Touchdown Tommy by Ace Collins

This book is a story of a young man who lived in the big city of Chicago. His life is going along just fine, such as any normal high school kid's would go. He was involved in school, sports, and had a pretty ideal family life. Then tragedy hits and he looses his parents in an accident. His whole life is turned upside down. He ends up moving to a small rural community in Texas and really struggles to fit in and get a grip on life again. Thankfully a coach there helps him gain the confidence he needs again to succeed. 

Ace Collins writes about new beginnings, facing challenges, developing friendships, and getting through hard times. I enjoyed reading this book even though I am not really a football fan so a lot of the sports stuff was kind of not

my "language". But the moral of the story was appealing and Collins writes it in a way that you feel like you are getting to know the characters and are part of their life.

I thought my son might enjoy this book (he is 11), but he never really got into the story for some reason. Maybe it is geared more towards teens since this boy is in high school and I am sure any young man on a football team or struggling to fit in could relate. Tommy works hard to achieve his dreams. He faces quite a few bumps in the road and feels like giving up multiple times, but always finds the inner drive to go on with the help of some very honest friends who aren't afraid to speak the truth in love. Having lived in a larger city and a small town, I was able to relate to the difficulties in changing locations. He had a great coach and wonderful grandparents who not only stood by him and encouraged him to work towards his goals but also allowed him time to grieve his loss and move on. 

This book was provided courtesy of the publisher, author, and The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest opinion. 

You can get your copy on Amazon.

BOOK SYNOPSIS (120 pages):

My life was over! I mean really over! Here I was, a kid who’d placed second in the city tennis tourney, a top-scoring soccer player, lots of friends, loving my life in Chicago, and what happens? My parents were killed in an auto accident. And I was too young to live alone, so I get shipped off to Texas to live with my grandparents on a farm. A farm! Here I was in Hicksville with nothing to do. Boy, was I missing my parents and my life in Chicago. Nobody here understood me. There’s one girl, Satara, who’s been nice, but she just doesn’t get me either. So you wonder how I got from here to having the nickname, Touchdown Tommy? Well, why don’t you open the book and let me tell you ... 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Citing his Arkansas heritage, Christy Award winning author Ace Collins defines himself as a storyteller. In that capacity, Ace has authored more than seventy books for twenty-five different publishers that have sold more than 2.5 million copies. His catalog includes novels, biographies, and children’s works as well as books on history, culture, and faith. He has also been the featured speaker at the National Archives Distinguished Lecture Series, hosted a network television special, and does college basketball play-by-play. Elk Lake Publishing continues to release new episodes of In The President’s Service, a groundbreaking series that first hit the market in 2014. 

In addition to books, Ace has penned more than 2000 magazine features, appeared on every network morning television show, as well as CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and Fox. He also speaks regularly to college classes on the art of writing. Ace’s hobbies include sports, restoring classic cars and Wurlitzer jukeboxes, and running. He is the play-by-play voice for Ouachita Tiger basketball. Ace is married to the Chair of the Department of Education at Ouachita Baptist University, Dr. Kathy Collins. The couple lives in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and has two sons.