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Starred Review |
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Sophomore football star Miles is excited about his strong team’s chances in the new season. Then his favorite coach resigns, and Miles chafes under the new coach, who favors phrases such as, “This isn’t a democracy. This is a dictatorship, and I’m the Dick.” Miles feels alienated from his teammates at school, who have turned to steroids, and also at home, with his angry father. In his first novel, the author of numerous picture books, including Strong to the Hoop (1998), writes a moving, nuanced portrait of a teen struggling with adults who demand, but don’t always deserve, respect. A subplot involving a school assignment about family roots and the Middle Passage feels somewhat patched on, but Coy connects the story’s diverse elements-family secrets, his father’s rages and homophobia, a burgeoning romance, football, and shifting friendships-in a loose jumble that, like Miles’ strong first-person voice, is sharply authentic, open ended, and filled with small details that signify larger truths. For another powerful look as the emotional lives of male teens athletes, suggest A.M. Jenkins’ Damage (2001).
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—Gillian Engberg |
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Miles is excited about his junior-year football season. He knows the sport, loves playing defense and even though his father can be overbearing, he's taught Miles basic skills and how to play smart and to respect the coach. Zach, who has been Miles's best friend and teammate, is transforming himself, now. He's not just bulking up, but passing out uppers and advocating shooting up steroids as something all players do. When the regular coach steps aside, belligerent inexperienced Coach Stahl takes over and Miles has to consider carefully how important is the sport to him and how much he wants to risk. Coy obviously knows the gridiron and uses crackback, a football term meaning a block coming from the outside and behind, to symbolize all the ways sudden changes or surprises in life can throw you for a loop. Coy makes fun of the stupid clichés that surround the sport while maintaining a strong love of the game, managing to integrate girlfriends, serious social history and family dynamics seamlessly. Most of the recent quality sports fiction has focused on basketball or wrestling, which makes this extra welcome. |
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CRACKBACK aptly describes the action on and off the field in this debut novel by John Coy. A crackback block comes from the outside and it can destroy you if you're not careful. Miles Manning, a junior and a star football player, is blindsided by some crushing blows that seem to come out of nowhere.
Miles is under a lot of pressure. He is a starter on a winning football team that is favored to win the conference and have a chance to go to state. Everyone is pressuring Miles to be bigger, stronger and faster, including his pushy new head coach, his demanding father, and his best friend. They all expect more of Miles than he may be able to deliver. When he finds out that his best friend is willing to do anything to win, including taking steroids, Miles must decide where he stands.
Woven into the plot are details about a long-hidden family secret that explains why Miles's father expects so much of him. If his junior year isn't tough enough, he also has to navigate the rocky waters of teenage romance. His friends have ideas of who he should go out with, but Miles has to decide who is really right for him.
John Coy, who is both a teacher and a writer, obviously knows football, and CRACKBACK is filled with nail-biting drama from the football field. The novel, written in first person, made me feel like I was in each game—even though I've never played football in my life. Football fans will pass a copy of this great catch to their friends when they finish it!
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—Reviewed by Renee Kirchner
( You can read this review and other author
interviews online at www.teenreads.com.) |
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Coy takes the topic of football and weaves it in and out of other conflicts typical of teenage boys such as father/son relationships, girls, steroids, and realizing that there is more to life than just the game. Miles is a likable and talented player who tries to please everyone: coaches, his father, his teachers, and the girl he is interested in. Regardless of his efforts or his talents, he can't seem to satisfy his coach and winds up on the bench where he meets, and likes, the second-string players who have lives outside of football–something that has never occurred to Miles or his father. In addition, he refuses to take steroids, even though his teammates do. Through his struggles with his coach and his dad, he begins to learn that life is complicated and that answers don't always come in the form of X's and O's. The family secret that drives his father, the interesting girl who shows him that the world is a big place, and the intense, sometimes unbelievable coach who teaches him that you can't please some people, no matter what, give Miles a new, perhaps healthier, perspective. Boys will appreciate the well rounded characters and the plot that mixes sports with real life. It doesn't hurt that there is some great football action throughout.
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–Julie Webb
Shelby County High School
Shelbyville, KY
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Looksmart Education
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...Every reader is going to love Miles for his humor, his talent, and intelligence. Coy controls the story with great wit and talent himself and we look forward to his future work. (Click here for the full article.) |
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The Goddess of YA Literature
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...Coy has crafted a strong novel, replete with terrific scenes from the
playing field...
(Read the full blog entry.) |
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Chicago Public Library - Best of the Best
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 The Chicago Public Library selected CRACKBACK as one of the best books for kids published in 2005. Visit their website for a complete list.
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KLIATT
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KLIATT is a bimonthly magazine publishing reviews of paperback books, hardcover fiction for adolescents, audiobooks, and educational software recommended for libraries and classrooms serving young adults.
An archived review of CRACKBACK is available from FindArticles.com by clicking here.
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Muller in the Middle
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...Everything really changes when Miles beloved coach has to resign for medical reasons. Miles doesn't like the new coach and the new coach does not like him. For the first time in his life, Miles is no longer a starter on the team. This 201 page book is not your usual sports story, well worth reading and adding to your collection. (Read the full blog entry.) |
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–Frederick Muller
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Tandem Library Books - BookTalk!
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...This gripping look into the world of high school boys and athletes along with the father/son relationships, girls, steroids, and realizing that there is more to life than just the game is powerful and emotional. As you may expect there is some great football action throughout as Miles and his teammates struggle to be the best. Check out the entire BookTalk! list. |
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