Knights of the Hill Country

Knights of the Hill Country by Tim Tharp

From the back cover-

Welcome to Kennisaw - where Friday-night High school football ranks next to God and country and sometimes even comes in first. This year, the Kennisaw knights are going for thier fifth straight undefeated season, and if they succeed, they'll be legends.

But the knights' legacy is a heavy weight to carry for linebacker Hampton Green, on the field, he's so in control you'd think he could stop time. His life off the field is a different story: His father walked out years ago, and now his Mom has a new boyfriend every week. He's drawn to a girl at school who is exactly the type a star athlete isn't susposed to get involved with. Meanwhile, his cocky teammate and best friend, Blaine, is struggling to hold on to a star status that's slipping away. And he's demanding Hampton's loyalty even as Hampton senses he's losing control.

This is the unforgettable story of a boy who must summon the strenght to choose what kind of man he wants to become.

Football in the United States has a very glorified position in high school sports, and I'm sure many of you have watched the likes of Friday Night Lights etc. so you'll have that understanding of how football rules life at some highschools. This book captures that very essence and more as a young man discovers that he is more than just on label "football".

It's interesting how I heard about this book, a librarian wanted to get the word out about reading and great books to a larger audience at her school, so she started travelling to away games with the football team. As they rode the bus, she would read aloud from Knights of Hill Country. The guys on the team enjoyed the book and also commented that they felt that being read to helped calm their nerves on the way to game. Now that's taking it to the next level!

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