Customer Reviews

Crackback

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CRACKBACK aptly describes the action on and off the field in this debut novel by John Coy. A crackback block comes from the outside and it can destroy you if you're not careful. Miles Manning, a junior and a star football player, is blindsided by some crushing blows that seem to come out of nowhere.

Miles is under a lot of pressure. He is a starter on a winning football team that is favored to win the conference and have a chance to go to state. Everyone is pressuring Miles to be bigger, stronger and faster, including his pushy new head coach, his demanding father, and his best friend. They all expect more of Miles than he may be able to deliver. When he finds out that his best friend is willing to do anything to win, including taking steroids, Miles must decide where he stands.

Woven into the plot are details about a long-hidden family secret that explains why Miles's father expects so much of him. If his junior year isn't tough enough, he also has to navigate the rocky waters of teenage romance. His friends have ideas of who he should go out with, but Miles has to decide who is really right for him.

John Coy, who is both a teacher and a writer, obviously knows football, and CRACKBACK is filled with nail-biting drama from the football field. The novel, written in first person, made me feel like I was in each game --- even though I've never played football in my life. Football fans will pass a copy of this great catch to their friends when they finish it!

--- Reviewed by Renee Kirchner ([...])

I loved crackback by John Coy. It is about a teen, Miles Manning, who is a very skilled football player, but when a new coach steps in he has to make very difficult desisions. Some decisions include taking steriods with his best friend, doing things the coach's way, and hanging out with girls. Miles' dad was always very hard on him about football,school, and girls. Later on in the story Miles is shocked to find out he had an older brother that died as a baby. By telling Miles this, him and his dad become closer to eachother. It's the last game of the season and there up by one. Miles is supposed to stay back and cover for the fake, but instead goes for the block and wins the game, sending the Eagles to the playoffs. Even though they won, Coach Stahl is mad because Miles didnt listen and he gets benched for the the playoffs. Uaually Miles' dad would yell at him for not listening to the coach, but now he acctually sides with miles on this one, and everything turns out well. I higly suggest reading this book.

Finally, authors are trying to relate to young men! This book occurs in a current high school setting and deals with a few of the problems young men actually face in today's world. The main character, Miles, is a star football player as a junior when his world begins to change. His best friend since elementary school begins taking steriods to improve his football performance and pressures Miles to do the same. The head coach has to quit, because he has cancer and can no longer coach while going through treatments. The assistant coach takes over with a completely different philosophy of coaching, and Miles finds himself on the fast track to becoming a scrub player--standing and watching instead of playing. Miles develops a new friendship with another fellow scrub player, chases after his first girl, deals with persistent pimples, and other similar pressures of teenage life.
One reason I particularly liked this book is the relationship between Miles and his dad. Miles' dad seems to always pick on him and pick at him just like many real fathers do to their own sons. Towards the end of the book, the behavior of Miles' father is explained somewhat. Unfortunately, most young men in real life never learn why their own dads are so rough on them. I think this book deals with several of the hardships and dramas facing young men and really am glad to see this type of book becoming popular!

This adolescent sports fiction book is not a pleasant read as there is no tough coach that cares about his players and a big win at the end. Miles Manning is in high school and a defensive star on the football team. His father is an unemotional man that seems more determined to force Miles to be a man than to teach him how to be a man.
Miles and his friend Zach had taken a vow to abstain from alcohol, tobacco and drugs but as the season progresses they grow apart as Zach leaves the vow and begins to party and use steroids. Miles goes along tentatively at first but then refuses to continue. When the decent head coach must resign due to prostate cancer, the sadistic Sahl takes his place. The new coach is all about control, demanding complete obedience and weightlifting before school. When Miles questions some of Sahl's decisions, he is demoted to the second team, an action that has a significant negative effect on the team. Miles' father is of very little help as he mimics the coach's criticisms, showing nothing in the way of emotional support.
Fortunately, Miles makes some new friends that do not worship the god of winning football; they are soccer players and pranksters. Miles also makes friends with Lucia, a smart girl that helps Miles cope by realizing that life is a complicated struggle, but there is more to it than wins in football. Even though Miles is back on the field due to injuries and makes a spectacular play, the coach still considers control more important and permanently benches him.
Despite some difficulties, Miles learns some things about his father's past that helps him understand why he is the way he is and they do move a bit closer. The story ends with Miles in the possession of greater understanding that will serve him in the future, for he is only a junior with one more season of high school football ahead of him.
In many ways this story reflects the modern world of high school football, where winning is everything and the young men are the tools to be discarded when they are done. Performance enhancing drugs are used and the people in charge conveniently look the other way. The story ends, but not on the usual happy note, making it more realistic, which is in many ways also more modern.

Do you like books about football, family problems, or steroids? If you answered yes to this question then Crackback is the perfect book for you. Miles Manning plays football for his highschool team. He appears to be just a regular guy. He doesn't live a regular life though. His parents are always fighting and have kept an important secret from him. To make matters worse his best friend is using steroids and they are not as close as they have been, and the girl that he likes disappoints him. Mile's gets a new football coach who dislikes him and disapproves of his play. His dad, who is supposed to be supportive only makes him feel worse. Found out how Miles overcomes all of theses obstacles and finds out the secret that his parents have been keeping from him. This book was a good one because it kept my attention, was the perfect highschool football player story and it had a good lesson. John Coy hooked me with his cliffhanger chapter endings. There is a surprise around every corner. This book will keep all highschool sports players and fans wanting more. I would say that this is a guy's book but girls will also enjoy it. In conclusion Crackback was a very hard book to put down and is the perfect story about Miles and his not so perfect life.

Josh Wenger

As a debut YA effort, I can't fault John Coy's CRACKBACK for trying. In fact, it shows hints of bigger things to come, but ultimately I think this novel will please most its niche audience only -- middle school-aged boys who love football. I plan to offer it to my students who claim they don't read because reading's too boring because I think this will be of interest to them if they love playing football.

Many other young readers will be disappointed or ambivalent about this book, however, as I was. Most notable to me was the overabundance of short, simple sentences in rather large font. They actually slowed me down because I wasn't able to get into any reading rhythm due to the "staccato-like" diction. My advice to Coy would be to mix it up with some longer sentences and paragraphs now and then.

I also thought the characterizations of both the protagonist's (Miles Manning's) father and one of his coaches (Coach Stahl) were too similar and too much like cardboard cutouts of creeps. There was an attempt at the end to salvage the father, but it just didn't go over so well. The good coach (Coach Sepolski), good teacher (Mr. Halloran), good little sister (Martha) and good mother (Mom) all had small roles here, so they didn't help to distract me from the Tweedledee and Tweedledum aspects of Dad and Stahl.

The same is true for the other football players on the team -- minor roles, overall. A field goal for Coy on his knowledge of football, however. It does come across as realistic because he knows his sport. One plot development -- the issue of steroid use -- kind of fizzled after showing promise early on. Ditto the plot points surrounding evil Coach Stahl. The end on that count is as unrewarding as a tie game after overtime.

What I liked best was Miles' point of view. I enjoyed some of his "quirky" thoughts about girls, adult hypocrisy, school, gays, and the importance (or nonimportance) of winning. Miles is not a stereotype like Dad or Coach Stahl, and readers will appreciate him as a real person with genuine thoughts and problems.

Coy, already famous as a picture book author for young children, is entering the YA field for the first time with this novel. I think he shows promise and, if I were a scout at the game, I'd put a check near his name to keep an eye on future works. If you have a kid who loves football (or if you ARE a kid who loves football), buy it and enjoy it. Otherwise it might be like paying a lot of money to watch the Arizona Cardinals play "NFL" football -- a tad disappointing.

Stunning, thrilling, fascinating, phenomenal, sports, one book you don't want to put down. Crackback. What does this mean. What kind of title is this? Think about football for one moment. Plays. Tackling. Running routes. Well the title of this book means/One play so well designed that it will crush your football dreams forever.

If you are in high school and play football then you will enjoy reading this book. As an18-year-old senior in high school, Miles Manning overcomes hell. He goes through peer pressure, overcomes fights, and still manages to do good in school. Have you ever played football? Have you ever been burned in football on a play that the other team scores on every time? If the whole team was counting on you and you were so nervous that you have no time to respond, and then BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM you are the first person to stop that play. What would you feel? What would you do?

Now one screw up and back at the bottom you are. This is a book that goes up to the climax and down to the bottom of boredom. There are lots of off your seat times in this book that will surprise you. This is a great book for those football players out there. This book is a great source to good football and to having fun doing it.

The book crackback has a realistic genre. It was written by John Coy. Also it was illustated by Marijka Kostiw. You got to give them both credit for this book. Because this book is an exciting novel that keeps you focused throughout the time you read. It's a high school and sports book. So if you like sports you will love this book. The sport they are playing in this book is football. High school football is one of the best times for football. The story is revolved around a young tennager fighting for a spot on the varsity fooball team for his school. The coach got sick and a new coach came in and made his life and tough one. The coach did not like the player, and it was a hard ride thoughout the year for the player. If I was looking at this book and I was deciding if i was going to read it or not. Since I have read it I would choose to read it again. I would recomened this book to anyone that love sports and who is addicted to it and remembers high school to read this book.

Miles is your typical high school student, football player, watching the girls, and the friends he needs to impress. His dad is a controlling, over angry parent. There is no dealing with that guy. He wants Miles "man" Manning to be the best football player in the world. Anything else is a disappointment. Then one play he screws up one play and it will haunt him. His friend Zach wants him to take the "roids", but he doesn't, so Zach hates him. Then right when his life can't get worse he meets a girl.

Aaron Kellenberger


Crackback by John Coy

ISBN-13: 978-0-439-90372-1
ISBN-10: 0-439-90372-6



In the realistic fiction book Crackback Miles Manning has many ups and downs. He first ruins the perfect season because he forgot his assignment a particular play. Since he forgot that he loses his playing time. From family to coaches to his best friend want him to fix his problem somehow even if it does involve a little drug like boosts or steroids and even he will do anything to be at his best.



I really enjoyed this book because it shows it's not easy on a higher level playing field and sometimes have to involve illegal substances. I would probably recommend to guys that like football. The age group for this book is probably 6th to 8th grade. I love this genre because I love sports especially football. This book made me like sports books more because it shows what could really happen to you. I didn't think this book was boring at all it's was a fast moving book and stuck right to football for the most if not all of the book. My mind never wandered away from this book because I love sport books and it was about high school football and how serious it is on that level.