Good reading for 6th grade, 11 year old grandson. ( )

A 12-year-old halfback with a huge passion for football fights to keep his team on the field.
Will Tyler keeps reliving the final play of the previous year’s championship, when his team came so close before his fumble caused the loss to their well-heeled rivals across the river. Unfortunately, budget cuts may keep the town from fielding his team this year. Like other manufacturing towns, Forbes, Pa., has lost jobs and businesses that might sponsor a sports team. Will takes a chance, writes to a national company and comes up with the funds to keep the team going. That was almost the easy part: The team no longer has a coach, former players are not interested and skepticism abounds. One of the few who want to play is Hannah, a new girl in town with great ability and as much grit as Will. For Will’s dad, who has agreed to coach, and his teammates, this is nearly a deal-breaker. Sports-loving readers will identify with Will, whose heart and determination leap off the page. His budding friendship with Hannah rings true and contributes to his growth on and off the field. The relationship between Will and his widowed dad provides an emotional touchstone, while the desperation of a small town trying to hang on permeates the story.

The Underdogs by Mike Lupica is about a twelve-year old named Will Tyler. Will is a running back for the team in his town. The genre of this book is realistic fiction. Whenever Will gets the football handed off to him by the quarterback, it is hard to stop him.
Will Tyler is the main character in this book. The team he plays for doesn't have a lot of money to fund them to get uniforms, helmets, field maintenance, emergency services and insurance. Without these things the football team cannot be run. Throughout the book, Will tries to find funding for team and give everyone in the town a reason to believe in the town team. The town isn't poor, but they just don't have enough money to finance all the teams for the town.
I felt this was a really good book for a topic like football. A book about sports can be hard sometimes to keep entertaining, but every book I've read from Mike Lupica has been outstanding. This is definitely been one of his best books. Throughout the book it was well-written and kept my attention very well. I like the story and how it was intense in some parts of the book. Overall, I highly suggest any sports fans should read this book.

Will Tyler may not be the biggest running back around, but no one can touch him when it comes to hitting the hole and finding the end zone. And no one can match his love of the game. When Will has a football in his hand, life can't touch him - his dad isn't so defeated, his town isn't so poor, and everyone has something to cheer for. All of which does him no good if the football season is canceled. With no funding for things like uniforms and a maintained playing field and with every other family moving to find jobs, there's just not enough money or players for a season. It's up to Will to rally the town and give everyone a reason to believe. ( )

Will Tyler loves football, and he can play. But his seventh grade football season is in jeopardy when his town doesn't have enough money to fund the team. Will Tyler doesn't want to let something like money stop him from playing, but what about finding enough players for the team? And his team needs a coach. There is plenty of sports lingo in this title to satisfy the young sports fanatic. I had never read one of Lupica's books before, but during summer months it feels like I am constantly showing boys where they are located in the library. After listening to this book, I can see why they like them. There was a surprising amount of emotion in this book, including a hard confrontation between father and son. I see boys being the primary reader of this title, though girls into sports may enjoy it as well. This is a title for the sports fan. The youngest I would go with this book is about 4th grade. SLJ put this book at 4th-7th grade. While I can see 7th graders enjoying this book, primarily I see kids around 4th and 5th grade reading books by Lupica.