Hit Count

by Chris Lynch

Arlo Brodie loves being on the football field, getting hit hard and hitting back harder. That’s where he belongs, leading his team to championships, becoming “Starlo” on his way to the top. Arlo’s dad cheers him on, but his mother quotes head-injury statistics and refuses to watch. Arlo’s girlfriend tries to make him see how dangerously he’s playing; when that doesn’t work, she calls time-out on their relationship. Even Arlo’s coaches begin to track his hit count, ready to pull him off the field when he nears the limit. But Arlo’s not worried about tallying collisions. The cheering crowds and the adrenaline rush convince him that everything is OK—in spite of the pain, the pounding, the dizziness, and the confusion.

In Hit Count, Chris Lynch explores the American love affair with contact sports and our attempts to come to terms with clear evidence of real danger.

PRAISE FOR HIT

“Lynch offers a powerful, provocative look at the dark side of popular sports and their potential cost, using Arlo as a cautionary, even tragic tale. Arlo’s rise and fall is handled skillfully, allowing readers into the self-destructive, self-deceiving mindset of an addict without condemning him.” —Publishers Weekly

“This unflinching examination of the price of athletic power, with plenty of bone-crunching play-by-play action, is both thought-provoking and formidable.” —The Horn Book Magazine
 
“The strength of this hard-hitting novel is how well award-winning author Chris Lynch portrays the drive and hunger of young football players . . . This intense timely story provides incredible insight as to why knowledge of football's potential danger is not enough to keep young players from taking the field.” —Kirkus Reviews
 
“An important work that raises troubling questions about the culture of violence in American high school sports.” —School Library Journal
 
“Lynch offers a powerful, provocative look at the dark side of popular sports and their potential cost, using Arlo as a cautionary, even tragic tale. Arlo’s rise and fall is handled skillfully, allowing readers into the self-destructive, self-deceiving mindset of an addict without condemning him.” —Publishers Weekly
 
A Booklist 2015 Top Ten Sports Books for Youth
A Junior Library Guild Selection

Genres: Sports, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Football, Family, High School, Teen

372 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 19, 2015

About the author

Chris Lynch is the Printz Honor Award-winning author of several highly acclaimed young adult novels, including KILL SWITCH, ANGRY YOUNG MAN, and INEXCUSABLE, which was a National Book Award finalist and the recipient of six starred reviews. He is also the author of FREEWILL, GOLD DUST, ICEMAN, GYPSY DAVY, and SHADOWBOXER, all ALA Best Books for Young Adults; EXTREME ELVIN WHITECHURCH, and ALL THE OLD HAUNTS.

He holds an M.A. from the writing program at Emerson College. He mentors aspiring writers and continues to work on new literary projects. He lives in Boston and in Scotland.

Reviews

[AndrewT_C2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started playing football when I was only 6 years old. At one point, football was the only reason I even got up in the morning. The only reason I got up was to get hurt again and again on that field. But getting hurt on that field... was what really made the game exhilarating. Because every time I got hurt I got mad, and very time I got mad I made them hurt. I made them hurt 10 times more then I did. Some might say that there are dangers to this game, and we know that. But all those people who insult this games name have never really played it, they've never really lived it. Because on the end the reword is so much better then the danger. So, plain and simple football was my essence. I started reading this my heart broke, because when all the people that you love tell you that you have to stop, it hurts so much more when you tell them that you love the game more then you love them. When you tell them you love the smell of that field. When you tell them that you love the feel of the turf underneath your feat. When you tell them you love the feeling of leaping into that end-zone. In the end you love Football..

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal Response:
I enjoyed this book because it mixed together high school life with football. The plot was very easy to follow, which made the book that much more fun to read. The book was very interesting because it focused on football more than anything. The book was very exciting and kept me on my toes the whole time.

Plot Summary:
The book starts off with the main character, Arlo, and his brother, Lloyd, at a high school football practice. Lloyd is a senior and Arlo is a freshman. Lloyd is known for his big hits and aggressive play, but during the practice he gets too aggressive and quits the team and drops out of high school later that month. This leaves Arlo a very good chance at playing on the JV team instead of the freshman team. He ends up playing backup on JV, but the coach tells him that if he gets stronger, he can play varsity next season. Arlo lifts all off season and gets really strong by the time August comes around. He makes varsity. During his first game, he leads the team in tackles but also got noticed for his aggressive play like his brothers. Throughout the season, the team does very badly; however, Arlo does so well he gets the nickname, “Starlo.” During the off season, he works even harder. When August comes around, he is even more ready than last season. He has a great season and they end up making the playoffs, but the coach and the trainer are worried about how many hits to the head he has taken. He is forced to sit out the rest of the season. Arlo doesn't train as much the next off season. When August comes, Arlo finds out that he is allowed to practice. Within the first half hour of conditioning, Arlo gets hit in the head intentionally and isn't allowed to play again.

Characterization:
The book goes through Arlo’s accomplishments in his high school career. Arlo goes from being an undersized linebacker to a superstar. Throughout high school, he works hard to be in the best shape possible for football and becomes the best player on the field. Because of head injuries, he is forced to stop short of his career.

Jackson is a lineman known for his illegal play. Jackson and Arlo get into a fight in practice and never play fair against each other ever again. Jackson, eventually, lands the shot that ends Arlo’s career.

Recommendation:
I recommend this book to 15-18 year old high school students who like football. The book does get a little graphic, so I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who is under middle school level and doesn’t like violent situations. The lexile is 830L. The book is long, but is a good read because you get involved with the plot and want to keep on reading.

[BibliofiendLM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review here: http://tinyurl.com/z6sdnn6
_____________

3.5/5 stars
Relevant discussion for teens and those playing contact sports.

[Rj Parlier]

Hit Count Chris lynch
Hit count is a pretty good book it is about two brothers lloyd and arlo who have always wanted to play football together but because of an incident this could possibly never happen but the other brother arlo starts his first year of football as a high schooler but was scared because of getting hit to hard but after the crack of his first hit he gets addicted to hitting people as hard as he can and he goes hard every second of every quarter of every game.
The main characters in Hit count both played football but one stopped because of an addiction that got out of control and because of a concussion but the other main character arlo continued to play but after a couple of years quit and started boxing so he could hit people even harder.
There were many troubles especially with lloyd because of of how much he drinks alcohol he tries to fight his parents and his own brother but arlo doesn't have that kind of trouble he has troubles with his girlfriend whose name is sandy. He has trouble with her because she thinks he trains to much and should spend more time with her.
My favorite character in the book was arlo because he kind of reminds me of myself because of how dedicated and how hard he trains to be the best he can in his football career.
If you are a football player you can relate to his situation but most of the time people think that football players are all mean and they think they are better than everyone else but that isn't true and this book kind of shows how it isn't true that all football players are mean
I would recommend this book to people who like to read about sports it is a good book but is too separated.

[Ben Wilichoski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. This book was made for me because I love football and all the hitting that has to do with the game. I understand what happen to the main character in this book because of hard hits to the head in football it is easy to get a concussion. Arlo battles through the season with injuries to the head. This books main message is to warn people how physical and tough it is to play this sport. It shows you need agresiveness to play the game of football.The book shows how dangerous the game is, and you need to want to hit the other man harder then he hits you. Lynch shows the violence to the game of football. This book is great for high schoolers and definitely football players. This was one of my favorites because I could understand it easily.

[Logan Rennie]

Hit Count by Chris Lynch is about a high school football player named Arlo Brody. He loves football and wants to be the best. As he gets stronger and better, he starts hitting harder during games. Everyone is impressed, and Arlo feels proud. But after a while, the hits start to mess with his head.
Arlo begins to feel different. He gets angry more easily and has trouble remembering things. Even though he knows something is wrong, he keeps playing. He doesn’t want to quit because he wants to make his family and team proud. He thinks being tough means not complaining or showing pain.
The book shows how football can be dangerous, especially with head injuries. Arlo gets a lot of small hits to the head, and they start to affect his brain. The story makes you think about how far someone should go just to win or be the best.
Hit Count isn’t just about football. It’s about pressure, choices, and knowing when to stop. Arlo learns that being strong isn’t just about hitting hard—it’s also about knowing when to take care of yourself. This book is a good warning about what can happen if you ignore injuries.

[Damien Hernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is based on a kid names Arlo who has more intentions in football than his brother Lylo. I am not a fan of this book in general but Lylo ends up quitting and Arlo becomes a very damaged kid after he discovers how hard he likes to hit. That results in many concussions that aren't being said and that eventually hurts his brain.

[Keagan Nicol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever been told that you weren’t good enough. This is what JV Coach Kasperian told Arlo after starting off his high school football career on a bad note. Arlo’s journey to success is noted in Chris Lynch’s “Hit Count”. Arlo took note of what his coach told him after the first game of his high school football career, and kicked it into four wheel drive. During the summer between his freshman and sophomore year he worked out every day twice a day, to get bigger and stronger for the upcoming season. Arlo’s dream was to play collegiate and also national football. He was the only one who didn’t take off, besides Dinos, a friend on the team that was a year older than he was. Arlo’s hard work paid off. After team’s were posted, his name was on the varsity list, and his the first step in his goal has been accomplished. At this time, Arlo had a girlfriend, named Sandy. However, she did not like the aggressive part of football, so she wanted to take a break. This time- out in their relationship allowed Arlo the motivation to play harder than he ever has to impress his girlfriend, at the games or not. Although the season did not go as well as they wanted, Arlo had a terrific season. In his junior and senior years, he was an absolute monster. He had a terrific high school football career. This book is geared toward high school students who like sports, especially football. Although this book is not hard to read, there are a few words that are high school vocabulary.There are two themes in this story. The first is Hard work Pays off. All of Arlo’s hard work paid off and allowed him to be the starting linebacker for his High School Varsity Football team. Lynch’s style is based on narratives, telling stories about others. He likes to talk about people’s life stories. My first impression of this book was how good it was and the story it told was inspirational.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a good book. It shows the scary side of foodball - the injuries and head trauma. It was a very gripping read.

[Ethan Raabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally liked the book because I love the sport of football, and this book talks about the sport and injuries that can occur in the sport also. Hit Count by Chris lynch is about two brothers named Arlo and Lloyd. Lloyd was a stud in football and Arlo followed in his older brothers footsteps until one day Lloyd takes a bad hit to the head that ended his football career. Arlo however becomes a stud himself earning the nickname "Starlo" but is the football stardom really all that good for Arlo? read the book to find out. I do recommend this book to anyone who likes sports and likes to know how it effects family's and others.

[Julia (Pages for Thoughts) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even with the clarity of the theme, it lacked the clarity for Arlo. My one major issue with this book is the lack of guilt and reflection. It was very show and not tell. Usually that is a good thing, but I wanted more of him telling the reader what not to do, actually voicing to the reader the danger and not to push themselves. The correlation to the changes in his personality and the personality of his brother was extremely clear to the reader, however it was not so clear to the character. I feel like the book fell flat at the end and failed to fully deliver its real message and warning to football players. Hit Count is a 5-star book up until the end, which is the real downfall; the lack of reflection and regret. Read way more of my review of this book at http://pagesforthoughts.blogspot.com/...

[April Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF due to messed up printing. About 30 pages missing mid-story in my copy. I did enjoy what I got to read though.

[Lorrea - WhatChaReadin'? · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

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

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

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

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

[Brent Munoz]

This is about a highschool student whose name is Lloyd who always has a passion for football. This takes place all over his high school career. He learns through-out the story that he can play football. He has a lot of confidence and he learns how to build up confidence in himself. He has been working hard for things that are valuable to him. Lloyd at first wasn’t that good at football, but eventually he made his way to the top. One thing that the reader could learn from this book is to never give up. That’s a common phrase that is heard of all the time, but I strongly believe that the theme of this story is to never give up and chase your dreams. Whether it’s playing football, playing basketball or whatever there's going to be obstacles that the reader will need to overcome. This book does an excellent job representing the idea of confidence and hard work. “Several of our guys went for the fake and were caught out of position, but I was zeroed in on every stride that fullback took” (Lynch 234). This shows that Lloyd is trying his best to do his part. Even though the team may mess up from time to time, Lloyd is a person who is zoned in the game. What I like about this book is that it really shows the theme of not giving up in an interesting way. It’s not just don’t give up because there's more to that.

I would recommend this for high school students who don’t mind curse words. It doesn’t cuss every sentence, but there's kids who don’t like cussing. The cursing sentences are aggressive but it's really not that much. I also recommend this for people who are boys and like football. For a kid who hates reading, I personally think that this book is valid.

[Logan Craighead · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel shocked me. I was not expecting something so good. The meaning behind it is one that applies to everyone. Arlo Brodie, the main character, struggles to find himself throughout the story. He becomes addicted to hard hits and will experience them in any way possible. After being forced to quit all sports at his school, Arlo enters a downward spiral that can only be satisfied by more contact. He finds boxing and tries to remove himself from all of the people that love him. Arlo knows he shouldn't but something inside of him is driving him to fulfill his addiction. I understand his dedication to training as a soon-to-be college football player. The idea of working hard at something every day to see results later on is something we share in common. I would say that I learned from this book that nothing we do that gives us short term joy can fulfill the void in us. Only the people we love and our drive to take care of them makes us satisfied.

[Blake Norby · Rating 1 out of 5]

So this book is about a kid in high school who plays football and gets hit in the head, a lot, and likes it. This book will also repeatedly tell you over and over again that this is a high school football player who likes to hit and be hit a lot. Almost the entire book is an inner monologue of the very boring and repetitive main character explaining how he likes to work out and play football because he likes to hit and be hit. Oh yeah, there's a girlfriend and a mom who warn him about getting hit in the head too much. He loses his only friend because he's too caught up in the working out and football and hitting. He has a messed up brother that floats in and out of the story. And then, wow, suddenly he realizes he's been hit in the head a lot and maybe that's not so good. And then it ends. Chris Lynch is so much better than this, I wa s seriously disappointed.

[Zach Bergstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hit Count was a really good book by Chris Lynch. The book is about a kid playing football throughout high school and about his problems with everything else. This book kind of related to me, always being under the wing of his older brother. I gave this book 4 stars because they don't let me do 4.5 stars and that it kept me on my toes for 3/4 of the book, but I knew what would happen after that. To conclude, it was a very good book that related to me.

[Maisy Fling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome book about sports, high school, and all the drama that comes with it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone even if you don't like football. This was my favorite book I read this year.

[Savindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I both hate and loved this book in a way. I had some problems with it, but as far as a Sports YA book goes, it's solid.

[Aaron Wahler · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very good book.Had a good plotline and good ending.I like the insight on concussions and how they showed what many hits to the head can do.

[Gunnar Spreeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hit Count

If you are into novels and football, then Hit Count is the book for you. Hit Count talks about the problems when it comes to the playing of "America’s love affair with football" as the author says, with the main character Arlo. Arlo, as a character changes throughout the chapters whether it is relating to his family and friends, getting hit and growing up. Arlo’s main issue in the story is the talk of concussions from his mother and the dangers when it comes to playing the sport he knows and loves.
One of Arlo’s issues through the book is with his parents have two different views on having Arlo and his older brother Lloyd playing football. His father is all for he and his brother playing the sport while his mother isn’t for them playing the sport. Arlo’s mother is worried that the hits Arlo and his brother take may play a bigger factor than the two brothers think. Arlo’s mother worries about the concussions and mental issues with having her two sons playing football and how it will affect their futures.
Arlo’s relationships change through the story whether it is with his brother Lloyd or with his friends. Arlo’s main relationships change is with his brother Lloyd. Lloyd, in the beginning of the story was his older brother that got angry and take his anger out on others and drink as a result of his anger. Near the end of the book, Lloyd started becoming Arlo’s friend and sobered up because he was trying to join the military. Arlo’s other relationship change was with his girlfriend Sandy. Arlo’s and Sandy’s relationship began as hanging out together after Arlo’s practice, then they started dating and ended after an argument where Sandy wants Arlo to stop playing football so dangerously. Arlo’s relationship with his friend Dinos started as a teammate but ended as being better friends and becoming workout partners.
Arlo changes through the book as a result of him growing up. Arlo’s first noticeable moment of him maturing was when he started training with Dinos. Arlo began taking time out of his off season to improve and to become an all-around better football player. Arlo took control of his situation by improving and wanted to become one of the team's best players. The second way that Arlo matured was when he started dating Sandy, which showed that he was responsible. The third and final reason that showed that he started to mature in the story was when he started a better relationship with his brother. The reason why he matured was that he wanted to have a better relationship with his brother.
I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys something easy to read and likes stories about football. Hit Count is juvenile literature and touches on mainly the issues when it involves growing up and playing football. I would not recommend this book to someone who doesn’t like long stories that have a lot of dialogue in a story. Hit Count has a lot of dialogue that allows the characters to develop and change their lives and their thoughts.

[Izaiah R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Izaiah Rodriguez
Mr,Hart
12/5/24
English 3 period 2

Goodreads essay
The book I choose was Hit Count by Chris Lynch and I really enjoyed this book because I was able to relate to the theme of this book. The theme of this book is about the pressure of the sports community and the impact that sports has on a person's mental and physical part of their body. For example when T.J said,” we’ve been taught to take hits , take the punishment, be tough, not show weakness. But nobody tells you what happens when it’s too much”(Chris Lynch 237). When Tj said this it showed the emotional and physical consequences of pushing someone too hard in a very violent sport that praises violence and also does not tell you the long term consequences of the sport. Additionally, I also like the resolution of the story of how the protagonist Shane, who was a very talented football player, realized that football is not his whole life and decided to say,"I'm done with all of it. I’m done with the game, done with the hits.I’m going to be more than a guy who just gets knocked out and gets up again”(Chris Lynch 335). When Shane said that it matched perfectly with the resolution because the resolution is to show that there is more to life than sports and there are still things way beyond sports. Furthermore, Shane showed characterization when Shane said,” the hits keep coming, but you don’t have to keep taking them”(Chris Lynch 294). Shane shows characterization because in the beginning of the book he always yelled at his teammates to toughen up and get back on the field. This showed that Shane is a dynamic character through this story. In addition, another sign of characterization is when Shane said,“ I never realized how much I defined myself by what I did on the field. It’s like I was just waiting for someone to tell me I was good enough”( Chris Lynch 97). This quote shows that Shane is a dynamic character because it shows that Shane made a change during the story. The change is that he realizes that his identity is to close to his football life and wants and makes that change. Moreover, the style of the book was very simple but managed to get the point of the book across. When in the book the narrator said,” they call it the “hit” like it’s something to be proud of. But the only thing that hits you back is time”( Chris Lynch 134). In this quote the author used imagery and irony. The irony came when the author said “Hit” as he meant that it is the hit that hits you back in time. The imagery came from when he said “ the only thing that hits you back is time” and he meant that time eventually catches up to you and silent forces in the past can catch up to you. In fact the story is a sports fiction book. Lastly, this book was a very good book for me because I play football and I can relate to taking hits. This connected to me because I got a concussion where I didn’t know if I can ever play again and I started to realize that sports can get involved in my life and affect my health. I was really able to relate with the protagonist Shane.

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was about a boy who plays football and is starting out as a freshman. He has an older brother who can no longer play and who is no influence to him at all. The main characters were the older brother Lloyd, The main character Arlo, and their parents. The main characters play football and the book tells about Arlo’s rise to be a great player but his demise as well. Arlo ran into a problem when he we kicked off the team for having too high of a hit count and damaging his own body. My favorite character is Arlo because he has a drive to do better and be the best at what he does. He wants to be the hardest hitter and he wants to be the most fit person on the field. In the book he works out everyday at least twice a day to keep his body in shape and to be bigger to hit harder.
I can relate to Arlo to an extent because i am like him when it comes to the sport i love no matter what i will play and i will try to be the best i can possibly be. I do the same things almost as Arlo does on a daily basis of staying fit and i see his drive to stay fit because i have the same drive to do well with my sport and be the best there is on the field and off the field at all times. Arlo always wants to be the best and the biggest and the hardest, I can relate to the sense that when you play a sport you want to be the best. As a teenager you get the sense that if you aren’t the best then your not doing enough. I always want to be doing more than i need to to ensure that i am the best and that is what Arlo does with his habits. With Arlo’s older brother i can relate in a way with my dad, when i work out he wants to as well and he wants to be better than me but that helps me work harder to do better and it is the same drive that Arlo has with his brother, when his brother starts to work out it shocks Arlo and he works harder to be better than him.
I really enjoyed the book, it was a nice portrayal on how teenagers in sports want to be the best. My favorite part of the book was where in Arlo’s freshman year he started to get better and he was hitting harder and he got really hyped about it. The author of this book did a great job with getting the emotions and feelings towards every topic in a teenage mind right in line. The author could have added a little extra action like in games but there was still plenty of action and it was an amazing book. This book shows how passionate teens are about there sports and that they want to do there best.
I would definitely recommend reading this book, if you like sports and are a reader that likes action and drama than this book is for you. Teens who play sports and action readers would be drawn to read this book. When you read this book you get very drawn into it. This book is a very good example of how you have to step up and do what has to be down and that if you want to do you than you have to try hard. It also shows that if you try and push it to hard then you will ultimately hurt yourself, so try hard but don't go so hard that you hurt yourself.

[Jeremy Nisly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is action filled but not superhero action, the action in this book is in a game. Football, this game is pretty much all about football, there are brothers Lloyd and Arlo, who both play. Lloyd does end up quitting because of a concussion but Arlo keeps playing. Even though his mom refuses to come to the games and is always quoting concussion stats. At the beginning of the book Arlo is afraid of big hits only being a freshman, but after he gives a big hit he becomes addicted and trains and hits as hard as he possibly can. He ignores all the pain as well, even when his coaches are getting scared he is going to hard for too long. That doesn’t stop him from still wrecking guys on the field all night long.

There were definitely more things I liked than didn’t like in this book. I liked how it was a football book but also gave statistics and a lot of information and the danger of playing football. I think it was a good mix of both and it flowed well. What I did not like as much though was how much of an idiot they made Arlo become like he liked to hit which was fine but they made him seem almost stupid when he wouldn't listen to anyone who was telling him to slow down because he could ruin his life in the future.

This book could be read by a variety of people, but the ones it would affect the most would be football playing boys from 6th grade to Senior year. That's around the age Arlo is and most football playing boys could relate to him that way.

“I hit him so hard. The clash of helmets and pads sounded like a gunshot across the field. I crushed him with the next hit. Held on to him. And crushed him again when I slammed him into the ground...I had arrived.”

[Ethan Do · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hit Count is a book that combines the idea of sports and high school drama/problems into one story. Chris Lynch has Arlo, who is the main character in the story, learn to balance his football career and the people in his life that care for him. The plot is somewhat slow but contains lots of detail that teaches you a lot about the characters and gets you attached to them. Also at the same time adding that intriguing sport storyline, one comparable and similar to a book by the author Mike Lupica. Hit Count could really appeal to athletes especially football players. Even if you don’t enjoy football you can still really like this book because how there are 2 different aspects to the book, football and high school. I rated this book 4 stars because I really enjoyed the book and how relatable the plot is to a lot of people. Another reason why I really liked the story is because of the lessons that are taught to the readers. In life you need to work hard, push yourself, and at the same time balance all the things in your life. This book was really interesting but there was one reason I didn’t give it the full 5 stars. It is because the plot moves at a slow calm pace and I personally do not like that. There’s not many big surprises, however it gives lots of detail and informs about the characters. Don’t get me wrong there are plot twist just not as many as I would like. But overall I really liked the book because of my interest in football and how well I was able to relate with the characters especially Arlo the main character.

[Duran Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

My book is called Hit Count by Chris Lynch. This book is about a kid named Arlo who loves playing football. He made the Junior Varsity team as a freshman in high school, but wanted to work harder to get better and eventually make the Varsity team. Arlo started working out everyday, going to the gym at least twice a day. He got stronger with all the weights he was lifting and by running all the time. In the offseason he continued working out and spent more time training than he did spending time with his family. Then his sophomore year of high school came along and he wanted to make the Varsity team and that is exactly what he did. If you want to know more about what goes on in this book, then you should read Hit Count by Chris Lynch. My favorite character in the book would have to be Arlo because he has a passion for football and he never quits. He only tried to get better. I like this character because if you have a passion for something, you should never give up on it. The character I disliked the most would have to be Arlo’s brother, Lloyd. I did not like him because he made bad decisions. Some of the decisions are dropping out of high school during his senior year and drinking alcohol all the time, along with smoking weed. This is not something that people should do. I would recommend this book to people who have a passion for reading sports books, no matter what age they are.

[Jameer McCall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hit Count by Chris Lynch is a very good book. It takes place on the football field and in the main character's house. Some of the characters include Arlo ,who is the main character, his girlfriend Sandy, Lloyd who is Arlo’s big brother. Some extra characters are Dinos who is Arlo’s best friend, Arlo’s parents and his coach. I found this book in my school library.

The book starts off when Arlo is a freshman and Lloyd is a senior in highschool. They are at football practice and Lloyd gets hit in the head and a trainer disrespected him so he quit the football team. Throughout the book it seems that Lloyd is unstable and that may be because of him playing football. Arlo is a work out machine, whenever he gets the chance he is working out. By his sophomore season he is a starter on his varsity football team. He leads his team to many victories. His girlfriend and mom are both opposed to him playing football because of the dangerous hits that occur. His girlfriend breaks up with him during the season. Lloyd starts to get his life together by going to the military but fails the test. He is sad and goes away and one night is found sleep at a stoplight on his motorcycle with weed alcohol, so he was put on probation. Arlo’s coach is starting to be aware of how many vicious hits Arlo is apart of and Arlo does not get to play football anymore.

I do not like the ending because I feel that Arlo should have been allowed to play. The author should have had him have a very bad hit and then he get disqualified from football. Another possible ending could have been that he never gets hit and he goes to the NFL and has a successful career. I did not have a favorite part of the book.

My opinion about this book is neutral. I don’t feel that it was a bad book but it was not the greatest. Some books that are similar are ‘Stick’ , ‘Second Impact’. And ‘ Game Changer’. People who may like this book are football fans and people who are against the “dangerous” sport. I think football fans would be intrigued because it has plenty of football action. I say people who thinks it dangerous because it shows the effects of constant hits to the head.

[Everardo Herrera · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is about a kid named Arol. He is in high school throughout the book. THe story is told through a first person narrative, by Arol. He is a reliable source of information because he was there going through everything the whole time. The story took place during 2014 in a small town. He lived in a nice house in a good neighborhood. I am not sure what state or city it was in but it seemed like a nice place. The overall theme of the book was to be careful and take care of yourself so you don’t get hurt and be brain dead. The genre of literature that this book is young adult fiction. This is a different kind of book that doesn’t relate to other books. Chris lynch is the author and he has written many other books mainly about war and sports. This book is also into sports.
“Hit Count” is about a high school football player who is relentless in his effort and wants to become a fearless linebacker. He does not know what type of damage he is doing to his body. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes sports and football.

[Gabriel Atto · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really caught my attention when I first picked it off the shelf, Chris Lynch really put some effort into his writing to make this book so interesting. However, I mostly thought this book could have had more potential throughout the story. This book revolves around the life of Arlo Brodie and his family through his high school career. Arlo Brodie and his older brother Lloyd loved playing football, Arlo's passion for the game grew on a rapid scale. Throughout the book, Arlo seems to play football in a very dangerous manner which causes him to build up countless subconcussive blows to the head. Taken from me as a football player and one who has gotten a concussion, I love how chris Lynch emphasizes how serious concussions are and how that can impact anyone for the rest of their lives. However, I rated this book three stars because I thought this book was going to be more adventurous and have more intense moments but I give credit to Chris this was a good book to read I recommend this book.

[Jericho Machado · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book very much because the theme was very relatable its a constant reminder of hard work pays off in the long run as the main protagonist Arlo taking after his brother Loyd who was a big time linebacker and Arlo at the time was not even in the same level as him but all he wanted was to just be like his brother or even better, but he didn't want to admit that to anyone. The brothers mom was very concerd with them playing football because the fact of brain damage hins the name "Hit Count" for the amount of hits they took again and again and this got serious when Arols older brother Loyd had to quit the team because he had got a concussion but didn't want to listen to the team doctor because he was dedicated to the game, this worryed loyds mom. Nun the less Arlo was still determined to play and the thing that made him work even harder than his brother was the fact that he didn't have a starting position and nobody knew him for Alro but maybe as Loyds brother but it didn't stay that way for to long.