Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica

From the Publisher

What would you do with a million dollars, if you were 13?

Nate Brodie is nicknamed "Brady" not only for his arm, but also because he's the biggest Tom Brady fan. He's even saved up to buy an autographed football. And when he does, he wins the chance for something he's never dreamed of—to throw a pass through a target at a Patriots game for one million dollars.

Nate should be excited. But things have been tough lately. His dad lost his job and his family is losing their home. It's no secret that a million dollars would go a long way. So all Nate feels is pressure, and just when he needs it most, his golden arm begins to fail him. Even worse, his best friend Abby is going blind, slowly losing her ability to do the one thing she loves most—paint. Yet Abby never complains, and she is Nate's inspiration. He knows she'll be there when he makes the throw of a lifetime.

Mike Lupica's latest sports novel is also his most heartwarming.

Publishers Weekly

In 2005, an army veteran won $1 million by throwing a football through a target during a halftime show at a college football game. Lupica (The Big Field) inserts a 13-year-old in the contestant role and moves the action to Massachusetts, where QB Nate Brodie stars for his eighth-grade team and idolizes the New England Patriots' Tom Brady. The pressure to win is intense—Nate's father has lost his job, the house is close to foreclosure, and his best friend, Abby, needs money to go to a special school since she is rapidly going blind. Though the entire cast is a bit too perfect, many kids will relate to Nate's fears about his family's finances: “You were going along, having what felt like a pretty cool life, and then all of a sudden came the economy trying to wreck everything.” The ups and downs of Nate's peewee football team provide sports play-by-play, but the thread that will pull readers through is whether Nate can save his and Abby's families with one well-aimed spiral on Thanksgiving night. Ages 10–up. (Nov.)

Booklist

Lupica injects plenty of suspenseful sports action into the plot and creates a cast of uniformly likable characters whose faith in teamwork and in each other ultimately earns handsome rewards for all.

Children's Literature

Thirteen-year old Nate Brodie loves the game of football. On his eighth grade team, he is the quarterback—just like his idol, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. When Nate wins the opportunity to make a million dollars by throwing a football through a twenty-inch hole at halftime of the Patriot's Thanksgiving Day game, he becomes an instant celebrity. But as the time approaches for his million-dollar throw, Nate's world begins to crumble. His father loses his real estate job, forcing him to work at a sports store and put their home up for sale. His best friend Abby is quickly losing her eyesight to a disease Nate does not understand, and suddenly Nate cannot seem to make a pass on the football field. He loses his starting quarterback position. Even as things get worse and worse for Nate and Abby alike, his friend supports him and gives him strength to believe in himself. By the day of Nate's million-dollar throw, his confidence has been restored. He meets Tom Brady and, in front of a packed stadium, his parents and Abby, Nate spirals the ball through the hole. Author Lupica's sports writing skills are evident in his football game scenes; however, the young characters feel older than thirteen, and the optimism of the adult characters is often unbelievable. Nevertheless, sports fans will enjoy this well-plotted, fast-paced, touching story. Reviewer: Jody J. Little

Kirkus Reviews

No matter how complicated things get, Nate Brodie, 13, can always count on the power and accuracy of his football arm. Until, suddenly, he can't, just when he's won the opportunity to score $1,000,000 if he can throw a football through a 20-inch hole during the televised halftime break at a Patriots game. Normally, this feat, though difficult, would be within his remarkable abilities, and he would find fun in the challenge. But tension has been building for a while, sapping his confidence, and his arm is really showing it. The recession has taken a toll on the Brodies, and Nate's family, now in financial distress, could really use the money. Nate is also upset because his adored best friend Abby is rapidly going blind. Sadly, Abby is both a perfect and perfectly unbelievable character, and the scenes with her are mawkish and icky. Still, Lupica's football action engages, and his delineation of the athlete's thought process and emotional highs and lows of competition feels visceral and real. (Fiction. 10 & up)

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