Cover-Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl

The Sports Beat #3

by John Feinstein

New York Times bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein tackles doping in the NFL in this exciting football mystery.
 
The Super Bowl. America’s biggest sports spectacle. Over 95 million fans will be watching, but teen sports reporters Stevie and Susan Carol know that what they’ll be watching is a lie. They know that the entire offensive line of the California Dreams have failed their doping tests. They know the owner is trying to cover up the results. The only thing they don’t know is how to prove it.
 
John Feinstein has been praised as “the best writer of sports books in America today” ( The Boston Globe ), and he proves it again in this fast-paced novel.
 

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

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

John Feinstein was an American sportswriter, author, and sports commentator.

Reviews

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

Fantastic story. Well Written

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Solving two separate major mysteries on the national stage wasn't enough for Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson, so the fourteen-year-olds are back for more in book three of the Sports Beat series, Cover-Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl. The news stories they broke at the NCAA basketball tournament and the U.S. Open tennis championships led to an offer to host Kid-Sports for the USTV television network, but problems are on the horizon as Cover-Up begins. The show's executives notify Stevie that he's no longer part of USTV's plans going forward: teen pop singer Jamie Whitsitt will be Susan Carol's new cohost, despite his lack of sports knowledge. Being fired is a shock to Stevie, who loved spending time and discussing sports with Susan Carol via livestream even though they live in different states. Now she and Jamie are headed for Indianapolis, Indiana to cover Super Bowl XLII for USTV while Stevie sits home by himself. At least, that seems to be his fate until Bobby Kelleher, a Washington Herald journalist, gives him a call. Kelleher and his wife, Tamara Mearns, provided the adult support necessary for Stevie and Susan Carol's investigations at the NCAA tourney and the U.S. Open, and he wants Stevie to accompany him to Indianapolis as a guest Super Bowl reporter for the Washington Herald. Still smarting from USTV's rejection, Stevie isn't sure how he'll cope with watching Susan Carol and "gorgeous" Jamie Whitsitt interview football stars together, but he'd rather be in Indianapolis than stay home. Who knows what could happen during Super Bowl week?

Susan Carol's kneejerk reaction is to quit Kid-Sports the moment they release Stevie, but he reluctantly talks her into staying. The Anderson family can use the money, and Stevie doesn't want her to scuttle her potential career in sports. Indianapolis in January is cold and gray, but the scene at the state-of-the-art football stadium is electric, swarming with famous athletes, media personalities, and A-list celebrities. Stevie is uncomfortable with how well Susan Carol and Jamie work on camera, and USTV producer Tal Vincent is less than gracious in his treatment of Stevie now that he's no longer with the company, but Stevie has more than his job with the Washington Herald to occupy his time. CBS, television broadcaster of Super Bowl XLII, wants to hire him to do freelance coverage leading up to the game. A lot of important people are counting on him, but he's lived up to the challenge before.

Stevie's first couple of days in Indianapolis are tense. Susan Carol resents his attitude toward Jamie, who she insists is a nice guy and not as vacuous as he seems. She even defends Tal Vincent, which really gets Stevie mad. Their relationship is in serious trouble, but Bobby Kelleher helps take Stevie's mind off his problems by floating him some top-notch story ideas for the Super Bowl. How about the fact that Darin Kerns, equipment manager for the California Dreams, was the number one wide receiver for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Eddie Brennan in high school? No one else in the media seems aware of this connection between the two teams that will play Sunday. Or how about an exclusive interview with Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti? Working for the Washington Herald and CBS keeps Stevie too busy to dwell on his hard feelings toward Susan Carol, until late one night he gets a phone call from her in his hotel room. Susan Carol has stumbled onto a story so big it could blow the doors off Super Bowl XLII. At one of the countless media parties this week, Dr. Snow, a physician for the California Dreams, let it slip to Susan Carol that all five starting offensive linemen on his team tested positive for human growth hormone (HGH) and would have been suspended for the Super Bowl had team owner Donny Meeker not covered up the results. An uncomfortable question looms: how deep does the corruption go?

It doesn't take long for Stevie and Susan Carol's wounded relationship to start healing. They know how it feels to be in the journalism foxhole with no one to depend on but each other, and until they gather concrete evidence of Meeker's duplicity, they can't even tell Bobby Kelleher. Stevie's all-access pass with CBS and Susan Carol's reputation as a star on Kid-Sports open a lot of door in Indianapolis, even scoring them an extended interview with California Dreams quarterback Eddie Brennan. Stevie takes a risk and bluffs Brennan with what Susan Carol found out about the HGH coverup, and without further prompting the QB admits he had an inkling that something fishy was going on. Brennan is torn between team loyalty and the demands of fair play, so it's up to Stevie and Susan Carol to trace the scandal back to Meeker, a hothead billionaire who cares a great deal about his public image. If he finds out that journalists are on his trail, would he harm them? As the full scale of the scandal comes to light, Stevie and Susan Carol must find incontrovertible proof so Meeker and his cronies can't wriggle off the hook. Will the young reporters go three for three in solving high-stakes cases at prestigious sporting events, or have the odds caught up to a pair of teens in over their heads?

Cover-Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl is arguably the best book in the Sports Beat series so far. The tension rises early on as Stevie and Susan Carol sort through their feelings about USTV firing him; tempers flare and unkind remarks are made, but they are too resilient a duo to be ripped apart so easily. You can count on them to get their heads straight and act prudently when the chips are down. Speaking of chips, I enjoyed the many cameos in this book, including one by Chip Graber, college basketball star from Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery. Other notable appearances from figures in the 2007 sporting world include Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon (of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption), NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, CBS executive Sean McManus, NFL Hall of Famer and broadcaster Joe Theismann, and NBA legend Michael Jordan. Celebrity appearances include Billy Joel and Tom Cruise. I'm not surprised that John Feinstein created fictional teams and characters to fill controversial roles (the California Dreams, for example, and owner Donny Meeker), but I was taken aback by the potshots Feinstein took at real people, including Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and (to a lesser extent) Tom Cruise and QB Jeff George. I mustn't end this review without acknowledging that in the real 2007-08 NFL season, the Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Steve McNair finished 5-11, nowhere near a Super Bowl. Super Bowl XLII was the classic between Tom Brady's New England Patriots and Eli Manning's New York Giants, in which the ragtag Giants spoiled the Patriots' bid for a 19-0 season by pulling out a stunning 14-10 win following David Tyree's miraculous helmet catch. I should also point out the game was played in Glendale, Arizona, not Indianapolis. But, I digress. I rate Cover-Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl two and a half stars and strongly considered rounding to three; the story is very much a time capsule of its era, but that isn't such a bad thing. I love Stevie and Susan Carol's chemistry, and I'm glad there are three more novels in the series. I'll be sad when the adventure ends.

[Harry Costea · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book ended up being ok at best

[Ethan S]

First off Ms. Duncan, I have not finished this book, but to add a review I had to mark it off as "Read".
So far though this book has been outstanding, and I honestly don't know what I would've done if you didn't recommend it to me.
Stevie Thomas is a normal kid... besides the fact that he airs on a nation-wide sports network that is almost as big as ESPN, okay, this kid isn't very normal. He gets a consistent pay-check and gets to be on air with his mushy-gushy lover girl, Susan Carol, life is pretty legit for Stevie Thomas. Then a travesty occurs, Stevie Thomas is let go. The network wanted a flashier face on the air to build their image, so they let go Stevie and signed some pop-star Jamie Whitsitt. Stevie was almost as infuriated as Susan Carol when he got the news, this would surely change Stevie and Susan's lives. Will Stevie blow it off and become a normal kid, or will he bounce-back and maybe even debunk one of the biggest cover-ups ever? Read Cover -Up to find out!!!

[Star Tyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. True to life. Modern day issues.

[Brogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book.Good characters.I like the theme.

[Mary Torpey · Rating 2 out of 5]

okay--in the beginning of the book i got stuck on the almost-preposterous premise (teenaged journalists turned sports commentators on television, but hey, anderson cooper and lisa ling got started on channel one, right?). i figured i'd let it go since i haven't read the other two books in the series, which (presumably) explain how stevie and susan carol get to this point in their "careers" (hard not to use scare quotes when you're writing about fictional 14 year olds)--did i mention a great deal of it has to do with stevie and susan carol's preternatural ability to stumble upon epic sports mysteries/conspiracies? i tried to let myself get interested in this one--tough because it's about the nfl--but hey! and then, mid-way through the book, i realized that 100% of the fully developed characters in this one are men. susan carol is (sort of) faintly outlined as little more than an object of desire (and a preacher's daughter! blech!). the only other female is the journalist wife of stevie's newspaper columnist mentor--she does little other than ogle billy joel and write newspaper pieces based on stevie's scoops. in the end i relaxed and let myself hate it.

[Whitney Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cover Up is a fast pace book about, the Super Bowl. Two 14 year olds, Susan Carol and Stevie have another case, involving 5 players using the steroids HGH, but Mr.Meeker tries to stop them, can Susan Carol and Stevie fight back and finally stop him. I highly recommend this sports mystery, read this to find out

[Miles Kee · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, one of my favorite parts was the Eddie Brennan-Darin Kerns relationship. They were former teammates in high school, and now are playing against each other in the Super Bowl. This was good for Stevie, as Eddie used his friendship with Darin to bail him out of a tough situation. In all, this was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes sports or news writing.

[Viola Sung · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending was a little too rushed :(
Didn't really know why happened to Meeker in the end even though we could guess, but still a unfinished ending...

[Varun Narumanchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book, Cover-Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl, is a fictional book written by John Feinstein that was published on August 14th, 2007. The story begins with two teen reporters, Susan Carol and Steve Thomas, who work for USTV(a sports television network). Steve, however, is fired as he isn’t as popular as Susan, and is replaced by a former boy band member with no sports knowledge, named Jamie Whitsitt. Steve is devastated by this, as they were about to go cover the Super Bowl and he wouldn’t be able to attend due to his firing. However, he gets a call from his friend and writer for the Baltimore Herald and is hired by them to write at the Super Bowl. During Super Bowl week in Indianapolis, it starts pretty normal, with Steve and Susan doing their own reporting work. However, at a party for her network, Susan is confronted by a drunken team doctor for one of the teams, California Dream, and he mistakenly reveals that 5 players on the Dream had failed drug tests for a performance-enhancing drug called HGH. Even worse, the owner of the Dreams fully knew this and covered it up to keep the players on the team. Now it is up to Susan and Steve to try and prove this story and expose the Dream for the cheats that they are. Will they be able to do this? Can they possibly change the outcome of the game with this astronomical news? Find out by reading this thrilling sports mystery book. The book doesn’t have a specific time frame but does take place in Indianapolis, as this is where the Super Bowl was to be played, and exists in this world, making references to real celebrities and football players. In my opinion, the selling point to this book is the suspense of the book. After Susan finds out about the failed drug tests, I was glued to the book, wanting to find out what Steve and Susan would do with the information. Plus, being a sports fan and having an interest in mystery novels, this book was the perfect fit for me. The only warning I would have for people looking to read this book is that the beginning is slow, as they introduce the characters and set up the situation for Super Bowl week. People might also think that lacking football knowledge would make this book boring or confusing to read, but I feel this is a book almost anyone could read. There aren’t too many football references, as most of the book follows Steve's reporting. My biggest takeaway from the book is the theme that not everything is what it seems. In the book, while everyone is going on with the Super Bowl festivities, going through the motions building up to the Super Bowl, there’s something huge going on in the background. That thing is the case Susan and Steve are following, that could turn the whole league upside down. So, while it seemed like a normal Super Bowl, there was much more going on that almost no one knew about.

[Jacob Stemler · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You won’t get away with this, Meeker! You’re going down- everyone is going to know you’re a liar and a cheat!” yelled Stevie as the owner of the California Dreams, Don Meeker walked out the door with his bodyguards. Stevie Thomas is a teenage reporter for the CBS Sports News and Washington Herald. He was asked to report about players playing in the Super Bowl, but him and his friend Susan Carol stumbled upon something much bigger than them....
Susan Carol, who works for USTV was at an after party when someone walked up to her. An obviously intoxicated man who introduced himself as Dr. Snow tried to talk to her when she said go away, when Dr. Snow said something that raised her interest. He said, “I’m the Dreams’ team doctor, and without me, none of these players would even play.” Interested, Susan Carol asked more about what he meant, and he talked about painkillers and things. Susan Carol then asked about the legality of the drugs and Snow soundly responded, “Nothing that comes out of my needle gets players suspended.” Interested, she asked, “What gets players suspended nowadays anyway?” and Dr.Snow went on about HGH, Human Growth Hormone, the “preferred drug of champions.” Susan asked, “Whats the big deal about it?” Dr.Snow leaned closer and said, “What if I told you that not everyone that tested positive got suspended?” Susan Carol called Stevie and told him about what had happened. They told Bobby Kelleher and Mary Tamara, friends who worked at the Washington Herald and the National Inquirer. They told them that they should talk to Eddie Brennan, the Quarterback of the Dreams who Stevie had an interview with earlier. The next day, Stevie asked Eddie about the situation. He stopped in his tracks, looked around and asked, “How do you know?” Stevie then told him about Snow. Eddie got in contact with Bob Arcierio, another team doctor, and they talked. Arcierio said he might be able to get lab results for the Dreams, but not for three days. The superbowl was in two.
It was game day, and Stevie and Susan Carol had to watch the cheats play. Until Jamie Whitsitt, also working for USTV came to Susan and Stevie and told them about something that happened. He held out a tape and told them about how when he was sitting in the recording room, Don Meeker, the owner of the Dreams, and Mike Shupe, the owner of USTV told him to leave because they were going to have a meeting. He came back later because he forgot his recorder, and he realized it was still recording! He listened to it and it had video evidence of Shupe and Meeker talking about paying off doctors about the positive tests! They showed to Commissioner Nelson of the NFL, and saved the day by suspending the Dreams who cheated.

[Zach Meyer]

Imagine being a sports reporter at like 14 years old and getting to travel all the time, meet sports legends, and even getting to be on television all the time. Being able to talk privately with the players at the super bowl is crazy. This is what Stevie and Susan Carol get to do all the time. Susan Carol and Stevie are dating each other and she’s a couple years older than him. Anyways, imagine coming upon a mystery that may change the football player’s lives and even football itself. Susan Carol and Stevie have to solve a mystery that may make them hated or make them incredible human beings. This book will make you think that you are a reporter with Susan Carol and Stevie, and will force you to make tough decisions. That is what makes this book so captivating is how it makes you feel like a reporter.

One of the things I enjoyed about this book was how suspenseful it was. Susan Carol and Stevie have come upon a mystery that may ruin the super bowl if solved. Susan Carol and Stevie asked a key player if he knew anything about it, and he told them how did you find out? Susan Carol explained to him how she found out and he began to freak out. Throughout this book, Susan Carol and Stevie keep getting closer and closer on solving this mystery. They continue to meet up with each other and come up with ideas on how to solve the mystery and if they should give it to the media. This is why it’s so suspenseful, because you don’t know what’s gonna happen next or if they will solve the mystery. Also, if the mystery gets out to the media the super bowl will be in jeopardy.

Another thing that I enjoyed about this book was how detailed it was. For example, when Susan Carol and Stevie met up with the key player on this mystery it told us what the key player was wearing. The key player had to wear something that wouldn’t get him caught for talking to these kids all the time. The key player was wearing the opposite team’s sweatshirt, had a hat on, and had glasses on so nobody could recognize him. Also, early on in the book it explained to us the pain that Stevie felt when he was released by the television company. The pain that he felt was also felt by the reader, which made me cheer for him every time that something good happened to him or something bad happened to that television company.

Cover - Up was one of those books that completely took me over. Once I started reading it I didn’t want to stop. Overall, this book was about relationships and challenges that certain characters had to overcome. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves sports or even people that want a book that’s very suspenseful.

[Giana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would've been a nice, one sitting read if I didn't listen to the audiobook. I liked the narrator of the audiobook. That does not impact my rating.

I was recommended Feinstein by my aunt as a fun sports story so I didn't really think it was going to be a middle grade book, but I assume it was. It features 14-year-olds that don't really act like real 14-year-olds; rather like middle schoolers in media for middle schoolers. It was odd hearing "blank" in place of expletives (and then hearing the word "ass" a couple sentences later) and having the kid be so shocked by the words (I was a very sheltered kid and even I wasn't aghast and offended like Stevie was if I heard an adult curse a lot). The characters were very black and white, good and bad (literally called "good guys" and "bad guys" throughout) and I got very frustrated with the kids' naivety regarding the politics surrounding drug use in the NFL. Their black and white worldview starting irritating me; they were acting like these guys killed people or sabotaged the other team when they simply used HGH (for the record, I do not advocate steroid use in professional athletes, but I do understand why they do it and I don't think it deserves the indignation that it was received with by the kids). They were so "holier-than-thou" and I really couldn't stand it. I was also frustrated with them constantly being shocked when things happened exactly the way they were told it was going to happen like when Eddie said he'd be blacklisted if he ratted out his teammates (they had the exact same conversation at least seven times), or when the girl (sorry I forget her name) was told she'd be painted as a loose partier in order to attempt to discredit her (she was warned at least twice and was still very shocked and upset when it actually happened) .

I also should be mad at how easily this kid got good with CBS or how everything happened upon him, but honestly it worked in a very middle grade way.

Very frustrated with how Stevie treated Jamie and how Susan Carol (?) interacted with him, but it tracked with a 14-year-old so I'll let it pass. I really would've liked less romance in my sports mystery, but that's just me I guess.

[Thomas Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

My book is called Cover Up by John Fienstien. It is set in Indianapolis where the super bowl between the Ravens and the Dreams is being played. The main characters are Stevie Thomas who left the sports show on USTV who is replaced by Jamie. The other main character is Susan Carol who was Stevie’s partner before he left. I found the book in the library and thought it would be interesting to me.

My book starts with Stevie Thomas who is 14 years old and works as an investigative journalist for USTV along with Susan Carol. Stevie gets replaced on the show by singer Jamie Whishitt and goes to the Washington Herald but still does work behind the scenes on a case with a super bowl team and their use of performance enhancing drugs. The two get inside information from Eddie Brennan who plays for the team and he tells them there were drug tests that owner Don Meeker covered up so no one would find out. Meeker paid the doctors to cover up the drug test results. Main news stations speculate about this but none of it ever comes to light. In the super bowl Jamie Whishitt leaves his tape recording in Meekers suite.In the tape Meeker is heard admitting to covering up the scandal. Stevie releases it and Meeker is fired from his job.

I thought this book ended appropriately but not as suspensefully as I would have liked. I feel like if you read the book you knew what the end of it would look like. I do like how it was a good ending however with the protagonists reaching their goal at the end of the book. My favorite part of the book is when Stevie and Susan confront the owner for the first time and he gets really upset then gets into a fight with the commissioner.

I really enjoyed this book. It had a really good plot and never got too complicated. The characters were also well established throughout the entirety of the story. I recommend this book to anyone who is not an avid reader and is interested in sports and mystery.

[Braden Consaul · Rating 3 out of 5]

During the mystery novel, Cover-Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl, by John Feinstein, two 14 year old reporters, Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol, set to the task of reporting the Super Bowl. They were co-hosts for USTV until Stevie was fired and replaced by singer Jamie Whitsitt. He was then hired by the Washington Herald and given the Super Bowl assignment. Susan was extremely angry but stayed with USTV for her salary. Stevie goes to the Hoosier Dome. His story is with the equipment manager for the Ravens, Darin Kerns. In high school, Darin played with Eddie Brennan, The Dreams quarterback. Stevie interviews them both on their time playing together. Later that night Susan calls him and tells him the five offensive lineman on the Dreams we found to be taking a human growth hormone. This was being covered up so none of the players got suspended for the Super Bowl. Both Susan and Stevie work hard to expose the story to the public and get the players suspended for the game. They are faced with many obstacles; like being kidnapped by Dr. Snow, a doctor for the Dreams who is trying to cover the drug tests up.

I gave Cover-Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl a three star review because I thought that the plot was interesting but at the same time the development was a little boring and quite scattered. The novel does a good job of illustrating the task of being a reporter through the eyes of two 14 year olds. The voice of the narrator is extremely unique. The narrator tells the story through the eyes of a fourteen year old, but at the same time their thoughts and dialogue are very mature and are something that you would not expect from the two kids. For example, "She had to put on her full Southern accent," she shows very mature tactics to sweet talk older men. These are things that you would normally not expect from a young lady. Although it was very interesting, I thought that the plot, at some times, jumped around quite a bit. At some points in the story, the events felt very unrealistic. First off, fourteen year olds are usually not reporters for one of the biggest sports events. Secondly, doctors do not usually kidnap young kids for exposing a story. That is the only problem that I had with the novel. Other than that, I enjoyed it. I liked how it dove into the world of sports from a different point of interest than normal.

[Damico · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I am reviewing is Cover-Up Mystery at the Super Bowl, which has a lexile range of 780. The author of the book is John Feinstein, who is also the author of other fantastic books such as Last Shot. Cover-Up Mystery at the Super Bowl is about two fourteen year old sport reporters that are invited to the superbowl to report information to CBS, Herald, and USTV. Days before the super bowl Susan Carol and Steve Thomas figure out that five offensive lineman from the Dreams team have failed their doping test and that the Dreams organization has been covering it up, not allowing the NFL to know. Susan Carol and Steve Thomas are on a mission to catch the bad guys and make sure they can’t play in the super bowl.
Cover-Up Mystery at the Super Bowl is written in third person point of view. This allows readers to know what many other characters say and how they feel. Since this book has two main characters, third person point of view really helps the readers to really get to know each one. These two characters are Steve Thomas and Susan Carol. They are invited to the Super Bowl to write for the Herald, CBS, and USTV. On their once in a life-time trip at the Super Bowl they crack important news. The Dreams organizations has five offensive lineman that failed their doping test and the organization is trying to hide the news. They believe the right thing to do would be to try to get the information out to the media and the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Even though they know that they will get hate from many players and friends, this doesn’t change their idea of doing the right thing. I’d say the theme of this book is to do the right thing no matter what people think, say, and will do. That the right thing will always leave to success and you will end up feeling positive about yourself. This theme develops over the two characters, Steve and Susan Carol, by how their attitude changed from not wanting to crack the secret first , to doing the right thing at cracking the secret.” It’s the best thing to do. Who cares what the media and whoever will think. It’s the best thing to do to make sure the right outcome happens.” This quote came out of the book on page 143 when Steve Thomas was telling Susan Carol what they should do. A incident in the book that also really persuaded them to tell the information about the failed doping test was when the Dream’s owner, Meeker, has some encounters with Steve Thomas and saying “You’re just a kid, you’re not a really reporter.” This affected not just Steve but Susan Carol because they start to become really close friends over their trip
Yes, I would recommend this book to other readers. Mainly if you love the sport of football and or reporting because those two are huge things in this book. I enjoy this book because it goes from one problem of solution to another solution of a problem. And John Feinstein kind of creates these characters and some sort of a investigators. They walk around, find stories to write about, and try to make the right thing happen. Even though this book introduces a lot of characters it was some what easy to understand mainly because of the word choice the author uses.This book was not predictable at all because John Feinstein sometimes leaves out little facts/ideas that he uses at the end to be able to expand the story. Right when I read the hardcover part of the book I found a connection to the “deflategate” in which the New England Patriots were accused of making the game balls with less pressure which would help the QB. Tom Brady, New England Patriots QB, would be suspended for the first four games of the 2015-16 NFL football season.

[Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of the book is the cover up and it was published by John Fienstien. The main setting is in Indianapolis where they were holding the Superbowl. The main characters in the book are Steve Thomas, a fourteen year old boy and Susan Carol, a fourteen year old girl. I found this book while I was looking for an interesting sports book to read and this fit what I was looking for.

At the beginning of the book it starts off with Stevie being fired while Susan stayed at USTV. After that Stevie was getting a job at CBS and the Washington Herald to report on the Super Bowl. Stevie after doing some interviews that there is an HGH scandal with one of the team's offensive lineman so he tells Susan. They figure out that Don Meeker, the team's owner, was behind the scandal and covering it up. So after Meekers team won the Super Bowl, Stevie and Susan exposed him for the whole scandal.

I think that this book had a good ending and wrapped up nicely. It was not the most shocking ending of the books that I read, but it gave a good ending that the book was built towards. It gave good endings to the good characters and bad ones to the evil characters. My favorite part was when Steve walked through the locker and exposed Don Meeker for who he really is.

My personal opinion is that it is a good book not the best I have read but a good book anyways. Similar books are some of some other sports book writers like Mike Lupica. If you are interested in sports, mainly football this is a good book to read.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teenage sports reporters, both age fourteen, Steve Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson have already made a name for themselves when they solved mysteries at the NCAA Final Four and at the U. S. Tennis Open. They have their own cable sports show called Kid Sports and so have a significant following. However, the higher powers decide that Steve is not quite the flash that they need, so he is replaced by a pop singer.
The Super Bowl is taking place in Indianapolis and both reporters are present and are covering it as credentialed journalists. One of the teams is the California Dreams and they learn that the entire offensive line of the Dreams failed their latest drug tests. The owner of the team is a very rotten person and is trying to keep this information from coming out. He is so nasty that he even has his bodyguards attempt to intimidate Steve and Susan Carol.
However, like all good reporters, they are not deterred from pursuing what could be the sports story of the year. They are aided by some significant allies in the print and electronic media as well as some people in the sports world that simply want to do the right thing.
This is a story where the reader has to very quickly suspend a great deal of disbelief. However, if you can do that, and it is really not all that hard, then the story is extremely entertaining. In many ways, the basic level of disbelief is not beyond what is necessary to enjoy Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books. It is a book that appeals to people of age 10 and above.

[Gage Brinker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The genre/vibes of this book is sports and a young adult read.

Summary: "Cover Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl" by John Feinstein is a sports-themed mystery. The story revolves around two teenage reporters, Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson, who get the opportunity to cover the Super Bowl for their newspaper. However, things take a mysterious turn when a key player from one of the teams is reported missing just days before the big game.As Stevie and Susan investigate, they discover a web of lies and cover-ups surrounding the player's disappearance. The young journalists face opposition from powerful forces that will stop at nothing to keep the truth from coming out. The suspense builds as Stevie and Susan race against time to uncover the truth and ensure that justice is served.

Overall, I did enjoy reading this book. Reading perspective from 2 high schoolers was cool because it felt like it was relatable. Although being allowed media access as a teenager is not realistic in our real world, the book’s plot still seemed interesting. I enjoyed that it also threw in a little bit of mystery into the story. I would recommend this book to high schoolers interested in sports, who are looking for an easy read. I rate this book a 5/5.

[John Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book was a little to long for me.Besides that I think that it was a great book.It was about people filming and watching the super bowl.The super bowl was at a field.The field is called The tuff field.There was huge stands at the field.The stands can hold 82,000 people.A daily TV show was casting about the super bowl.It had 2,000 media numbers.On each team there are 53 players on every team in the NFL.Two characters named meeker and Steve were having a contest to see who can give the most amount of money to charity.This character named Donny.Donny is a Judge in a court.Stevie recognized this man right away as this character named rogers Goodall, the commission of the NFL.He didn’t want his owners yelling profanities at a reporter in front of the room full of media.This character named Susan carol.Stevie and Susan carol which was talking to Matt Damon.She was wearing high heels,with dark-colored dress.A character named kelleher had pointed out at dinner that Saturday was usually a long and boring day of the super bowl week.So I really hope that you can realize that this book is pretty good.Thank you for reading.

[Brenan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One team gets cheated out of the biggest game of the year and you have control of the justice of the situation. The “cover up” is about two teen reporters/ game analyzers who have solved sports related mysteries or crimes multiple times in the past. What makes this book different from all the other books in this series is a very large challenge. This time they get split up because of a TV programs decision.they are forced to both still work but instead of working together they are working in different places for different people and they are working on different things. This limits their ability to work together and communicate. After the Super Bowl week has started they are both there and as the female teenager is at an after party there is a problem that is introduced to her by an intoxicated man who is a higher representative from one of the teams in the Super Bowl. From that point forwarded they struggle to finally get justice for the team that is being cheated out of a Super bowl. Overall I enjoyed this book a lot because it was very easy to stay focused on and the author; John Feinstein did very well with making me constantly want to read more.

[Dakota · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cover Up, a book by John Feinstein was such a good book. It has drama and romance all over the place. John Feinstein (a regular commentator for National Public Radio and Sporting News Radio) has written many bestselling sports-related books, including LAST SHOT, an Edgar Award winner. Like his previous efforts, COVER-UP provides an almost nonfiction-like behind-the-scenes look into another aspect of the sports world, this time football.

The book is about to kid reporters named Stevie and Susan, who become famous uncovering mysteries at major sports events such as Women's Golf Open, the Men's Tennis open, and the Men's Final Four. They seem to always get themselves into trouble at sports event though go to uncovering some of sport's biggest secrets.But nothing compares to this story that break wide open.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

My book was about stevie and susan carol, and they find out one of the teams at the super bowl, and there are people stopping them, such as don meeker. A big event is when STUV comes to stevie and says that he is fired for no reason, but he still gets payed.
My favorite part of the book was when stevie confronts don meeker about steroids and he starts to flip out and say ¨ he is just a kid, he does not know anything,¨ and how a kid can make a grow adult so scared for his existence, and it is super funny.
I would only recommend this book if you like sport books, and if you really like comedy and anything beyond those lines. I think it was a good book, but I did not like it because it is not my type of book.

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stevie Thomas is a fourteen-year-old sports reporter and his partner Susan Carol are assigned to write about the upcoming super bowl. The genre of This book is realistic sports fiction taking place in the modern day time. Stevie and Susan host a teen show but when Stevie's ratings go down he's replaced with a more handsome looking boy. Susan is furious threatening to quit but her contract won’t let her. She can’t imagine reporting the Superbowl without Stevie. Stevie is then hired by the Washington post and is mentored by Bobby Kelleher who edits his reports. Stevie and Susan don’t know it yet but they are about to uncover the biggest sports cover-up in the nation. I rate this book a 10 out of 10 because it was very enjoyable

[Ghaith]

Wow! I thought that this was an amazing book and I would give it a five star review. This is a great book for people that like sports and action. This book is about two kids that doing sports reporting from in and behind the scenes and they can even solve mass problems. This is also a really cool book for loving those death defying moments for if u don't know your gonna make and your just sitting there almost screaming and biting your finger nails off. It even has many good life lessons for kids to learn good things and not bad violent things, and in here they solve it the right and easiest way possible. Overall I think you should definitely give this book a try this book is really for anyone and all ages.

[Sam Tessau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre/Vibes: Realistic Fiction, Mystery, Present Time

Summary: Two 14 year old reporters go to the super bowl as writers and TV stars. They plan to spend the week enjoying the atmosphere and game with their mentors. When they stumble into a lot of trouble and a big story, everything goes wrong. They learn of a cover up of drug test results which would change the whole course of the super bowl.

My Thoughts: I thought this was a great read. It was a very simple read and flowed very well. There weren't any slow parts to it, and even if you don't know a lot or enjoy sports very much it is still a good read. The book follows the characters instead of the sports. I felt like John did a great job of helping the reader understand each character.

[Carsen U · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot, but I wouldn't say it's my favorite book. This book is about two teenagers who are young reporters for sports. One gets fired and is hired by the washington herald. and they work against each other. They end up working together on a drug cover up story. My personal favorite part is the middle where they are investigating this cover up and are figuring out new things every day. I would recommend this book to people who like sports books, because this one really captures that feel but with a twist.

[Dylan Eckles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cover-up, by John Feinstein, is a fascinating book. There are 2 young journalists, Stevie and Susan Carol. They discover there is a possible case of Human Growth Hormone with players in the Super Bowl. Their job is to interview the workers for both teams in the Super Bowl and to find out what is happening, without making it suspicious.

I really enjoyed this book. The start was a little slow, but once the book got going, it became very entertaining. The mystery of the HGH and finding out who took it, and when, was one of the best parts of the book, in my opinion.

[Robert Paulsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out very confusing to me. Maby this was because I haven't read the other books before this one but is was confusing. I also thought this book was going to be about football but it was a journalist book. It was also wired because it named everyone by their first and their last names.