Pop by Gordon Korman
Reading level: Young Adult
Publisher: HarperTeen (August 25, 2009)
Cautions: family death

Kiwi Magazine Review:
The clues are all there, but it takes the new kid on the block to figure out that the town’s hero — a famous NFL player — is slowly deteriorating, potentially from the punishment of his glory days in football. This book is an melange of teen angst, compassion between friends and the sad decline of a brilliant athlete.

 Buy this book on Amazon.com

Product Description
When Marcus moves to a new town in the dead of summer, he doesn’t know a soul. While practicing football for impending tryouts, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with an older man. Charlie is a charismatic prankster-and the best football player Marcus has ever seen. He can’t believe his good luck when he finds out that Charlie is actually Charlie Popovich, or “the King of Pop,” as he had been nicknamed during his career as an NFL linebacker. But that’s not all. There is a secret about Charlie that his family is desperate to hide.

When Marcus begins school, he meets the starting quarterback on the team: Troy Popovich. Right from the beginning, Marcus and Troy disagree-about football, about Troy’s ex-girlfriend, Alyssa, but most of all about what’s good for Charlie. Marcus is betting that he knows what’s best for the King of Pop. And he is willing to risk everything to help his friend.

Share This: