Cracking the Bell - by Geoff Herbach (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Friday Night Lights meets Concussion in this powerful and important novel by Geoff Herbach, author of the Stupid Fast series, exploring the dangerous concussion crisis in football through the eyes of a high school team captain.

Isaiah loves football. In fact, football saved Isaiah's life, giving him structure and discipline after his sister's death tore his family apart. But when Isaiah gets knocked out cold on the field, he learns there's a lot more to lose than football.

While recovering from a concussion, Isaiah wonders what his life would look like without the game. All his friends are on the team, and Isaiah knows they can't win without him. The scholarship offer from Cornell is only on the table if he keeps playing.

And without football, what would keep his family together? What would prevent him from sliding back into the habits that nearly destroyed him?

Isaiah must decide how much he's willing to sacrifice for the sport that gave him everything, even if playing football threatens to take away his future.

Review Quotes

"Geoff Herbach captures rural-urban rivalries and the challenges of finding a home." - Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Herbach tackles the controversy surrounding the risks of one of America's favorite pastimes... Older readers will find this book interesting, as they are kept in suspense as to the reasons behind characters' actions. This vivid story is for fans of John Coy's Crackback and Tommy Greenwald's Game Changer." - School Library Journal

"Along with tackling the deadly hazards of concussions, this novel offers a bulletin to readers facing life-altering changes, telling them that they might not have to go through them alone... Provocative entry centered on a sizzling topic." - Kirkus Reviews

"Herbach's story explodes on the page with Isaiah's searching self-reflection. Football fans will love the grace and elegance with which the game is described, yet technical detail never overwhelms the story about a wily, articulate teen desperately trying to envision a future for himself by building a new game plan." - ALA Booklist

"Adam Reed's world starts and ends with basketball, and while fighting for acceptance, he finds he is never alone. Even if you know nothing of basketball, you will come away loving the game, and loving Adam. This raw story of basketball, family, and love is another slam dunk for Geoff Herbach."

"Geoff Herbach's Hooper introduces readers to sixteen-year-old Adam Reed. Young people (and young at heart) will be drawn to Adam as he navigates through life on and off the basketball courts in his new home of Minnesota. Hooper takes readers on a roller coaster of emotions ranging from celebration to loneliness to anger to everything in between. Herbach creates a character in Adam whose voice will quietly seep into the readers' conscious. Basketball may initially attract readers to this book, yet those who are not basketball enthusiasts will appreciate his book and all that it does to spark a new consciousness of being seen." - Shanetia Clark, Associate Professor of Literacy, Salisbury University

"I wasn't really a basketball fan until I read Hooper. Geoff Herbach taught me so much about the game, but that's not what makes this book so good! In somewhat broken English, Adam Sobieski Reed tells readers the meaning of each of his names and establishes 'family' with his adopted mother, her boyfriend and children, his best friend, and his teammates. When faced with a social justice issue, Adam must choose between his love of basketball--his future--or doing what's right. Basketball fans and non-fans will enjoy 'chasing oceans' together with this Polish immigrant whose backstory is the impetus behind so much of Adam's decisions." - Joan F. Kaywell, Professor of English Education, University of South Florida

"Fans of Matt de la Peña's Ball Don't Lie and Kwame Alexander's The Crossover will find another hooper to cheer for in Adam Reed. Geoff Herbach's action on and off the court reflects not only what we find in the basketball stat sheet but the current social state concerning young players as well. This is just the kind of young adult book I would select for inclusion within the titles I share each year with my students." - Paul W. Hankins, English Teacher, Silver Creek High School, IN

Praise for STUPID FAST: "Whip-smart and painfully self-aware, Stupid Fast is a funny and agonizing glimpse into the teenage brain. Young readers looking for a genuinely memorable first-person narrator-in the vein of Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian or Pete Hautman's Godless-should really catch up to Stupid Fast this summer." - Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Felton and Andrew are both appealing . . . readers who like their funny stories mixed with sports will root for the siblings' reconciliation."

"Funny, gut-wrenching, and spilling over with heart, Hooper is an uplifting breath of joy, and gives us all cause to be hopeful. I loved it!" - Andrew Smith, Michael L. Printz Honor and New York Times Bestselling author of Winger and Grasshopper Jungle

"Fresh, funny, thoughtful, subversive, and totally absorbing. Book of the year!" - Robert Lipsyte, Margaret A. Edwards award-winning author of The Contender

"Hooper is a slam dunk! A sports novel with incredible action and tons of heart. I challenge you not to fall in love with these terrific, flawed characters, and just try to put this one down once you start. Impossible." - Bill Konigsberg, Award-Winning Author of Honestly Ben

"Raw, funny, and deeply honest, Geoff Herbach gifts us a story about the messiness of life and the importance of talking about it--ultimately showing us how to not only trudge through it, but to soar."

"Author Geoff Herbach has a remarkable ability to create characters who make us laugh and think, sometimes within the same sentence. Read Hooper and let your self be changed."

- John Coy, author of Gap Life

"Hooper is a necessary book in today's political climate. It tackles subjects such as immigration, Black Lives Matter, and social injustice within a Cinderella sports story. Adam is a character you root for, and travel with him as he improves not only his English and his basketball skills, but also his growing understanding of the insidious nature of systemic racism and the power of family." - Melanie Koss, Associate Professor, Literacy Education, Northern Illinois University

Praise for HOOPER: "Lessons on small-town politics and what it means to be a good friend abound in this well-plotted work." - ALA Booklist

"Herbach's ability to expand the narrative from solid game play to confronting racial injustice is remarkable. No one here is perfect, and their failures make readers cringe yet root for success. Hoops and so much more." - Kirkus Reviews

"There's much to love in this sports tale. Fast-paced play-by-plays vividly depict the speed and beauty of the game. Adam's backstory is heartrending and with immigrant mistrust and nonviolent protests in the national spotlight, this is a timely and realistic teen drama and swish--nothin' but net." - School Library Journal

"This sports/school/domestic drama checks all the boxes. What could be another boilerplate basketball novel benefits from a tight cast of well developed secondary characters who surpass their expected stereotypes." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books