The Walk On (The Triple Threat, 1)

THE WALK ON: THE TRIPLE THREAT-BOOK 1 By John Feinstein Alfred A Knopf, New York, 2014 ISBN 978-0-385-753348-7 (ebook) Paperback: $7.99 This is the first of The Triple Threat Series about Alex Myers, a high school freshman who had to change schools because his parents are divorcing. Alex is a star athlete who has to prove himself at his new school. This story is about football and his trials as a triple string quarterback. Here is the opening paragraph: “Twelve is taken. Make the team and then you can worry about a number. But you aren’t going to get twelve.” Alex Myers was standing in front of the equipment cage in the locker room at Chester Heights High School. School didn’t open for another week, but football season began on the last Friday in August, so tryouts and practice started early. Alex had two days to show coaches that a freshman should be practicing with the varsity. He is a new small fish in a strange and larger pond. He is trying to adjust to life without his dad and the friends he had to leave when he moved with his mom and his sister. He is a nice guy who has to ride around on a bicycle because he is only fourteen and isn’t old enough to drive. I have a weakness for sports stories. The characters are always well described and have clearly stated goals. They want to win, make the team, and get the girl. I love clearly stated character goals. The writing was well done. The game action was well written and kept the pace going. The dialogue was believable for the characters. Here is an example of the action description: Alex stepped up. He noticed that Coach Hillier had Jonas ninth in line, meaning he would be Alex’s third and last receiver. Alex took the toss that Coach Hillier was making to start each play-sort of a standing snap-then dropped back a couple of steps and easily targeted the 45-yard line, the ball dropping gently into the receiver’s hands. Coach Hillier looked at him and just said, “Nice,” in a voice so soft Alex was pretty sure he was the only one who could hear it.” If you like action, you’ll like this story. If you like suspense, you’ll like this story. If you like stories about high school sports, you’ll like this story. Not only that, you’ll like the other two in the series. I give this story a five out of a possible five. I like all three things: action, suspense, and sports stories. I like rooting for the underdog, the third string quarterback who is new in school and wants to make the team. I’m not going to tell you if he gets the girl.

Finding books that my 13-year-old son will read was difficult until I found Feinstein. His books keep my son engaged and off of the video games.

My 11 year old grandson loves these books. I have purchased the series for him. He is not a "bookworm" like his Grammy, but these books have grabbed his interest. Thank you, John Feinstein!

Good yarn, nicely paced with a likeable protagonist, real teen situations and a good message. Looking forward to book two of the series.

well written, enjoyed the characters and feel good story. good book for anybody even if not a football fan. enjoy

bought the book for my stepson who is not a reader. He did read this book and enjoyed it. Hopefully we have a new reading habit in our house.

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My son loves this author. Easy to read and engaging. Looking forward to purchasing other books in this series.