Carter Hwang

Period 3

12/11/19

Trowbridge

Tim Green’s Football Hero

Tim Green’s football hero combines an amazing, inspirational story with great life lessons. The story of Ty Lewis, a younger brother of his NFL star brother, Thane Lewis, and his harsh upbringing with abusive aunts, uncles, bullies, and mob bosses. Yes, I said mob bosses. 

 

The compelling story of Ty Lewis begins with him losing his parents. They die in a car accident, forcing him to move with his Uncle Gus and his Aunt Virginia. With his older brother playing football at Syracuse, Ty is left feeling alone and empty. Soon Ty’s brother, Thane, is drafted in the NFL and Ty recognizes all of the leeches trying to suck the wealth out of Thane. To pile on top of all of Ty’s problems, his uncle has ties to the mob. Once the mob finds out Ty is related to Thane, they pressure Ty into giving them inside information of Thane and the NFL.

 

Many lessons are learned throughout this inspirational story. At school, Ty deals with bullying. When he goes out for the football team, he gets picked on and feels hopeless. Ty’s brother provides advice, telling Ty to no back down. At practice the next day, Ty stands up to his bully by blocking him into the metal bench. This provides the lesson of not letting people push you around and that it is ok to stand up to those who pick on you or others. Another major lesson that is learned throughout the book is healthy ways to cope with loss or negative circumstances in general. Ty lives with verbally and physically abusive aunt and uncle. He is also dealing with the tragic loss of his parents. Thane, again, provides his brother with advice. He teaches Ty to play the sport he loves. Being occupied with something you are passionate about helps ease the pain of loss or the pain of your negative environment. There is a lot for the readers to take away from the great book.

 

Tim Green does an amazing job utilizing imagery. While reading, it is very easy to picture the scenes of the book in the reader’s mind. Mr. Green uses descriptive word choice to really burn the image of the book in the reader’s mind. Green also changes the tone frequently throughout the book. He sets a more positive tone when there are scenes with Ty and Thane, in order to really develop the bond of the brothers throughout the book. Green quickly changes to a dark, negative tone, to set the harsh reality and environment Ty endures every day of his life with his aunt and uncle. 

 

Overall, the outstanding use of tone, descriptive diction, imagery, and valuable life lessons make this book a necessary read. While it may be a sports book, it can be easily read by all sorts of people, regardless of their interests. There are many lessons to take away from this great book. Green’s excellent storytelling makes it damn near impossible to put the book down.