Roughnecks [Hardcover]

Thomas Cochran (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997

With the whole town watching, Travis Cody prepares for the most important football game of his life. He’ll have forty-eight minutes to prove he isn’t a quitter and to redeem himself for letting Grooms break him on the play that cost the Roughnecks an undefeated regular season. And as Travis says, football is about lining up against somebody and finding out who can and who can’t, who’s a winner and who’s a loser. It’s about facing--and defining--the truth about yourself. “A promising debut: thematically complex, strongly written.”--Kirkus Reviews

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Time passes, and it's impossible to call a time-out in the middle of life. Travis Cody learns many of these lessons on the football field, head-to-head against the competition. Is he a winner or a loser? A single play could change the whole texture of his life--or could it? In his brilliant debut novel, Thomas Cochran takes us out on the gridiron and inside the mind of Travis Cody, a high-school senior preparing for the most important game of his life. With the whole town of Oil Camp watching his performance on the field, Travis may find the courage to learn an even bigger lesson: defining the truth is more important than simply facing it.

From Publishers Weekly

Preparing to face his nemesis in the state football championship, a boy hopes to redeem a former loss in this "uplifting" book; PW called the "colorful Louisiana setting and day-in-the-life format... a winning combination." Ages 12-up. (Apr.)r
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152014330
• ISBN-13: 978-0152014339
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,405,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars High School Football, November 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Roughnecks (Paperback)

A Review by Justice

Travis Cody is a senior at Oil Camp High school and is a Nose guard on the Roughneck football team. The Roughnecks are ranked second in league, with only one loss.
This loss was to Pineview when Travis was flattened by a Pineview Pelican named Grooms. The day comes for the championship game and Travis will be up against Grooms for the second time. Finally Travis has a chance to prove himself, to his team, to his family, to the college scouts, and to himself.

I really liked this book. It was very realistic and understandable. Mostly, it reminded me of my experiences with football. I found that I could really relate to this book and the characters in it. Sometimes I found myself laughing about things that had also happened to me, or to things that characters say that I have heard my coaches also say. Some things that I disliked are how the main character kept having flashbacks to past events and experiences in his life. This sometimes was confusing and out of context, but it did help understand where Travis was coming from. It helped you understand about how some things mean to him. Lastly this book took placer over just one day and, despite some slow parts, was mostly interesting and flowed well.

I would recommend this book to people who like and partially understand football. A person that would love this book is someone who is playing or who has played high school football. If you don't like football and know nothing about it you may not like this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My Thoughts, November 2, 2000

By 

Tyler Sprain (IA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roughnecks (Paperback)

This book is good because it seems to bring out the the real life of high school football. The main character is just like a normal teenager. He worries like every normal teen, but never gives up. I would recommend this book to any one who has any slight interest in the game of football.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars quick reading for sports fans, June 19, 2000

By 

twilliam (Williamsburg, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roughnecks (Paperback)

This book is a recent Virginia Young Reader's selection for the 2000-2001 school year, and has a lot to offer...the narrative is first person, like a lot of novels for teens(especially sports novels), but what I really liked was the fact that the story is told from the point of view of a lineman, not the star quarterback or running back...those guys get all the publicity, so this was a great change.

The course of the book covers 1 day in the life of Travis as he prepars fot the state championship(of course) football game against(of course)thier arch rival from Pineview.

Despite the state championship, and the arch rivals, this book will keep you on your toes, just wondering if Travis can come out on top...I just loved the ending and can picture the final score in my mind even now!

If you liked this book, try _Bull Catcher_ by Alden Carter, also a Virginia Young Reader selection for 2000-2001.