Lone Stars

by Mike Lupica (Author)

Lone Stars
Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade
An uplifting story about role models, football, and tackling fear set in the heart of Friday Night Lights country--from the bestselling author of Heat, Travel Team, and Fantasy League.

Clay is a quarterback's dream. When he zips across the field, arms outstretched, waiting for the ball to sail into his hands, there's no denying him the catch. Like most Texans, Clay is never more at home than when playing football. And his coach, a former star player for the Dallas Cowboys, is just like a second father.

But as the football season kicks off, Clay begins to notice some odd behavior from his coach--lapses in his memory and strange mood swings. The conclusion is painful, but obvious: Coach Cooper is showing side effects of the many concussions he sustained during his playing days. As Clay's season wears on, it becomes clear that the real victory will be to help his coach walk onto that famous star logo in the middle of Cowboys Field one last time--during a Thanksgiving day ceremony honoring him and his former Super Bowl-winning teammates.

In Lone Stars, #1 New York Times bestseller Mike Lupica demonstrates once again that there is no children's sports novelist today who can match his ability to weave a story of vivid sports action and heartfelt emotion. A touching story that proves life is bigger than a game.

Praise for Lone Stars

Lupica has crafted another fine sports story for the middle school reader.--VOYA

Young readers, no matter their level of interest in the game, will be drawn in by this touching, timely story.--Booklist

There is plenty of great football action to keep the sports enthusiasts engaged, and the information about concussive injury is easily understood and applied. This is an entertaining read that also imparts an important message.--School Library Connection
Select format:
Paperback
$8.99

Review quotes

"Lupica has crafted another fine sports story for the middle school reader."—VOYA

"Young readers, no matter their level of interest in the game, will be drawn in by this touching, timely story."—Booklist

"There is plenty of great football action to keep the sports enthusiasts engaged, and the information about concussive injury is easily understood and applied. This is an entertaining read that also imparts an important message."—School Library Connection

Praise for Mike Lupica

"Lupica is the greatest sports writer for middle school readers."—VOYA on True Legend

"Lupica has the knowledge of the game and the lean prose to make a taut, realistic story not just about the game but about heart, character, and family."—Kirkus Reviews on Travel Team

"The dialogue crackles, and the rich cast of supporting characters nearly steals the show. Top-notch entertainment in the Carl Hiaasen mold."—Booklist, starred review of Heat

"Lupica gives his readers a behind-the-scenes look at major league sports. In this novel, he adds genuine insights into family dynamics."—Booklist on The Batboy

"Lupica will win a Pulitzer for his sportswriting one day (he should have won it already)."—The New York Times on Heat
Mike Lupica
Mike Lupica is one of the most prominent sportswriters in America and is the recipient of the prestigious Damon Runyon Award for excellence in journalism. His longevity at the top of his field is based on his experience and insider's knowledge, coupled with a provocative presentation that takes an uncompromising look at the tumultuous world of professional sports. Today he is a syndicated columnist for the New York Daily News, which includes his popular "Shooting from the Lip" column, which appears every Sunday.

He began his newspaper career covering the New York Knicks for the New York Post at age 23. He became the youngest columnist ever at a New York paper with the New York Daily News, which he joined in 1977. For more than 30 years, Lupica has added magazines, novels, sports biographies, other non-fiction books on sports, as well as television to his professional resume. For the past fifteen years, he has been a TV anchor for ESPN's The Sports Reporters. He also hosted his own program, The Mike Lupica Show on ESPN2.

In 1987, Lupica launched "The Sporting Life" column in Esquire magazine. He has published articles in other magazines, including Sport, World Tennis, Tennis, Golf Digest, Playboy, Sports Illustrated, ESPN: The Magazine, Men's Journal and Parade. He has received numerous honors, including the 2003 Jim Murray Award from the National Football Foundation.

Mike Lupica co-wrote autobiographies with Reggie Jackson and Bill Parcells, collaborated with noted author and screenwriter, William Goldman on Wait 'Till Next Year, and wrote The Summer of '98, Mad as Hell: How Sports Got Away from the Fans and How We Get It Back and Shooting From the Lip, a collection of columns. In addition, he has written a number of novels, including Dead Air, Extra Credits, Limited Partner, Jump, Full Court Press, Red Zone, Too Far and national bestsellers Wild Pitch and Bump and Run. Dead Air was nominated for the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best First Mystery and became a CBS television move, "Money, Power, Murder" to which Lupica contributed the teleplay. Over the years he has been a regular on the CBS Morning News, Good Morning America and The MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour. On the radio, he has made frequent appearances on Imus in the Morning since the early 1980s.

His previous young adult novels, Travel Team, Heat, Miracle on 49th Street, and the summer hit for 2007, Summer Ball, have shot up the New York Times bestseller list. Lupica is also what he describes as a "serial Little League coach," a youth basketball coach, and a soccer coach for his four children, three sons and a daughter. He and his family live in Connecticut.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780147514929
Lexile Measure
840
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication date
August 20, 2018
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV015020 - Juvenile Fiction | Health & Daily Living | Diseases, Illnesses & Injuries
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
JUV032030 - Juvenile Fiction | Sports & Recreation | Football
Library of Congress categories
JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Self-Estee
Texas
Football stories
Football
Brain
JUVENILE FICTION / Health & Daily Living / Di
Coaches (Athletics)
JUVENILE FICTION / Sports & Recreation / Foot
Concussion

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!