Running Wild - Hardcover

Dygard, Thomas J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688148530 ISBN 13: 9780688148539

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1996

Synopsis

Tough guy Pete Holman has been in and out of trouble for most of his high school career. Then he discovers football, and an exciting new world opens for him. But just when he thinks he's finally turning his life around, his old gang shows up--and jeopardizes everything. "Dygard scores again with a fast-paced story that skillfully blends exciting sports action with a realistic portrayal of the dynamics of high-school friendships."--Booklist.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

The transformation of a teenage ne'er-do-well to gridiron great is traced in this novel from Dygard (Game Plan, 1993, etc.) that could be subtitled ``Portrait of the Troubled Teen as a Fledgling Jock.'' After his bad-apple pals Jimbo and Bucky sideswipe a parked car, Pete gets collared by Officer Stowell and dragged down to the police station. He'd shown enough flair while trying to outrun the law that Officer Stowell calls up Coach Wilson of the famed Cartwright Bulldogs. The coach comes to the station and offers Pete the chance to play for the team, in exchange for his freedom. Pete agrees, reluctantly; by his second practice he shows natural talent as a receiver, and in his first game he almost single-handedly catapults the Bulldogs to victory. In this never-never land of teenage cooperation and respect, Pete is soon chugging sodas with the varsity players, who, unlike most of their real-life contemporaries, abstain form beer drinking, drugs, or any other behavior frowned upon during the Eisenhower Administration. The theft of Pete's playbook and its sale to a rival high school threaten to sink his career, but a forced confession by Jimbo, at the hands of Pete's teammates, clears the young player for future glory. Perceptive nine-year-olds might like this; older readers will find Pete's high school too white-bread and whitewashed to merit a visit. (Fiction. 9-11) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-8?Early in the novel, high-school troublemaker Pete Holman is faced with a decision: either join the football team or spend a night in jail. Given the choice, he joins the team. Soon it is discovered that Pete is a natural athlete, with the ability to be an outstanding running back. Yet the young man is torn between the need to be accepted by his old friends and the potential he sees for himself in football. By the novel's end, Pete is a star. His athletic career is nearly ruined, however, when his playbook is stolen and sold to a player on a rival team by one of his villainous friends. Things work out only when Pete's teammates rally around him, forcing the culprit to fess up. This is a standard story of redemption through sports. Pete's crimes (smoking in the boiler room, joyriding, drinking beer) may seem pretty tame by today's standards. The description of his gradual realization of his athletic skills is right on target, however. Equally effective are the accounts of the games, which are fast paced and also ring true. This is the sort of story that many young football fans will enjoy, even if it's not unique or particularly memorable.?Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0688148530
• ISBN 13: 9780688148539
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 172
• Illustrator: Weiman Jon