Hit Count
Page 27
5. When Arlo’s headaches and vertigo begin, the author uses visceral physical imagery to describe the episodes. (For example, on page 273: “My head felt like someone was actually turning a big screw, driving it into the bone and brain with a turn, then a turn, then a turn.”) How does this writing style affect your reading of the story?
6. As Arlo begins to lose respect for Lloyd, he finds a new mentor in Dinos—but before long, his achievements have outpaced Dinos’s as well. How does this affect Arlo’s relationship with Dinos? How does Dinos respond to this change?
7. On page 17, Arlo sees Sandy protesting the cheerleader tryouts. Is there a connection between Sandy’s rejection of “typical” high school gender roles for girls and the image of masculinity that Arlo buys into on the football team? Do you think that it’s easier for Sandy to break away from the cheerleader image than it is for Arlo to navigate the jock image?
8. Arlo’s mother is outspoken about her dislike of football, while Arlo’s father seems at first glance to play a smaller role in the family discussion. Are there instances in the book, however, where Arlo’s dad influences Arlo’s feelings? What kind of impact does his form of quiet encouragement have, versus Arlo’s mother’s outright objections? Why might one have been more effective than the other?
9. When Lloyd is forced to abandon his football plans, he decides to join the army. What do you think might connect the world of high school sports with the military? How does this new plan affect Lloyd’s family’s perception of him? Did you expect Lloyd to be accepted into the army?
10. When Arlo visits Sandy on Nantucket, he panics while out on her friend Gordon’s boat and decides to go home. As he’s leaving, on page 201, he says, “I was thinking I never wanted to feel that powerless again. We needed to be home, to be us.” What is the connection between Arlo’s sense of power and his sense of home? Why does he associate strength with routine, and how does this negatively affect him?
11. On page 341, as Arlo steps into his first real boxing lesson, he says, “I’m not afraid to get hit. I was never afraid to get hit.” What is Arlo afraid of, if not the hits themselves? Does fear have a presence in this book? Discuss Arlo’s nervous avoidance of Sandy and his mother when he thinks they are going to ask him to give up football.
12. Sandy quickly realizes that she cannot bear to watch Arlo’s violent games, preferring to keep their relationship separate from his football career. But on page 244, Arlo acts out of character and grabs Sandy harshly by the arm. Is the author suggesting that the aggression required of top football players on the field can carry over to other aspects of their lives? Does Arlo ever truly “turn off” his game day persona, even around Sandy?
13. What do you think Arlo will do after the end of the book? Will Lloyd’s example help him avoid a difficult transition into a football-less life, or will he follow in Lloyd’s footsteps?
JULES CHESTER
CHRIS LYNCH is the author of many acclaimed young adult novels, including Little Blue Lies, Pieces, Angry Young Man, the National Book Award finalist Inexcusable, and the Printz Honor Book Freewill. Chris is on the faculty of the creative writing MFA program at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When he's not teaching or visiting with family in Boston, he lives in Scotland.
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eISBN 978-1-61620-490-7