Snap Decision

Chase staggered through his classes the next few days. He was having trouble focusing, between feeling awful about his friendship with Tripp and all the excitement of the upcoming playoff game, it was no wonder.

Book: Snap Decision by Nathan Whitaker, Zondervan Publishers, 2014

Genre: Sports Fiction

Target Audience: Boys 11-16

Subjects: Sports, Friendship, Sportsmanship, Trust in God

Summary: He always dreamed of being chosen to play on the varsity team while still in eighth grade but he never dreamed it would come at such a high price. It’s pretty rare for an eighth grader to be chosen for varsity. Chase was thrilled for his friend when it happened for Tripp but secretly a tad bit jealous. Choosing to continue doing his best on the Junior Varsity team, hoping to catch the eye of the coaches, he is thrilled when told to start preparing for the possibility of being moved up. When a bunch of seniors participate in Senior Skip Day, Chase’s chance comes. But an accident in a game leaves Tripp injured. Chase is the one who knows he had symptoms of a concussion but admitting that means Tripp will not be allowed to play for a while. When Chase admits the truth, Tripp is furious at what he views as a betrayal to their friendship. Now Chase has the pressure of dealing not only with being on the more advanced team and having less time to study, he also has to deal with the fact that his best friend won’t speak to him. How can a moment of truth lead to such devastating consequences?

Notes: Book One in the Game Face series, Snap Decision tells of thirteen year old Chase’s journey through one football season. Chase is dealing with the pressure from being put on the older kids team and the pressure from his best friend being mad at him. His role model in the story, a senior who is a strong Christian, provides some Christian content for the book. A Christian artist who is popular at the time of the writing of the book, gets mentioned a few times. His role model talks about how another player quotes the first line of Psalm 23 to clear their head before every football play. When Chase faces his most challenging moment in the game he recites Philippians 4:13 to himself to bring confidence. His role model also talks about how living his faith means having good sportsmanship, obeying authority and doing his very best with the skill God has given him.
The book also deals slightly with the issue of divorce. Chase’s parents are divorced and his dad is not at all active in his life. His sister has a recurring nightmare. The book doesn’t resolve anything or get into the spiritual look at the issue, it’s more just there to paint a picture of a normal teenager.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 3/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Proverbs 12:17 – A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies

Proverbs 27:6 – Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.

Thank you to Book Look for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.