he really can predict plays, but Troy soon finds out that doing so will be harder than he expected. Even though he can be on the sidelines, there is still a line behind the players that he cannot cross. With the adrenaline flowing, Troy soon forgets about the line and ends up crossing it and blurting out the play. This only gets Troy taken away by security along with his field pass. This makes things even more difficult for Troy. Lucky for Troy the teams middle linebacker, Seth Halloway, overheard Troy call the play and asks him how he knew it the next day.
Seth is also described as a really friendly guy with a good personality. Troy and Seth sit down and watch a college game together and Troy proves himself to Seth. Seth is amazed. He says, “Holy Crow, you’re like a football genius”. Seth realizes that Troy may be the key to turning the losing season into a winning. Even with Seth on his side, the two still cannot convince the coaches of Troy’s talent.
This is one thing that kept me reading throughout the book. I felt as if I wanted Troy to prove his talent to the coaches and to that cocky Jamie Renfro just as bad as he did. I also never knew if Troy was going to make a good or bad decision on a solution to the coaches not believing him. Troy stepping over the yellow line was definitely not a good choice, but he often had clever ideas that helped him throughout the book. The novel also had a good ending, which you will have to read the book to find out.
There were really no downfalls to this book. The suspense made me feel like I could not put it down. I can honestly say that I read it faster than I ever could have imagined. I believe that the theme of the novel is to never give up. Troy could have easily given up when things got tough, especially when his mom lost her job over him aggravating the coaches during the game or when the evil defensive coach for the falcons sees Troy giving Seth signs and says “I know you’re up there, boy, but you are finished!” He realized what his dream was and he went for it no matter what it took, he was going to show everyone that he was a football genius.
Genre: Realistic
Page Count: 244

[Jashan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not judging this book because I don't like football, but because it just wasn't that... interesting.

[Patrick Flanagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

[Braydon Claussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this book really took me by shock. I honestly thought this book would go a completely way then it did. I thought “football genius” hey maybe he’s go good at learning plays or really good at football, but I was completely wrong Troy the main character can guess what play they are running by the formations they line up in. This book also teaches you a lesson on why not to to steal because maybe you don’t get caught right away but trust me you will eventually get caught by someone. Something that really surprised me why’s that the Atlanta Falcons player almost did care as soon as he found out Troy which is the main character could read plays. Which I think is pretty stupid but then again if your teams going for a national championship your not thinking about that at the moment. I also think it would stupid that he stole the ball just to show it off to some kid to try and impress him with. That’s just another lesson a lot of people should learn is don’t try and impress people to try and make them like you. Don’t make up lies either just be yourself and be true to yourself. Overall I feel as if this book teaches you something. I think everyone should read this wether you like football or not because it really sends a message.

[Ty B]

I thought football genius was going to be about a kid who knew all about football , but I was completely wrong .Troy the main character can guess what play the other teams are running by the formations they line up in. “He opened his mouth to tell her that it wasn’t a guess, that he somehow just knew. Today, he felt it stronger than he ever had before. Maybe it was because he was right there, on the sideline, seeing it, hearing it, smelling it, living it. The gift inside him felt like a lamp with its shade suddenly pulled off.”His talents are discovered by the Star Middle Linebacker of the Falcons, he starts giving him advice on the field. As quoted on the first game of the season “keep your head down and shot the a gap.”I really like the them of this book because it’s basically trying to say having trust in the people around you. Can lead to great outcomes . I really enjoyed this book it was very interesting and had a great them and message .

[The Lil Emilio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Troy White loves football, he’s the star quarterback of his middle school Football team, his Mom works for the Atlanta Falcons, and he can predict plays before they happen. Literally, he can predict the play that the other team will run and he doesn’t know the cause of his god given talent.

When his talents are discovered by the Star Middle Linebacker of the Falcons, he starts giving him advice in the field, telling him where the counter run will be run to, who the main receiver is.

However Troy’s work needs to stay secret because the NFL never wants a team to have a bigger winning chance

[Zack T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great book by Tim Green called Football Genius. The powerful theme of never giving up drives the book to make it more entertaining. I know that this is what the author wants the reader to know, because it shows it many times in the book and how it will turn out well if you don’t give up.

This book is a sports book about football. Troy is a 12 year old boy that loves football. He plays on the Duluth Tigers, his middle school football team, but he is stuck behind the coach’s son, Jamie Renfro. At home, it is just him and his mother, as his dad left before he was born. Troy has two really good friends who also both play on the Tigers. Tate, the kicker, and Nathan, a lineman. They know that Troy is a better quarterback than Jamie, and that he should start as quarterback. They also know about his “super power” as they call it, the ability to read offenses and defenses to see the next play. After a mishap with Jamie and star linebacker on the Falcons, Seth Halloway, he finds out about Troy’s ability.

I really enjoyed this book, because it kept you hooked and made you keep reading it. I finished this book in a little over a day, because it was so good. One example of when it kept you reading, was when they tried to tell the owner that the assistant coach was trying to lose. This was a good example, because they had to run all the way up to the owner’s box, and got stopped by security on the way, while trying to save the Falcons. It also had a point where Nathan was on the ground and almost died. I had to keep reading to find out what happened. Another reason was it was relatable. Being stuck behind someone for a reason that isn’t fair and many others are relatable. It lets you know what they are feeling like in the situation, and it also allows you to connect to the characters. The one thing I didn’t like was that the start was slow, but it also just made it better when you got to the climax. This is why I liked this book.

I think that all kids from elementary to middle school should read this book, because it shows the power of friendship, it takes place in a cool magical fictional world, and it also includes some relatable school struggles and people in the book that you can connect to people in real life.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book because i love football. the best part is when he looks at all of the plaers on the field then see a man bigger then every one else.

[Sydney]

Pre-read: my grandpa wanted me to read this am. I’m not sure about it yet

[AJ]

This book is amazing!!! I love this book because it is not only about his family life but it is also about his football life.

[Kevin Jacqmein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t ask me why, but this book is a great divorce book

[Ben Padilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very good. About a young boy who has a talent of football.

[Michael Beausoleil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Football genius was a sports book about a boy named Troy White that can predict any football play before it happens. When his mom gets a job with an NFL team, he knows it's his only chance to help his family out. I thought this was an interesting and cool book because I like the game of football and I think what Troy white can do is impressive. I didn't like how the book was kinda plain and simple. I did like the story line though it was an interesting topic. The strengths of this book were it had an exciting topic and wasn't too long of a read. The weaknesses of this book are that the book was plain and it didn't have much exciting parts to it.

[Alex Klosterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book a five out of five star rating, because Football Genius by Tim Green was one of the best books that I have ever read. I just wanted to keep reading this book, and never stop. So that I could find out what would happen in the end.

I would recommend this book, because Football Genius was just so good. Also, anybody that likes to read sports books this is the one for you. The age level of this book would be anybody that is in middle school, but you can be younger or older Football Genius would still be good to read.

A brief summary of this book would be that Troy White is a second string quarterback for his football team. The starting quarterback is Jamie, and the coaches’ son. Therefore, he gets the starting job. Troy is also a football genius he can predict the plays before they happen. Later, on in the story Troy’s mom gets a job working for the Atlanta Falcons a professional NFL team. So then Troy and his mom went to a Falcons game, and got sideline passes. During the game Troy told Seth Hallway what the play was going to be. He was right of course, but he got thrown out of the game by security. Troy was with the starting linebacker Seth Hallway, and they were watching a college game. Then after the first couple of drives Troy started to predict the plays. Seth was so amazed, and couldn’t believe that somebody could predict play after play. So, Seth decides to take Troy to meet the head coach for the Atlanta Falcons. What will happen next? Will the coach be amazed and get a job for the Falcons, or will he fail? You will just have to read Football Genius to figure out what will happen to Troy.

[Jonas Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonas Harper
English E Period
March 25, 2014
Outside Reading
- Football Genius by Tim Green
Main Characters
-Troy is a young kid who loves football, but is struggling with not having a father and being bullied by a kid name Jamie.
-Jamie father is the head coach of the football team, and Jamie is the starting QuarterBack instead of Troy, even though his better QuarterBack.
-Seth Halloway is a famous star linebacker


Summary of the Plot
-The story takes place at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta Georgia.
-Troy starts out as a 12 year old quarterback for his pee wee football team in Atlanta.
-He is second string quarterback behind Jamie Renfro, who is the head coaches son.
-Troy realizes his talent is being able to read football plays before it happens.
-The First one to realize this is the famous linebacker Seth Halloway.
-This made this more hard for Troy.
-Seth gets amazed by his talent and wants to change a bad season to a good one.
-Troy uses his power to try and help the losing Atlanta Falcons win the championship.

Did i like the book?
-I thought this book was very good, that was great for sports fans like me.
-I would recommend this book for ages 4th-9th.
-This book was amazing because it talk people to always keep their heads up.
-And if you every thought you were an underdog.
-I liked this book a lot and enjoyed reading every page of it.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this for Hudson's Lit Circles group at school. It was pretty straightforward and the multiple narrative lines helped me explain subplots, but I found the main character inherently problematic on several levels. We were able to have good conversations about whether Troy being an underdog in many senses of the word gave him a free pass to lie to his mother, and others, continually, without any kind of redemption. Author gets credit for trying to go beyond stock characters for the female characters here, though he couldn't resist pointing out Tate (the female kicker)'s physical weakness multiple times in the book. The mother, unfortunately, is only redeemed by her self-sacrifice for her son and her relationship with the star football player. But the kids in the critique group really enjoyed the jargon and realistic depictions of a professional football game, and I agreed that these were the strongest parts of the book.

[Mark Hauberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book because it is a sports book and it really interests me. Especially because there is a kid in it named Troy that is my age and he is a "football genius." He becomes the coach of an NFL team called the Atlanta Falcons. He isnt the head coach, but he tells the head coach what to do and he listens to the kid. The team improves with Troy being a part of the team, but the fans would rather have a legit coach than some teenage kid so they are dissapointed in the team as a whole. As the popularity goes down and the team chemistry also goes down, the team is still trying to find a way to keep the kid because of his amazing football intelligence that leads the team to victory every time.

[Reba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entry 1-
The main characters are Troy White, Troy's mom, and Seth Halloway. They are all protagonists. Jamie Renfro, his dad, and Coach Krock are antagonists.

Entry 2-
The point of view is from Troy. The setting is mainly at the football field. One of the themes is to never give up.

Entry 3-
Troy is a boy with the gift to read plays beore they happen. Troy's mom got a job with the Atlanta Falcons, which Seth Halloway is a player of. With the help of Mr. Langan, the owner of the team and Seth, Troy works his way up to earning himself 10,000 dollars a game because of his amazing ability to know what play the other team is going to play.

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Football Genius is about a teenager boy named Nate.His mom name is Jenna working at a NFL team. But she was about to get fired, so Nate try to become friends with the head coach so he wouldn't fired his mom. But while he did that he also try to become a coach or asistant coach because he think he's football genius.
This book is good and also interesting because I like football and all it talk about is, how to play football and how you should play. I would recommend this book to anybody that play football or that just no the basic of football.
By,
Kenny Mayberry

[Benjamin Conrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

The very idea of a football genius is brilliant. Tim Green describes a very real scenario of three young friends and their battle against society and some of the evil, twisted people/ideas that run it. I completely enjoyed this page-turning book. The descriptions of the football game, plays, players, and teams were very accurate, and I liked how the author didn't seem to make anything up. The main character, Troy, has an ability that seems to be quite possible. As a whole, the book accurately displays a lower class citizen brushing shoulders with royalty and rising to the top. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sports, action, and suspense.

[Travis H · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great. It is about a kid that goes to the atlanta falcons when he is 14. He is a genius he was born with some would consider to be unnatural talent. The talent of knowing things before they happen making him the best at the game. I also like the book because there are lots of ups and downs not just the guy is there and boom they are in the super bowl. I really like it when the book has multiple climaxes and that makes the book enjoyable to read.

[LM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book.

[Cora Keehner]

Wasn't excited about how it ended, but enjoyed it all in all.

[Bill]

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