Like lightning/you strike/fast and free/legs zoom/down field/eyes fixed/on the checkered ball/on the goal/ten yards to go/cant nobody stop you/cant nobody cop you Twelve-year-old Nick is a football-mad boy who absolutely hates books. In this graphic novel adaptation of the acclaimed verse novel, football, family, love, and friendship take centre stage as Nick tries to figure out how to navigate his parents break-up, stand up to bullies, and impress the girl of his dreams. These challenges which seem even harder than scoring a tie-breaking, game-winning goal change his life, as well as his best friends.

 

 

This book has been graded for interest at 10-14 years.

There are 320 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2022 by Andersen Press Ltd .

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and the New York Times bestselling author of 28+ books, including The Undefeated, Booked and Rebound, the follow-up to his Newbery medal-winning middle grade novel, The Crossover. He's also the Founding Editor of Versify, an imprint that publishes fiction and poetry for children and young adults. Dawud Anyabwile is an Emmy Award winning artist, illustrator and co-creator of the groundbreaking comic book series Brotherman: Dictator of Discipline. Anyabwile has worked with companies such as Cartoon Network, Turner Studios, NBA TV, Nickelodeon, and many others as a character designer, storyboard artist, illustrator, and concept artist. Anyabwile illustrated the graphic novel adaptation of the New York Times best selling novel Monster by Walter Dean Myers. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Anyabwile now volunteers, teaches art classes to young students, and gives lectures when he isn't working on his art.