Gr 5-8-This novel has much to recommend it. Troy White is a typical 12-year-old in many ways, dividing his time between school, organized sports, and friends. He has one special talent, though: when he watches football on television, he subconsciously computes team statistics, players, and other variables, and he can call the plays before they happen. What could be a nice parlor trick takes on new significance when his single mother gets a job with the Atlanta Falcons' public relations department. Suddenly, Troy is in a position to help the struggling team win, if he can only make the grownups around him listen. It's an uphill battle at first, but eventually running back Seth Halloway witnesses Troy's uncanny ability and puts his own job on the line to help convince the coach and the team's owner. Drawing heavily on his own eight years as a linebacker for the Falcons, Green gives armchair quarterbacks a rare and realistic glimpse at the pain, sweat, and politicking of professional football. He includes enough cameo appearances from real players (Mike Vick, John Abraham, and Demarrio Williams, among others) to make fact and fiction meld seamlessly. Fictional characters are fairly two-dimensional, especially the scheming assistant coach who wants nothing more than to see the team lose so that he can step in as head coach. Nonetheless, the fast action and plot twists will keep fans of the game glued to the story. A first purchase for libraries looking to bolster their sports fiction.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.