Final Season by Tim Green

Final Season is a touching look at the short- and long-term effects of football on family life, personal value, and physical health.

Final Season by Tim Green. Harper, 2021, 296 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: ages 10-15

Benjamin Redd was born to play football, almost literally. His dad, John Redd, was a former NFL defensive lineman and his two older brothers achieved MVP status in high school and college. Even his two sisters held their own in family scrimmages. Ben’s last year in junior leagues is coming up, and the men in his family agree he has what it takes to follow his father into the NFL. If only he could get over his pre-game jitters that usually have him hurling his lunch before a game!

But before the season is fairly underway he has much worse news to obsess over: his father, the rock of the family and a never-ending source of wisdom and humor, is diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The family recognized that something was going on, from his slurred speech and uneven walk. Once the diagnosis comes, the unsettling symptoms quickly get worse. It’s no longer a question of will Ben survive the season—will his dad?

Tim Green, author of 19 other popular sports books for kids and teens, often writes his own experiences into his books. This one may be his most personal. He himself was diagnosed with ALS several years ago, and by 2017 he could no longer type. From tapping out novels with two thumbs on his phone, he degenerated to using a sensor to pick out words and finally, having lost his voice, to eyeballing letters on an eye tracker. Like Ben’s dad, Green had to have a tracheotomy to help him breathe, and his days are numbered. Even so, he’s working on his next novel.

The cause of his ALS was the sport he loves—was football worth the cost? For John Redd and Tim Green, yes it was. But every junior player must make up his own mind, and that’s the theme of this latest novel. Will it be Ben’s final season? I’m not telling, but for a picture of courage, dedication to family, and making tough, responsible choices, Final Season is worth a read.

Considerations:

• Ben’s dad, and probably Tim Green, subscribe to a generic form of Christianity that makes church attendance important to them but seems to consist mainly of doing good. It’s worth talking about whether your family’s faith is different, and why.
• The new player on Ben’s team is a girl who becomes key to the team’s victories. I’m very skeptical about girls playing football, though they may be smart, fast, and tough. If guys receive injuries that fracture pelvises and ruin knees, girls (with 20% less bone density) are twice as vulnerable. The character’s inclusion feels like Green’s nod to feminist fantasy.

Overall Rating: 4 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 4.25
• Artistic/literary value: 3.75

Read more about our ratings here.                 

Also at Redeemed Reader:

Reviews: Other Tim Green books we’ve reviewed are Unstoppable and Kid Owner.

Review: Before the Ever After is another sensitive portrayal of the long-term physical effects of professional football.

Resource: See our list of Sports Books that Pack a Punch.

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