Eleven year old Ben McBain loves football and has the skill and passion to be a great quarterback.  The problem – he is small.  The coach is an ex-NFL player who selects his own son Shawn to be quarterback.  The problem – Shawn is inconsistent, moody, and although he doesn’t want to disappoint his dad, does not want to be a quarterback.  Ben exhibits more maturity than most eleven year olds but the reader is drawn into the game and relationships between friends, teammates, and family.  Mike Lupica’s skill creating interesting characters incorporated with knowledge of the game results in an action packed quick read.