Hit Count

“I hit him so hard, the clash of helmets and pads sounded like a gunshot across the field. I crushed him with the hit, held on to him and crushed him again when I slammed him into the ground . . . I had arrived.” Arlo Brodie loves being at the heart of the action on the football field, getting hit hard and hitting back harder. Arlo’s dad cheers him on, but his mother quotes head injury statistics and refuses to watch games. Arlo’s girlfriend tries to make him see how dangerously he’s playing; when that doesn’t work, she calls time out on their relationship.Even Arlo’s coaches begin to track his hit count, ready to pull him off the field when he nears the limit. But for Arlo the winning plays, the cheering crowds, and the adrenaline rush are enough to convince him that everything is OK--in spite of the pain, the pounding, the dizziness, and the confusion. “Powerful.” —The New York Times Book Review “Sharp.”—Sports Illustrated “Heart-pounding.” —Washington Independent Review of Books “A powerful provocative look at the dark side of popular sports and their potential cost.” —Publishers Weekly “This unflinching examination of the price of athletic power with plenty of bone-crunching play-by-play action, is both thought-provoking and formidable.” —The Horn Book Magazine A Booklist 2015 Top Ten Sports Books for Youth A Junior Library Guild Selection