Game Change

by Joseph Monninger

[Sam@WLABB]

A coming-of-age tale, which evoked the quiet spirit of Friday Night Lights.



Zeb was content. He was finishing high school, helping his uncle at the shop, hunting deer with his best friend, and being the back-up QB for his high school team. Then the team's star got injured in the second to last game of the season, Zeb was suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

The responsibility of leading his team in the state championship game made Zeb take a good hard look at his life and himself. His eyes were opened to so many things, and he began exploring his future. He realized that some of the things he thought he wanted were not right for him, and he opened his mind and heart to other possibilities. He also acknowledged some things he didn't recognize as positive things in his life, and all of this showed a ton of growth.

Monninger created a super likable MC with Zeb. I was rooting for him and cheering every time he made a good decision or took a step in the right direction. I kept reading because I cared about Zeb. The book was also filled with a bunch of other colorful characters. Zeb's uncle and best friend provided a lot of humor, as well as an interesting look into the way people live in rural settings. I grew up in Brooklyn, so I found those bits very interesting. Aside from Zeb, my favorite character was Ferron. The moments she shared with Zeb on page, were among my favorites of the books.

This book was a quiet read, and really captured that tone of Friday Night Lights. It does not hit you over the head, because Zeb is not that type of guy. I don't have a problem with that approach, however, I am known for being big on endings. I think I understand the point that Monninger was making with the ending, but I will not lie, I kept swiping on my Kindle, looking for more. I get that in a quiet way, which matches the tone of the whole book, Zeb was acknowledging his life and being totally honest with himself and those around him, but I personally needed a little bit more there.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It's a nice change of pace for me and I found it to be a very thoughtful coming of age story.

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