Marcus Jordon just moved from Kansas to upstate New York--Kennesaw, NY to be exact. A JV football star at his old high school, Marcus is focused on varsity football this year. So focused that before school starts in the fall, he practices by himself in Three Alarm Park (so named for a chili contest once held there). One day he throws a long pass and there is actually someone in the park trying to catch it. His name is Charlie and he really knows how to play football. Marcus and Charlie begin practicing together, Charlie teaching him to tackle and be tackled. Charlie loves to hear the “pop” of a good tackle.

At David Nathan Aldrich High School’s varsity football tryouts, Marcus learns two things: The DNA Raiders were undefeated last year and that Troy Popovich is the star quarterback. Many of the players are back again, so there’s little room for the likes of quarterback wannabee Marcus. However, Alyssa Fontaine, Troy’s on-again, off-again cheerleader girlfriend seems to have room for Marcus. That can’t be good.

Marcus and Charlie keep practicing and Marcus keeps learning and improving. But he begins to wonder how an adult has the time to appear at the park in mid-afternoon on weekdays. Doesn’t he have to work? His curiosity grows when one day, Charlie runs away after throwing a long pass that goes over Marcus’ head and breaks a car window.

I don’t want to tell you more about the story, the mysterious Charlie, the tension between Marcus and Troy and some of the shenanigans that Marcus and Charlie get involved in. In Pop, it is best to let events unfold at their own pace. What I will tell you is that Pop is a great book. The characters are genuine and readers can picture each one. The plot is real, while some of the events may stretch the imagination a tad. Pop is a book outlining how Marcus, in the course of three or four months, matures beyond that. And yes, it is a poignant story about football. It’s got emotion as well as action.

Gordon Korman combines his standard humor with some deep down emotion to come up with a winning book. And lest I forget, I must, must, must recommend his books Son of the Mob and Son of the Mob-Hollywood Hustle if you want laugh-out-loud funny books. You can always count on a good read from Gordon Korman and Pop is no exception.

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