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Lone Stars
An uplifting story about role models, football, and tackling fear set in the heart of Friday Night Lights country--from the bestselling author of Heat, Travel Team, and Fantasy League.
Clay is a quarterback's dream. When he zips across the field, arms outstretched, waiting for the ball to sail into his hands, there's no denying him the catch. Like most Texans, Clay is never more at home than when playing football. And his coach, a former star player for the Dallas Cowboys, is just like a second father.
But as the football season kicks off, Clay begins to notice some odd behavior from his coach--lapses in his memory and strange mood swings. The conclusion is painful, but obvious: Coach Cooper is showing side effects of the many concussions he sustained during his playing days. As Clay's season wears on, it becomes clear that the real victory will be to help his coach walk onto that famous star logo in the middle of Cowboys Field one last time--during a Thanksgiving day ceremony honoring him and his former Super Bowl-winning teammates.
In Lone Stars, #1 New York Times bestseller Mike Lupica demonstrates once again that there is no children's sports novelist today who can match his ability to weave a story of vivid sports action and heartfelt emotion. A touching story that proves life is bigger than a game.
Praise for Lone Stars
"Lupica has crafted another fine sports story for the middle school reader."--VOYA
"Young readers, no matter their level of interest in the game, will be drawn in by this touching, timely story."--Booklist
"There is plenty of great football action to keep the sports enthusiasts engaged, and the information about concussive injury is easily understood and applied. This is an entertaining read that also imparts an important message."-- School Library Connection
Clay is a quarterback's dream. When he zips across the field, arms outstretched, waiting for the ball to sail into his hands, there's no denying him the catch. Like most Texans, Clay is never more at home than when playing football. And his coach, a former star player for the Dallas Cowboys, is just like a second father.
But as the football season kicks off, Clay begins to notice some odd behavior from his coach--lapses in his memory and strange mood swings. The conclusion is painful, but obvious: Coach Cooper is showing side effects of the many concussions he sustained during his playing days. As Clay's season wears on, it becomes clear that the real victory will be to help his coach walk onto that famous star logo in the middle of Cowboys Field one last time--during a Thanksgiving day ceremony honoring him and his former Super Bowl-winning teammates.
In Lone Stars, #1 New York Times bestseller Mike Lupica demonstrates once again that there is no children's sports novelist today who can match his ability to weave a story of vivid sports action and heartfelt emotion. A touching story that proves life is bigger than a game.
Praise for Lone Stars
"Lupica has crafted another fine sports story for the middle school reader."--VOYA
"Young readers, no matter their level of interest in the game, will be drawn in by this touching, timely story."--Booklist
"There is plenty of great football action to keep the sports enthusiasts engaged, and the information about concussive injury is easily understood and applied. This is an entertaining read that also imparts an important message."-- School Library Connection
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First published September 12, 2017
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About the author
Mike Lupica
110 books1,206 followersMichael Lupica is an author and American newspaper columnist, best known for his provocative commentary on sports in the New York Daily News and his appearances on ESPN.
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August 31, 2018
The book I read was Lone Stars by Mike Lupica. It was a realistic fiction book set in San Antonio, Texas about a teenage football player; Clay Hollis. One game Clay was going out on a route, and he was hit hard in the head while trying to make a catch from his best friend, quarterback David Guerrero. Clay is shaken up from that hit, and becomes afraid of the ball. He starts to not play like himself. Not going after the football, and underrunning his routes. With the help of his best friend, David and David’s little sister Maddie, Clay overcomes his fear using perseverance and bravery to get back to helping his team win the championship. The theme the story developed was to not let fear hold you back. This is evoked by showing how Clay set aside his fears for the benefit of his team, and football career.
Clay is a fearless wide receiver for the Pop Warner football league in San Antonio, Texas. He was a quarterbacks dream. Always getting open on his routes, and making it easy on the quarterback. “ You can’t play scared” is what his coach, Coach Cooper would always say. Clay played by those words.Coach Cooper was like a second father to Clay. Coach Coop was a former football. He knew much about football, and Clay has learned much of what he learned from him. One game Clay was going out on his route to make a catch in a game, when suddenly a defender hits him in the head. The hit strikes fear inside of him. His coach is shown the serious side effects of a concussion scaring Clay for his future. Clay has to then overcome his fears in order for his team to win the championship game.
I enjoyed reading the book. I love reading sport books, and that was exactly what this book was. It thoroughly and vividly describes the football games Clay plays in. Not much of the book was about his life outside of football. It showed how friendships can help you through challenging times. David and Maddie helped Clay overcome his fears, which Clay would’ve been able to without the help of his friends. In the book, the Mike Lupica slows down time to enhance the drama and suspension. Times this is shown is when Clay is receiving a very important pass during a game. Also when Clay was hit in the head. He vividly describes Clay’s perspective in the moment. One part I disliked about the book is how they did not describe the championship game. They skimmed over it, and just said the Stars won the championship game against the Bucs.
I would suggest this book to most football lovers. The book is all about a middle schooler who loves playing football in the Friday Night Lights of Texas. It is an inspiring story about a kid having to overcome his fear for the benefit of his team, and himself.
Clay is a fearless wide receiver for the Pop Warner football league in San Antonio, Texas. He was a quarterbacks dream. Always getting open on his routes, and making it easy on the quarterback. “ You can’t play scared” is what his coach, Coach Cooper would always say. Clay played by those words.Coach Cooper was like a second father to Clay. Coach Coop was a former football. He knew much about football, and Clay has learned much of what he learned from him. One game Clay was going out on his route to make a catch in a game, when suddenly a defender hits him in the head. The hit strikes fear inside of him. His coach is shown the serious side effects of a concussion scaring Clay for his future. Clay has to then overcome his fears in order for his team to win the championship game.
I enjoyed reading the book. I love reading sport books, and that was exactly what this book was. It thoroughly and vividly describes the football games Clay plays in. Not much of the book was about his life outside of football. It showed how friendships can help you through challenging times. David and Maddie helped Clay overcome his fears, which Clay would’ve been able to without the help of his friends. In the book, the Mike Lupica slows down time to enhance the drama and suspension. Times this is shown is when Clay is receiving a very important pass during a game. Also when Clay was hit in the head. He vividly describes Clay’s perspective in the moment. One part I disliked about the book is how they did not describe the championship game. They skimmed over it, and just said the Stars won the championship game against the Bucs.
I would suggest this book to most football lovers. The book is all about a middle schooler who loves playing football in the Friday Night Lights of Texas. It is an inspiring story about a kid having to overcome his fear for the benefit of his team, and himself.
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August 31, 2018 The book I read was Lone Stars by Mike Lupica. After reading this book
I believe the theme is that no challenge is too big to overcome.
This realistic fiction book was set in San Antonio, Texas in present day. This book is about Clay, a 12 year old boy who is in love with football. In the book Clay is faced with a bump in his road to fame, a big bump. After a big hit during one of his games he starts to become afraid of being hit hard. Not only does his fear of being hit affect him it also affects his team. Clay’s football coach, Coach Cooper, is his inspiration and motivator when he is down. Clay is inspired by Coach Coop because he played the same position as Clay in the NFL. And because they played the same position they have a special connection.
With all things considered after reading this book I do not recommend this book because I thought it was extremely cheesy. An example this was when two kids had major head collision and were still on the ground after Clay had made it in the end zone. When one of the kids got up the team doctor said “Does you head hurt?” and the kid responded “Did that kid score doc?” The doctor said “yes” and then the kid said “Now that hurts doc”. Cheesy. Another thing in this book that I didn’t like was that it took a very long time for me to interested in it. The author spent to much time describing who Clay was and what his team was like.
I think that people who are die hard football fans or players would enjoy this book. I think these people would enjoy this book the because the main character would do anything to be a good football player no matter how many hits it takes or how much practice it takes. So if they feel like they can relate to the character they will be more likely to enjoy this book. I think this would be the best for them because it is so descriptive about each play that the the reader is able to picture themselves on the feild and in the game along with Clay. Overall, I did not think this book was a good choice for me because I am not a die hard fan.
I believe the theme is that no challenge is too big to overcome.
This realistic fiction book was set in San Antonio, Texas in present day. This book is about Clay, a 12 year old boy who is in love with football. In the book Clay is faced with a bump in his road to fame, a big bump. After a big hit during one of his games he starts to become afraid of being hit hard. Not only does his fear of being hit affect him it also affects his team. Clay’s football coach, Coach Cooper, is his inspiration and motivator when he is down. Clay is inspired by Coach Coop because he played the same position as Clay in the NFL. And because they played the same position they have a special connection.
With all things considered after reading this book I do not recommend this book because I thought it was extremely cheesy. An example this was when two kids had major head collision and were still on the ground after Clay had made it in the end zone. When one of the kids got up the team doctor said “Does you head hurt?” and the kid responded “Did that kid score doc?” The doctor said “yes” and then the kid said “Now that hurts doc”. Cheesy. Another thing in this book that I didn’t like was that it took a very long time for me to interested in it. The author spent to much time describing who Clay was and what his team was like.
I think that people who are die hard football fans or players would enjoy this book. I think these people would enjoy this book the because the main character would do anything to be a good football player no matter how many hits it takes or how much practice it takes. So if they feel like they can relate to the character they will be more likely to enjoy this book. I think this would be the best for them because it is so descriptive about each play that the the reader is able to picture themselves on the feild and in the game along with Clay. Overall, I did not think this book was a good choice for me because I am not a die hard fan.
August 31, 2018
Lone Stars is one of the books I read this summer. It was written by Mike Lupica and you could tell, considering he has such a unique voice when he writes. The theme of this book was to not let fear control your life. It’s an important message that plays a major role in the story.
Lone Stars is told through the perspective of the main character, Clay. He is a star receiver for his football team, the Lone Stars. His best friend David also plays for the Lone Stars. He’s the star quarterback. They both live in modern day Texas and in the neighborhood they live in, football comes first.
Clay has always been prided with the fact that he’s a fearless receiver, that is until this year. In the first game of the football season Clay got rocked. He got up like it was nothing but fear filled his mind. It hurt, a lot, to be hit like he was and it left some fear. A good lick, his Coach would say. Clay continued to act like it was nothing and treated it like nothing but next game you could tell something was wrong. He lost his key ability, fearlessness. Now Clay must lead his team to victory and overcome his fear of being hit.
Kids that love sports will definitely enjoy this book. It’s full of sports moments and references that fit perfect. Also the main characters are 12 year old kids who are super relatable. Lone Stars really reminded me of a lot of novels written by Tim Green. The similar writing styles between Tim Green and Mike Lupica make this book a hit for any Green or Lupica fans. It’s a great read for a kid that loves sports.
June 25, 2018
Personal Response:
I really enjoyed Lone Stars by Mike Lupica. The book had a very good plot line and was very easy to read. The book was short but had a lot of events that took place. The book revolved around football, which made it even better.
Plot Summary:
The book starts off with the main character, Clay Hollis, at a practice. He is the star receiver for his middle school team: The Stars. Their coach is former Dallas Cowboy star, Montgomery Cooper. He is old and has started to lose his memory. After so many knee surgeries, he has very damaged knees. Coach Cooper just needs to make it until Thanksgiving, where he can go to AT&T Stadium one last time and be remembered with his other teammates from the 1995 team. Clay makes it his goal to help him do this and get him a championship as the coach of The Stars. He teams up with David's sister, Maggie, to help with Cooper’s memory problems. The Stars go 8-1 in the regular season and get first seed in the playoffs. They win out and win the championship for Coach Cooper. Eventually, Coach invites Clay and his family to the ceremony at AT&T Stadium. He gets to live his dream along with his other Dallas teammates: Deion Sanders, Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, and Emmitt Smith.
Characterization:
Clay is a 12 year old star football player. He is a receiver for The Stars. Clay helps Coach Cooper do tasks that he normally couldn't, such as helping him remember to use a GPS and walk around.
Coach Cooper is a former Dallas Cowboy and the head coach of The Stars. He has bad memory problems and has a damaged knee from surgery. Clay helps Cooper out by helping him with every day life and even helping him get to live out his dream.
Recommendation:
I recommend this book to middle school students of either gender. I recommend this book to boys, because the book shows the physical side of football. I would recommend this book to girls, because it shows Clay caring for Coach Cooper. This book has a lexile of 840, which is appropriate for middle school students. Overall, the book is good for students who want to read a shorter book.
I really enjoyed Lone Stars by Mike Lupica. The book had a very good plot line and was very easy to read. The book was short but had a lot of events that took place. The book revolved around football, which made it even better.
Plot Summary:
The book starts off with the main character, Clay Hollis, at a practice. He is the star receiver for his middle school team: The Stars. Their coach is former Dallas Cowboy star, Montgomery Cooper. He is old and has started to lose his memory. After so many knee surgeries, he has very damaged knees. Coach Cooper just needs to make it until Thanksgiving, where he can go to AT&T Stadium one last time and be remembered with his other teammates from the 1995 team. Clay makes it his goal to help him do this and get him a championship as the coach of The Stars. He teams up with David's sister, Maggie, to help with Cooper’s memory problems. The Stars go 8-1 in the regular season and get first seed in the playoffs. They win out and win the championship for Coach Cooper. Eventually, Coach invites Clay and his family to the ceremony at AT&T Stadium. He gets to live his dream along with his other Dallas teammates: Deion Sanders, Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, and Emmitt Smith.
Characterization:
Clay is a 12 year old star football player. He is a receiver for The Stars. Clay helps Coach Cooper do tasks that he normally couldn't, such as helping him remember to use a GPS and walk around.
Coach Cooper is a former Dallas Cowboy and the head coach of The Stars. He has bad memory problems and has a damaged knee from surgery. Clay helps Cooper out by helping him with every day life and even helping him get to live out his dream.
Recommendation:
I recommend this book to middle school students of either gender. I recommend this book to boys, because the book shows the physical side of football. I would recommend this book to girls, because it shows Clay caring for Coach Cooper. This book has a lexile of 840, which is appropriate for middle school students. Overall, the book is good for students who want to read a shorter book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2018
Personal Response
I really like the book Lone Stars by Mike Lupica. The characters development through the book was simple to understand. It was kinda a long read for me but very good book overall.
Plot Summary
Coach is a retired NFL player who coaches a peewee team. His peewee team has won the championship in their league the last two years. Clay and David are two of his best players. Clay plays wide receiver and David plays quarterback. At the beginning of the season their team is very good winning their first five games. Clay though, in those games struggles to catch the ball and keeps letting up when he should be going for the ball. Clay notices that Coach keeps forgetting things that he shouldn't. The Stars get to their sixth game and have trouble putting together a game, until the final minute when Clay catches the game winning touchdown. Coach keeps forgetting things so Clay and Maddie, Davids little sister, have a plan to get Coach a smartphone, so they can always stay in contact with him. The Stars win the rest of their games and make it into the playoffs. They get through the playoffs easy and make it to the championship game. The Stars win the championship game. Coach meets all his former teammates at AT&T stadium, and has a great time waving to everyone in the stands.
Recommendations
I would recommend this book to someone who likes football. The plot is a little hard to understand. Ages twelve through sixteen would really like this book.
I really like the book Lone Stars by Mike Lupica. The characters development through the book was simple to understand. It was kinda a long read for me but very good book overall.
Plot Summary
Coach is a retired NFL player who coaches a peewee team. His peewee team has won the championship in their league the last two years. Clay and David are two of his best players. Clay plays wide receiver and David plays quarterback. At the beginning of the season their team is very good winning their first five games. Clay though, in those games struggles to catch the ball and keeps letting up when he should be going for the ball. Clay notices that Coach keeps forgetting things that he shouldn't. The Stars get to their sixth game and have trouble putting together a game, until the final minute when Clay catches the game winning touchdown. Coach keeps forgetting things so Clay and Maddie, Davids little sister, have a plan to get Coach a smartphone, so they can always stay in contact with him. The Stars win the rest of their games and make it into the playoffs. They get through the playoffs easy and make it to the championship game. The Stars win the championship game. Coach meets all his former teammates at AT&T stadium, and has a great time waving to everyone in the stands.
Recommendations
I would recommend this book to someone who likes football. The plot is a little hard to understand. Ages twelve through sixteen would really like this book.
October 7, 2019
The Novel “Lone Stars” starts off with the coach of a football team saying “You can’t play football scared. And to never forget that” He also talked about how he played for the Philadelphia Eagles rivals The Cowboys in the NFL. Coach had been in a car accident But one of the characters Ben Hollis (which is clay’s dad), said he was not hurt, but his Truck was so damaged that he couldn't drive it. Coach was also suffering from concussions he had from a while back.And towards the end of the Lone Stars Maddie (a main character and clay’s friend), and Clay had to get coach for practice because they had the big - game coming up against the Vikings and the stars by a diminutive 1 point, And they also had a ceremony honoring Coach and how he helped the cowboys throughout his seasons. The main characters in the story are Clay(Maddie's friend / and he learns his real victory is to help his coach be able to see the cowboys stadium one last time.) Maddie(clay's friend), Coach(Suffers from concussions but is important to clay), And there was David. The setting was the football fields and the hospital with coach. My favorite part is when Is the end when they talk about how coach is a cowboys hall of famer with the other cowboys hall of farmers. And I would recommend this book because it is good and touching.
November 4, 2017
Lupica, Mike Lone Stars, 230 pages. Philomel (Penguin), 2017. $18. Content: G (1 swear, 0 ‘f’)
Clay’s whole life is wrapped up in his PeeWee football season. His coach, Coach Cooper, is even a former professional player from the Dallas Cowboy 1995 season. While his mother loves football as much as Clay does, she is more worried about the effects of concussions on players, especially her son. When Coach Coop starts displaying signs of faltering memory, Clay, his best friend David, and David’s sister Maddie work together to save the season and Coach’s dignity.
When Lupica writes sports action, he is as brilliant as ever. This time, however, I feel he missed a very opportunity to talk seriously about traumatic brain injuries. Instead, the tweens keep everything hidden, even their own injuries, through to the final pages. Because of that, I can’t give this my heartiest recommendation.
EL, MS - ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...
Clay’s whole life is wrapped up in his PeeWee football season. His coach, Coach Cooper, is even a former professional player from the Dallas Cowboy 1995 season. While his mother loves football as much as Clay does, she is more worried about the effects of concussions on players, especially her son. When Coach Coop starts displaying signs of faltering memory, Clay, his best friend David, and David’s sister Maddie work together to save the season and Coach’s dignity.
When Lupica writes sports action, he is as brilliant as ever. This time, however, I feel he missed a very opportunity to talk seriously about traumatic brain injuries. Instead, the tweens keep everything hidden, even their own injuries, through to the final pages. Because of that, I can’t give this my heartiest recommendation.
EL, MS - ADVISABLE. Cindy, Library Teacher
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...
September 13, 2018
Lone Stars is a very good book that I would recommend a lot. The book has so much detail in the middle and end of the book. The reason for the 4 star is because in the beginning of the book, in my opinion was lacking a bit of detail and I was getting lost. The book brought me back in though and I understood it way better. Clay is the main character who is in a football team and is 12 years old with his best friend ( David ) that is coached by Monty Cooper, who used to play for the Cowboys in 1995. During the season, Clay starts to see changes in coach’s behavior and they have a talk one day and Clay finds out why. Coach said that he wanted one more season to win and reunite with his old team to be honored at the AT&T stadium on Thanksgiving. Clay and with the help of Maddie who is the team manager try and make coach’s dream come true. Overall this is a very good book that I would rate 4 stars and the book can teach you lessons like to care for others.
May 23, 2018
I had reservations about why a low grade sports novel was included in the Teen Social Issues list I'm ready with our local freshman since the characters aren't "teens" yet. However, the division between the love of football and what the team learns following a concussion is intense. Coach, middle-aged and showing signs of memory loss, following a NFL career, made a simple story that, in my opinion, should be required reading for all athletes.
November 20, 2017
Out of all the books I have read from this author, this definitely has not been up in my top 5. It is very boring in the beginning from my opinion and nothing very interesting happens until the end. Overall it wasn't that bad but it is one of the books I would not enjoy reading again.
September 26, 2018
If you like football, this is a good book for you. It talked a lot about football, that's why I gave it 4 stars.
March 9, 2020
Personal Response
I enjoyed reading the book Lone Stars by Mike Lupica. I love the dynamics between Clay and Coach Cooper. Clay and his friend, Maddie, helping out Coach is nice to see when normally kids their age only care about themselves. This book also gives me the feel of how big Texas football is. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book because it reminds me of when I used to play Pop Warner football in elementary and middle school.
Plot Summary
Clay and his best friend, David, are the starting wide receiver and quarterback for their local football team: the Stars. They are expecting to be the best team this year by far. They have a new coach, Monty Cooper, a former Dallas Cowboys player. The season starts well with the Stars winning their first couple of games. Tragedy strikes when David is knocked out of the third game with a concussion. This prompts Clay to think more about concussions and football. Clay starts to grow closer to his coach throughout the season. Coach Cooper becomes more forgetful as the season goes on. This makes Clay and Maddie get Coach Cooper and iPhone and the Waze app to help him know where he’s going. Coach is very grateful for this help. The Stars end up easily winning the championship. The Thursday after the championship game, Coach Cooper goes to Dallas to be honored at the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving game. Coach brings Clay, David, and their families to the game.
Characterization
Coach Cooper progresses a lot as a character throughout the book. He is very old-fashioned at the beginning of the book. He tells his team they can’t be afraid to take a hit or play hurt. As the season goes along, Coach struggles with his memory. Clay and Maddie teach him how to use an iPhone. This shows Coach changing with the times and trying to adapt to today’s world.
Clay is the protagonist of the story. The antagonist of the story is Coach Cooper’s health. Clay tries to fight Coach’s deteriorating health throughout the book and finds success in the end.
Setting
This book takes place in a small town outside of Dallas. The characters can normally be found at the football field or in the areas around their town. This setting impacts the plot in many ways. The story would not be possible without the setting, specifically the football field. The small town also gives the reader the feel of what summer is like in rural American towns. The book takes place during the present time. This is important because at any other time period football might not have been around, especially youth league football.
Thematic Connection
The theme that arises most throughout the book is helping others. This theme is on display when Clay and Maddie help Coach. They go out of their way on a Saturday and spend their whole day with him setting up a brand new iPhone. Normal kids their age would never spend their entire day helping someone else.
Recommendation
This book is suitable for students grades six through twelve, as the material is perfect for that age. This book is suitable for either boys or girls. This book would also be a good read for football fans, as football is mentioned a lot.
I enjoyed reading the book Lone Stars by Mike Lupica. I love the dynamics between Clay and Coach Cooper. Clay and his friend, Maddie, helping out Coach is nice to see when normally kids their age only care about themselves. This book also gives me the feel of how big Texas football is. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book because it reminds me of when I used to play Pop Warner football in elementary and middle school.
Plot Summary
Clay and his best friend, David, are the starting wide receiver and quarterback for their local football team: the Stars. They are expecting to be the best team this year by far. They have a new coach, Monty Cooper, a former Dallas Cowboys player. The season starts well with the Stars winning their first couple of games. Tragedy strikes when David is knocked out of the third game with a concussion. This prompts Clay to think more about concussions and football. Clay starts to grow closer to his coach throughout the season. Coach Cooper becomes more forgetful as the season goes on. This makes Clay and Maddie get Coach Cooper and iPhone and the Waze app to help him know where he’s going. Coach is very grateful for this help. The Stars end up easily winning the championship. The Thursday after the championship game, Coach Cooper goes to Dallas to be honored at the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving game. Coach brings Clay, David, and their families to the game.
Characterization
Coach Cooper progresses a lot as a character throughout the book. He is very old-fashioned at the beginning of the book. He tells his team they can’t be afraid to take a hit or play hurt. As the season goes along, Coach struggles with his memory. Clay and Maddie teach him how to use an iPhone. This shows Coach changing with the times and trying to adapt to today’s world.
Clay is the protagonist of the story. The antagonist of the story is Coach Cooper’s health. Clay tries to fight Coach’s deteriorating health throughout the book and finds success in the end.
Setting
This book takes place in a small town outside of Dallas. The characters can normally be found at the football field or in the areas around their town. This setting impacts the plot in many ways. The story would not be possible without the setting, specifically the football field. The small town also gives the reader the feel of what summer is like in rural American towns. The book takes place during the present time. This is important because at any other time period football might not have been around, especially youth league football.
Thematic Connection
The theme that arises most throughout the book is helping others. This theme is on display when Clay and Maddie help Coach. They go out of their way on a Saturday and spend their whole day with him setting up a brand new iPhone. Normal kids their age would never spend their entire day helping someone else.
Recommendation
This book is suitable for students grades six through twelve, as the material is perfect for that age. This book is suitable for either boys or girls. This book would also be a good read for football fans, as football is mentioned a lot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2019
“Clay’s coach said you can’t play football scared.” This story, “Lone Stars”, wrote by Mike Lupica, is about a middle schooler named, Clay Hollis. Clay is different than any other wide receiver, he is the quarterback’s best friend. He has the ability to know exactly where to be at the exact time he needs to be there. After Clay had took a hard hit, he began to back down and become more careful. Clay and Maddie were dedicated to find a solution to their coach’s behavior. After Clay had done some research on Coach Coop’s backstory of football, he had found out that Coach Coop had suffered many concussions and injuries causing him to have short term memory loss. Coach Coop was forgetting things like crazy and something was always lost. After Maddie and Clay couldn’t take it anymore they finally forced their Coach to get a new phone that way they could set reminders and always be able to track him wherever he was. This book is one of the most intense and inspiring books I have ever read and recommended this book ten out of ten.
In this book, “Lone Star” the development of the main character, Clay Hollis, is brought up amazingly. Mike Lupica makes the reader feel as if they were in the book and the story. The author brings the story and the characters to life in the book. For example, in the beginning of the book, Clay takes a hard hit, he began to feel light headed and hard for him to breathe. That effects the reader and makes them feel as if they are in that same exact situation. The author’s ability to make the reader feel like they are in the story makes the book such more enjoyable and understandable.
Mike Lupica describes the story with imagery. He uses descriptive words and phrases to describe the characters. Mike Lupica’s imagery helps the reader better understand the story. It also makes the story seem like you are living in it. For example, page 152, states, “It was one of his favorite plays. Clay and Will both ran the sidelines, at about half speed, looking back at their quarterback after about ten yards, hoping they could get the guys covering them to do the same. Then David would pump-fake for all he was worth.” This shows how the imagery provides much more detail and intensity to the story.
I definitely recommend “Lone Stars” one hundred percent. This book is a five out of five stars. This book contains amazing imagery and a story that would leave anyone hooked on to this interesting plot. This book would be great for any sports lovers, especially football fans. It shows a team bonding and the relationship between a player and their coach.
In this book, “Lone Star” the development of the main character, Clay Hollis, is brought up amazingly. Mike Lupica makes the reader feel as if they were in the book and the story. The author brings the story and the characters to life in the book. For example, in the beginning of the book, Clay takes a hard hit, he began to feel light headed and hard for him to breathe. That effects the reader and makes them feel as if they are in that same exact situation. The author’s ability to make the reader feel like they are in the story makes the book such more enjoyable and understandable.
Mike Lupica describes the story with imagery. He uses descriptive words and phrases to describe the characters. Mike Lupica’s imagery helps the reader better understand the story. It also makes the story seem like you are living in it. For example, page 152, states, “It was one of his favorite plays. Clay and Will both ran the sidelines, at about half speed, looking back at their quarterback after about ten yards, hoping they could get the guys covering them to do the same. Then David would pump-fake for all he was worth.” This shows how the imagery provides much more detail and intensity to the story.
I definitely recommend “Lone Stars” one hundred percent. This book is a five out of five stars. This book contains amazing imagery and a story that would leave anyone hooked on to this interesting plot. This book would be great for any sports lovers, especially football fans. It shows a team bonding and the relationship between a player and their coach.
March 25, 2022
The book Lone Stars by Mike Lupica is a good book that needs little fixes and it would be outstanding. The main character is Clay Hollis, a wide receiver in football. He is the best one on the team and arguably the best in the Pee Wee division. This story takes place in San Antonio, Texas on a football field and around town. Clay’s coach, Mr. Cooper played football when he was younger and suffered many concussions. Clay starts to notice some odd behaviors from his coach. He knows this all from all the concussions Mr. Cooper had in his life. One game, Clay took a hard hit and he got scared of a concussion and so he stopped making catches he was making before.
I think the book is good because the author does a good job describing the moves that the players do, to give you an image in your head. For example on page 114, it says “rising up into a ball carrier as if you were throwing a couple of uppercut punches while keeping your head back.” The author is explaining the move they call “Heads-Up Tackling.” The author gives a very descriptive description of the move and I can actually picture it in my head. Another example is on page 215 it says “[Coach] nodded at him and then turned his back and walked a few yards down the sideline from where he'd been standing.” The author described what Coach Cooper is doing on the sideline. This also allows me to get a picture of what the coach is doing on the sideline.
Overall, I think this book is good. The author does an outstanding job at describing the key moments in the book. There are very many interesting parts but there are still a few not so interesting parts. I would probably recommend this book to a friend who likes football. I would be interested in reading another book written by Mike Lupica.
I think the book is good because the author does a good job describing the moves that the players do, to give you an image in your head. For example on page 114, it says “rising up into a ball carrier as if you were throwing a couple of uppercut punches while keeping your head back.” The author is explaining the move they call “Heads-Up Tackling.” The author gives a very descriptive description of the move and I can actually picture it in my head. Another example is on page 215 it says “[Coach] nodded at him and then turned his back and walked a few yards down the sideline from where he'd been standing.” The author described what Coach Cooper is doing on the sideline. This also allows me to get a picture of what the coach is doing on the sideline.
Overall, I think this book is good. The author does an outstanding job at describing the key moments in the book. There are very many interesting parts but there are still a few not so interesting parts. I would probably recommend this book to a friend who likes football. I would be interested in reading another book written by Mike Lupica.
November 2, 2022
I rated the book Lone Stars by Mike Lupica 4 stars because in my opinion it was very good i enjoyed reading it and liked how the author wrote it.In the book there were some parts that i couldn’t tell what was happening or got confused on what was happening but there were very little of these parts in the book.The story follows a 12 year old football player named Clay whose coach was a former NFL player As the season kicks off his coach starts showing side effects of the many concussions he got during his playing days Clay’s only goal is to help his coach reunite with his old NFL teammates on last time I discovered this book on destiny discover when i was scrolling through book summaries the summary of this book really popped out to me so i decided to read it.I would read another book by this author because i like the way he writes his books it keeps me reading and hooked to the book.
October 24, 2025
Mike Lupica’s Lone Stars is a great read. The novel is structured by Lupica's formulaic custom of a team playing for a championship. Clay is a wide receiver and David, his best friend, is the quarterback. Their coach is a retired NFL player. The manager is David’s sister, Maddie. All the characters are steeped in Texas’ football culture. The book explores so much more that football, themes of fear, friendship, secrets, family, feminism, and sportsmanship prevail.
I would love to start the year with a novel study of this book because it is the start of football season and to begin the year with vocabulary instruction. Using the strategy of explicitly teaching vocabulary along with the three other strategies from 4 strategies for complex texts. I would explicitly teach Beck’s 3-tiered vocab. I would enlist students in the class with some community guests of coaches, high school players to teach football basics. I have them teach all the football terms used in the book.
This novel would be great for a reader’s journal. There are so many common, impactful themes to explore in personal reflections. There are good topics for further research like brain injury, women in sports, the Alamo, and our older generation’s technology use.
Four strategies for tackling complex texts. CENTER FOR THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION OF TEACHERS. (n.d.). https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/news-pre...
Jones, A. (2025, August 19).
YouTube. (n.d.-c). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E8wC...
I would love to start the year with a novel study of this book because it is the start of football season and to begin the year with vocabulary instruction. Using the strategy of explicitly teaching vocabulary along with the three other strategies from 4 strategies for complex texts. I would explicitly teach Beck’s 3-tiered vocab. I would enlist students in the class with some community guests of coaches, high school players to teach football basics. I have them teach all the football terms used in the book.
This novel would be great for a reader’s journal. There are so many common, impactful themes to explore in personal reflections. There are good topics for further research like brain injury, women in sports, the Alamo, and our older generation’s technology use.
Four strategies for tackling complex texts. CENTER FOR THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION OF TEACHERS. (n.d.). https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/news-pre...
Jones, A. (2025, August 19).
YouTube. (n.d.-c). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E8wC...
August 31, 2018
The name of the book I read was Lone Stars by Mike Lupica. The main theme of this story is you can’t let fear hold you back in life. You have to live life fearless and say to yourself, you only live once. This is a realistic fiction novel set in present day in a small town that the main character Clay lives.
The story line follows the main character Clay Hollis. Clay is apart of a school football team with David. David is Clay’s best friend and are a main part of their team. David is the quarterback and Clay is the wide receiver. In some on their spare time after school they go to each other’s houses and practice routes in their backyards. Coach Cooper is the coach for their team. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, which Clay and his family are big fans of. While Coach Cooper was playing on the Cowboys he got hit in the head hard a lot. This caused him to have memory loss and brain damage. When Clay had heard of this fear struck his mind. Clay was scared that this might happen to him. Later, in a game that his team had Clay was running a route and David was throwing the ball. David threw the ball and Clay caught the ball and ran for a touchdown. When Clay turned around to celebrate with David he saw that David was on the ground hurt. Fear came to Clay’s mind. He thought to himself that maybe David could have brain damage like coach did. During his next game Clay was running a route and stopped when he saw out of the corner of his eye two players from the other team running towards him and about to hit him. Fear was what made him stop, this made his coach furious. The next day Clay went to the Alamo with Maddie. Maddie is David’s sister and Clay goes to the Alamo to clear his mind. When Clay did this it helped him with his problems. After Clay had fixed his problems and David was healthy again he now realized that his coach needed help. On a Sunday night Clay saw his coach at the park. His coach told him that he struggles with remembering things, and he also told him to not tell anyone. Clay did what he wasn’t supposed to do and told Maddie. Him and Maddie came up with a plan to help coach. They helped their coach with his problems and things started to turn out for Clay’s team. Clay’s team started to do very well and they ended up winning many games. Personally I didn’t really like this novel. I felt like the novel repeated many things. An example is when Clay went to the Alamo with Maddie like five different times! There was a purpose for them to go there but I don’t think they really needed to go there like five times and include it in the novel. Another thing is that the novel isn’t very consistent moving. When Clay and Maddie helped Coach Cooper with everything to me I felt like that was very slow. I thought that there were things that didn’t need to be there. Although I didn’t like some parts of this novel one thing that I liked was how it stayed on it’s main topic of being about football. The novel connected that how the coach got brain damage was from playing football. A connection I had with this novel is that it made me think of a different book that I read called Left Out by Tim Green. The connection between these novels were that they were both about football and about how characters in the novels got hurt playing football. I rated this book a 3 out of 5 because I thought it wasn’t very consistent moving and had some repetitive scenes.
I recommend this novel to people who like to read novels that involve sports. I recommend this to them because this novel is about what can happen in a sport like football. Also, I recommend this novel to people who like books that are slow moving. I recommend this to them because this a slow moving book. Personally I thought that this book was so-so because I like to read books that move at a consistent pace. Overall it was a great novel but, I have read better Mike Lupica books.
The story line follows the main character Clay Hollis. Clay is apart of a school football team with David. David is Clay’s best friend and are a main part of their team. David is the quarterback and Clay is the wide receiver. In some on their spare time after school they go to each other’s houses and practice routes in their backyards. Coach Cooper is the coach for their team. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, which Clay and his family are big fans of. While Coach Cooper was playing on the Cowboys he got hit in the head hard a lot. This caused him to have memory loss and brain damage. When Clay had heard of this fear struck his mind. Clay was scared that this might happen to him. Later, in a game that his team had Clay was running a route and David was throwing the ball. David threw the ball and Clay caught the ball and ran for a touchdown. When Clay turned around to celebrate with David he saw that David was on the ground hurt. Fear came to Clay’s mind. He thought to himself that maybe David could have brain damage like coach did. During his next game Clay was running a route and stopped when he saw out of the corner of his eye two players from the other team running towards him and about to hit him. Fear was what made him stop, this made his coach furious. The next day Clay went to the Alamo with Maddie. Maddie is David’s sister and Clay goes to the Alamo to clear his mind. When Clay did this it helped him with his problems. After Clay had fixed his problems and David was healthy again he now realized that his coach needed help. On a Sunday night Clay saw his coach at the park. His coach told him that he struggles with remembering things, and he also told him to not tell anyone. Clay did what he wasn’t supposed to do and told Maddie. Him and Maddie came up with a plan to help coach. They helped their coach with his problems and things started to turn out for Clay’s team. Clay’s team started to do very well and they ended up winning many games. Personally I didn’t really like this novel. I felt like the novel repeated many things. An example is when Clay went to the Alamo with Maddie like five different times! There was a purpose for them to go there but I don’t think they really needed to go there like five times and include it in the novel. Another thing is that the novel isn’t very consistent moving. When Clay and Maddie helped Coach Cooper with everything to me I felt like that was very slow. I thought that there were things that didn’t need to be there. Although I didn’t like some parts of this novel one thing that I liked was how it stayed on it’s main topic of being about football. The novel connected that how the coach got brain damage was from playing football. A connection I had with this novel is that it made me think of a different book that I read called Left Out by Tim Green. The connection between these novels were that they were both about football and about how characters in the novels got hurt playing football. I rated this book a 3 out of 5 because I thought it wasn’t very consistent moving and had some repetitive scenes.
I recommend this novel to people who like to read novels that involve sports. I recommend this to them because this novel is about what can happen in a sport like football. Also, I recommend this novel to people who like books that are slow moving. I recommend this to them because this a slow moving book. Personally I thought that this book was so-so because I like to read books that move at a consistent pace. Overall it was a great novel but, I have read better Mike Lupica books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 6, 2019
i think it was a good book
August 30, 2019
Lone Stars by Mike Lupica is a realistic fiction novel that shows the reader to face their fears and have each other’s back. Mike Lupica can show this through the immense fears Clay has to overcome of getting hit and his coach’s problems that Clay must help.
In the realistic fiction novel Lone Stars by Mike Lupica wide receiver Clay Hollis and quarterback David Guerro are the dynamic duo on their Pop Warner football team in Texas. But when Clay Hollis finds out former Cowboys player and current Coach Cooper is having problems living an everyday life. With the help of Clay and David’s little sister Maggie they show Coach Cooper an alternative, technology. Along the way Clay has to overcome his own fears getting hit and the consequences of playing football.
In my opinion Lone Stars by Mike Lupica is overall an exceptional read where the only problem was getting into it. The exposition was a little to long for me but the rising action had multiple dramatic highs that were still believable and interesting. The climax was good, but the few pages before was really the most intriguing chapter of the book. I like how near the middle of the book the author shows Clay’s reaction to learning new information on the connection between injuries and football. Also I liked when the author showed the mindset of Clay after David got blasted by the linebacker and suffered a concussion. Still, I didn’t like during the start of the book when the author kept repeating how good of friends David and Clay were even though you got it easily at first. Additionally, I didn’t like how the author dedicated chapters to football practices. While I know practices are important sometimes it would be just them throwing the ball. It just seemed like a way to add pages to the book. Also I read Travel Team another book written by Mike Lupica and their were similar events like when Clay is scared of getting hit Danny was scared of failure. Another instance is when Clay had to help coach live a better life during the climax, while Danny helped his father get his life back on track. Still like I said earlier it is a great read that can not only entertain you but also teach you about football and its consequences.
In conclusion I recommend this book to middle schoolers who enjoyed sports and drama, this is just like many other Mike Lupica books and gives players depth in a realistic fiction novel.
In the realistic fiction novel Lone Stars by Mike Lupica wide receiver Clay Hollis and quarterback David Guerro are the dynamic duo on their Pop Warner football team in Texas. But when Clay Hollis finds out former Cowboys player and current Coach Cooper is having problems living an everyday life. With the help of Clay and David’s little sister Maggie they show Coach Cooper an alternative, technology. Along the way Clay has to overcome his own fears getting hit and the consequences of playing football.
In my opinion Lone Stars by Mike Lupica is overall an exceptional read where the only problem was getting into it. The exposition was a little to long for me but the rising action had multiple dramatic highs that were still believable and interesting. The climax was good, but the few pages before was really the most intriguing chapter of the book. I like how near the middle of the book the author shows Clay’s reaction to learning new information on the connection between injuries and football. Also I liked when the author showed the mindset of Clay after David got blasted by the linebacker and suffered a concussion. Still, I didn’t like during the start of the book when the author kept repeating how good of friends David and Clay were even though you got it easily at first. Additionally, I didn’t like how the author dedicated chapters to football practices. While I know practices are important sometimes it would be just them throwing the ball. It just seemed like a way to add pages to the book. Also I read Travel Team another book written by Mike Lupica and their were similar events like when Clay is scared of getting hit Danny was scared of failure. Another instance is when Clay had to help coach live a better life during the climax, while Danny helped his father get his life back on track. Still like I said earlier it is a great read that can not only entertain you but also teach you about football and its consequences.
In conclusion I recommend this book to middle schoolers who enjoyed sports and drama, this is just like many other Mike Lupica books and gives players depth in a realistic fiction novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
August 9, 2018This is the first book I've not rated, and that is because I'm not qualified to so. I hated the book, but I hate football and have no love for Texas and only read it because I had to, so my opinion isn't valid. Here's what parents and teachers may want to know:
--You want your sports-loving kid to read this book.
--It's full of excellent role models and perfect children who have the maturity and behavior of the adults we'd all like to be but the awe and reverence for parents and authority that want our children to have as well. If you ever dreamed that your kid would be a certain way, the kids in this book will probably be exactly that. I don't know how kids will respond to this, but as an adult they seem impossibly unrealistic (really, they're fantasy children). Again, I may be way wrong and that's why I'm not judging Lupica--he didn't write this book for me.
--The book is "pure ball": football worship. If you don't love football, you have no business reading this. You will be miserable throughout the experience.
--The book is also a piece of Texas worship. The Alamo is a source of inspiration for history-revering kids who like to spend their Saturday afternoons learning more and more about it. They also love to ponder and discuss how their coach's lessons apply to life in general. Again, dream-children.
--If a child loves football or any sport and is beyond mature for his or her age, this will likely be a win.
--The protagonist learns all about the dangers of football, especially concussions, and deals with fear as a result but learns that he can't be a good football player if he "plays scared," so that's how the internal conflict is resolved. Great.
--The child protagonists handle problems like respectable adults. My son was still shooting milk out of his nose at 11, but these kids can take on saving their coach from the effects of brain injuries, calling up an Uber when necessary, and taking over as coach for an entire season. Amazing!
I hated the ending, and I didn't like anything about this book. I am eager to see if it will be a hit among my sports fans when they are forced to read a book for English next year! For the avid readers in my Battle of the Books club, I am looking forward to seeing how they respond to it as well, and I'll update this review.
--You want your sports-loving kid to read this book.
--It's full of excellent role models and perfect children who have the maturity and behavior of the adults we'd all like to be but the awe and reverence for parents and authority that want our children to have as well. If you ever dreamed that your kid would be a certain way, the kids in this book will probably be exactly that. I don't know how kids will respond to this, but as an adult they seem impossibly unrealistic (really, they're fantasy children). Again, I may be way wrong and that's why I'm not judging Lupica--he didn't write this book for me.
--The book is "pure ball": football worship. If you don't love football, you have no business reading this. You will be miserable throughout the experience.
--The book is also a piece of Texas worship. The Alamo is a source of inspiration for history-revering kids who like to spend their Saturday afternoons learning more and more about it. They also love to ponder and discuss how their coach's lessons apply to life in general. Again, dream-children.
--If a child loves football or any sport and is beyond mature for his or her age, this will likely be a win.
--The protagonist learns all about the dangers of football, especially concussions, and deals with fear as a result but learns that he can't be a good football player if he "plays scared," so that's how the internal conflict is resolved. Great.
--The child protagonists handle problems like respectable adults. My son was still shooting milk out of his nose at 11, but these kids can take on saving their coach from the effects of brain injuries, calling up an Uber when necessary, and taking over as coach for an entire season. Amazing!
I hated the ending, and I didn't like anything about this book. I am eager to see if it will be a hit among my sports fans when they are forced to read a book for English next year! For the avid readers in my Battle of the Books club, I am looking forward to seeing how they respond to it as well, and I'll update this review.
August 30, 2019
Lone Stars by Mike Lupica shows to the reader that helping others can also help yourself. When Clay and Maddie helped Coach Cooper with his memory loss, he started remembering things better. This helped him coach his team better. Coach Coopers better memory and better coaching helped the team win the championship. This shows that helping others can also help yourself.
Clay, the protagonist, plays competitive football in Texas. His coach, Coach Cooper, was a star football player for the Cowboys, but now suffers from memory lost. In this present day realistic fiction book, Clay and his girlfriend, Maddie, stand by Coach Cooper as his memory deteriorates. Throughout the season he helps Coach Cooper in his battle, and unknowingly got a lot back from Coach Cooper. Clay leads his team to win the championship with Coach Cooper cheering him on from the sideline.
The book was heartwarming and taught many lessons, but still was dull and boring. It was a struggle to get through and I despise the predictability of the story line. Besides Coach Cooper’s memory loss, I can’t think of anything else that wouldn’t happen in a perfect world. It pretty much defeated the purpose of realistic fiction. The book was not exciting, so my heart was never racing. For example, in the finals, Clay’s team was losing in the first quarter. I knew that Clay would win even though they were losing because nothing ever went wrong in this book. No reader would be surprised by the ending when Clay’s team won the game. How much Clay and Maddie hovered over Coach Cooper was another example of how unrealistic the book was. Clay and Maddie practically lived at Coach Cooper’s house and watched every little step Coach Cooper took, and they acted like he was a baby. It doesn’t make sense that two middle schoolers would be responsible for taking care of an adult.
Even though the book earns close to 5 stars on every website, I can’t think of who would like the book. I would truly never recommend Lone Stars to anyone because of the dullness and predictability. It blows my mind Lone Stars could ever receive above 3 stars.
Clay, the protagonist, plays competitive football in Texas. His coach, Coach Cooper, was a star football player for the Cowboys, but now suffers from memory lost. In this present day realistic fiction book, Clay and his girlfriend, Maddie, stand by Coach Cooper as his memory deteriorates. Throughout the season he helps Coach Cooper in his battle, and unknowingly got a lot back from Coach Cooper. Clay leads his team to win the championship with Coach Cooper cheering him on from the sideline.
The book was heartwarming and taught many lessons, but still was dull and boring. It was a struggle to get through and I despise the predictability of the story line. Besides Coach Cooper’s memory loss, I can’t think of anything else that wouldn’t happen in a perfect world. It pretty much defeated the purpose of realistic fiction. The book was not exciting, so my heart was never racing. For example, in the finals, Clay’s team was losing in the first quarter. I knew that Clay would win even though they were losing because nothing ever went wrong in this book. No reader would be surprised by the ending when Clay’s team won the game. How much Clay and Maddie hovered over Coach Cooper was another example of how unrealistic the book was. Clay and Maddie practically lived at Coach Cooper’s house and watched every little step Coach Cooper took, and they acted like he was a baby. It doesn’t make sense that two middle schoolers would be responsible for taking care of an adult.
Even though the book earns close to 5 stars on every website, I can’t think of who would like the book. I would truly never recommend Lone Stars to anyone because of the dullness and predictability. It blows my mind Lone Stars could ever receive above 3 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2018
Have you ever seen a football player that cares about his coach more then the game he's playing. In "Lone Stars" by Mike Lupica, Clay Hollis is one of the best wide receivers in the league. He and his best friend David are two of the best players in the league. Their team is one of the best in the league, and they don't seem to be slowing down. That's not all Clay is worried about though because Clay is worried about his coach. Coach Monty Cooper used to play in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, and has had his fair share of injuries, one of them being a bad concussion. Now that he is older, Clay realizes that he is forgetting some easy things like how to get back to his own home. Clay is worried about his coach, and decides to take action and try to help him. Now Clay has to get his coach back onto his feet while trying to win a championship for his team. In the book Clay is talking about how they are going to help coach with his problem, but he uses it in the term "fill in the gaps. You can tell coach is sad about what he's become because then he says "those gaps sometimes feel as big to me as the big old Texas sky" (Lupica 143). This quote shows that Coach Cooper is not the way he used to be and the challenges that he's facing are bigger than the normally were. he knows that there is something wrong with him, but he doesn't know how to fix it. This is why Clay wants to help him so badly because he can see that coach's life is awful now that he has that problem of forgetting things. In my opinion, this book was a very good read. I loved how the author made the book about something else rather than the team going on to the championship and winning. I liked the way that he went into the character's personal lives so the reader can see what the main characters do outside of the football field.I totally wold reccomend this book to a friend because I think that they would enjoy.
November 8, 2017
Title: Lone Stars
Author: Mike Lupica
Date Reviewed: 7 November 2017
Lone Stars by Mike Lupica is a realistic fiction novel about a young football star named Clay. Clay is what every receiver dreams to be. He catches every pass and makes every play. The other person who makes this happen is their star quarterback David Guerrero who Happens to be Clays best friend. There coach is a former pro football player named Monty Cooper. When Clay notices coach forgetting things and getting lost he gets worried. He and his new friend Maddie have a goal to get him on field one more time for a superbowl anniversary. One part of the book that I do not like is how the cover is illustrated. It shows the coach and Clay on the field. This limits my imagination and makes it hard to see things creatively. I hadn’t noticed the cover until halfway through the story and looking at it changed my view of the whole entire book. Another thing that I do not like is how it is written. Since they live in texas sometimes the quotes are not grammatically correct like on page 121 when it says, “ What are you to worrying on.” This makes the book hard to read sometimes because I am not used to this kind of text. One thing I really like about this book is how engaging it is. I always want to read more. At the end of each chapter there is something that makes you want to know what is going to happen next. It is also nice how the kids in the story are around my age so I am able to relate to them. I always like when books are relatable because it makes them more interesting. Even though I did critique this book I would still give it a 5 out of 5. This rating is because of how engaging it was and how much I like the author and his writing style.
Author: Mike Lupica
Date Reviewed: 7 November 2017
Lone Stars by Mike Lupica is a realistic fiction novel about a young football star named Clay. Clay is what every receiver dreams to be. He catches every pass and makes every play. The other person who makes this happen is their star quarterback David Guerrero who Happens to be Clays best friend. There coach is a former pro football player named Monty Cooper. When Clay notices coach forgetting things and getting lost he gets worried. He and his new friend Maddie have a goal to get him on field one more time for a superbowl anniversary. One part of the book that I do not like is how the cover is illustrated. It shows the coach and Clay on the field. This limits my imagination and makes it hard to see things creatively. I hadn’t noticed the cover until halfway through the story and looking at it changed my view of the whole entire book. Another thing that I do not like is how it is written. Since they live in texas sometimes the quotes are not grammatically correct like on page 121 when it says, “ What are you to worrying on.” This makes the book hard to read sometimes because I am not used to this kind of text. One thing I really like about this book is how engaging it is. I always want to read more. At the end of each chapter there is something that makes you want to know what is going to happen next. It is also nice how the kids in the story are around my age so I am able to relate to them. I always like when books are relatable because it makes them more interesting. Even though I did critique this book I would still give it a 5 out of 5. This rating is because of how engaging it was and how much I like the author and his writing style.
March 9, 2018
Clay, the main character in Mike Lupica's Lone Stars, is twelve years old and is great at football. He lives in texas and starts to go through a rough patch in his life. After taking a hard hit, Clay is shooken up a bit, but gets over it quickely. Soon after the real conflict of the story begins. Clay's coach is a retired NFL and is beging to suffer memory loss. Clay and another friend must figure out how to help their coach in some exciting ways.
I feel like I can relate to this because I have played football myself. I have not really experienced anything like this, but I can see where he is coming from. While reading this I thought of an elderly woman in out ward who suffers from memory loss. My mom constantly visits her, but she can never remeber her. This is similar to Clay's coach.
In general, I thouhgt is was a good book. It could have been a little more exciting and grab your attention a little better. I like how it would give play by a play point of view. besides the football games I thought it was a little borning. Overall I thought it was good.
I would recomed this book to someone who loves football and knows the game. If you do not than I don't think you would understand it very well. I think some people would enjoy, and recomed it to those who would
I read all the book
I feel like I can relate to this because I have played football myself. I have not really experienced anything like this, but I can see where he is coming from. While reading this I thought of an elderly woman in out ward who suffers from memory loss. My mom constantly visits her, but she can never remeber her. This is similar to Clay's coach.
In general, I thouhgt is was a good book. It could have been a little more exciting and grab your attention a little better. I like how it would give play by a play point of view. besides the football games I thought it was a little borning. Overall I thought it was good.
I would recomed this book to someone who loves football and knows the game. If you do not than I don't think you would understand it very well. I think some people would enjoy, and recomed it to those who would
I read all the book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2018
This is NOT my genre, or my storyline preference, but Lupica is always a huge hit with my middle school readers, so I picked this one up when it came in the other day. Clay is playing in a Pop Warner football league, and throughout the season he struggles with overcoming fears. His mom is worried about him getting hit and the possible lasting damage that concussions can cause. On the first game of the season, he takes a strong hit and starts to play a bit more cautiously. Then, later, his best friend and team quarterback has a concussion. All of this weighs heavily on Clay as he tries to figure out what is worth sacrificing himself for, especially since he can see first-hand how hard football can be on someone. His Coach, the legendary Monty Cooper of the Dallas Cowboys, is forgetful. And confused. And sometimes gets lost. But he has asked Clay to keep it a secret, so now Clay has to try to find a way to help Coach make it through one last season.
Overall, this was just OK. Kids who like sports books will like this one. Fans of Lupica's other works will enjoy this, easily. The storyline isn't complex, and the big ideas (concussions, sports, the lasting impact of the game) are all simplified and glossed over. Recommended for purchase in collections that serve readers who are looking for generic sports titles.
Overall, this was just OK. Kids who like sports books will like this one. Fans of Lupica's other works will enjoy this, easily. The storyline isn't complex, and the big ideas (concussions, sports, the lasting impact of the game) are all simplified and glossed over. Recommended for purchase in collections that serve readers who are looking for generic sports titles.
June 14, 2017
My sports-loving fifth grade library patrons read Mike Lupica's books voraciously, but this fantasy/dystopian loving librarian has just never grabbed one. I've directed athletic patrons to the FIC LUP section of the shelves, sure, but just never read one myself. Now that I have read "Lone Stars," that will likely change and I will point readers of all sorts to that shelf. Football is the primary focus of this book, of course, and Lupica does a great job of giving readers a sense of excitement during games and an understanding of the focus and determination required at ball practice, but this book is so much more than that. Clay Hollis is a driven football player living in a family of football fan(atic)s, but he is also a best friend who might just have more than a passing interest in his friend's sister and he is a player who knows that there is something terribly wrong with his coach and doesn't know how to fix it. As Clay strives to help Coach Monty, Lupica brings in well-developed supporting characters like Clay's parents, QB David, and team manager Maddie to add extra layers to the plot. This book is highly recommended for 4th-7th grade football fans as well as fans of heart-warming, but fairly lengthy reads. (Review of digital ARC from EdelweissPlus)
March 24, 2018
Lone Stars by Mike Lupica is a story taken place in San Antonio, Texas where a boy by the name of Clay Hollis is a star wide receiver on his local Pop Warner football team. Although Clay is a tremendous receiver, he goes through many obstacles throughout the season.
One obstacle being Clay’s best friend/quarterback, David Guerrero, faces a concussion at the beginning of the season. This really affects his team because Clay and David were the “dynamic duo” of the Stars.
Another one of these obstacles is something that appears later in the novel where his coach, a former Dallas Cowboys special teams player, has something wrong with his state of mind after frequent, untreated concussions. Nevertheless, Coach Coop has one goal in mind: he wants to go on the field at the Thanksgiving game for the Cowboys where he can reunite with his past teammates, and Clay Hollis is determined to make his Coach’s dream come true.
In conclusion I found this book to be a ‘roller coaster ride’ of events. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the sport of football or just enjoys sports in general. I personally really liked this book and will plan on reading books similar to this is the future.
One obstacle being Clay’s best friend/quarterback, David Guerrero, faces a concussion at the beginning of the season. This really affects his team because Clay and David were the “dynamic duo” of the Stars.
Another one of these obstacles is something that appears later in the novel where his coach, a former Dallas Cowboys special teams player, has something wrong with his state of mind after frequent, untreated concussions. Nevertheless, Coach Coop has one goal in mind: he wants to go on the field at the Thanksgiving game for the Cowboys where he can reunite with his past teammates, and Clay Hollis is determined to make his Coach’s dream come true.
In conclusion I found this book to be a ‘roller coaster ride’ of events. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the sport of football or just enjoys sports in general. I personally really liked this book and will plan on reading books similar to this is the future.
January 29, 2020
Clay has been playing football his whole life. He loves to zip across the field, ball in his hand, juking out defenders out of his shoes. He loves his Texas Longhorns to the moon and back. However this football season is much more than just a football season to Clay.
In another highly praised book by Mike Lupica, he shows us the new flipside of football, concussions. Clay’s football coach is a retired Dallas Cowboys Star who through his glorious career, has suffered many bangs in the head. His many concussions have definitely taken its toll on him, he can’t remember things as well, he suffers headaches, and Clay notices all of this from the very first day. Will Clay still love the game of football as much as he did before? Will he be able to get over his new fear of getting hit?
I personally enjoyed this book a lot because of the strong tie that this book has to sports and its problems nowadays. I would recommend this book to avid readers of authors like Tim Green or John Feinstein and other teens who like to read about problems that might be relatable to the ones that Clay goes through the book. In my mind this book definitely deserves a five star rating because of how excellently crafted the plot is into the novel.
In another highly praised book by Mike Lupica, he shows us the new flipside of football, concussions. Clay’s football coach is a retired Dallas Cowboys Star who through his glorious career, has suffered many bangs in the head. His many concussions have definitely taken its toll on him, he can’t remember things as well, he suffers headaches, and Clay notices all of this from the very first day. Will Clay still love the game of football as much as he did before? Will he be able to get over his new fear of getting hit?
I personally enjoyed this book a lot because of the strong tie that this book has to sports and its problems nowadays. I would recommend this book to avid readers of authors like Tim Green or John Feinstein and other teens who like to read about problems that might be relatable to the ones that Clay goes through the book. In my mind this book definitely deserves a five star rating because of how excellently crafted the plot is into the novel.
August 31, 2018
The book that I read was Lone Stars, by Mike Lupica. The theme is that helping others does not just benefit their lives, but also your life. The genre of the novel is realistic fiction, and the setting is in San Antonio, Texas. The conflict of the novel is a person vs. nature. The protagonist Clay Hollis, along with his football friends, must help their coach Monty Cooper to combat the antagonist of developing memory loss. I really enjoyed the novel’s realism, feeling as if this story must have happened identically in real life. However, I didn’t like that the author wrote some lengthy parts that felt as if they were useless to the development of the plot. One example is in Chapter 3, the author described for nine pages how Clay and his friend quarterback David Guerrero hung out together and just played catch. A sporty kid aged 10-14 would really enjoy this book. The author talks about topics such as playing on a sports team and provides rich details about practices and games. The author tells the story in third person omniscient narration with a lot of active voice and fast-paced language.
August 23, 2019
Clay and his best friend David live and breath football. And, their team is good....really good. They feel fortunate to have Coach Cooper guiding them since he was a pro player back in the day with the Dallas Cowboys.
Clay’s mom is super aware of injuries, especially concussions. She watches out for every hit and when both Clay and David are hit hard, the parents take every precaution. Sitting out a game, seeing a neurologist, and gathering info are small prices to pay to be safe.
Yet, Clay starts to notice subtle and disturbing changes in Coach Cooper. He is forgets plays, he calls players by the wrong name, and most troubling is the fact that he has gotten lost. Clay feels strongly that his memory loss has something to do with his concussions he sustained when playing ball. Now, Clay and David’s sister Maddie will do just about anything to help Coach Cooper and keep him safe.
Lone Stars makes us aware that there are some hazards to playing the game. It is best to keep up to date with precautions and follow the rules when a injury has occured. Good for fans of football and sports.
Clay’s mom is super aware of injuries, especially concussions. She watches out for every hit and when both Clay and David are hit hard, the parents take every precaution. Sitting out a game, seeing a neurologist, and gathering info are small prices to pay to be safe.
Yet, Clay starts to notice subtle and disturbing changes in Coach Cooper. He is forgets plays, he calls players by the wrong name, and most troubling is the fact that he has gotten lost. Clay feels strongly that his memory loss has something to do with his concussions he sustained when playing ball. Now, Clay and David’s sister Maddie will do just about anything to help Coach Cooper and keep him safe.
Lone Stars makes us aware that there are some hazards to playing the game. It is best to keep up to date with precautions and follow the rules when a injury has occured. Good for fans of football and sports.
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