The Million Dollar Throw is about a boy named Nate Brodie . He is the star quarterback for his team even though he is only thirteen years old. Football is his life. He loves the game. His favorite NFL team is the New England Patriots. His favorite player is Tom Brady, quarterback for the Patriots. He has admired Tom and looked up to him for as long as he can remember. His friends and teammates even call him “Brady” instead of Brodie.
One of Nate’s goals has been to save up enough money to purchase “The Brady Ball”. This ball has Tom Brady’s signature on it and was at a store in his town called SportStuff. Nate finally had enough money saved up to buy the ball. When he buys it, the employee at the store tells him about a contest called “The Million Dollar Throw”. “The winner of the contest was going to get the chance to make one throw --- from thirty yards away through a twenty-inch hole --- at halftime of the Patriots Thanksgiving night game against the Colts.” Nate is drawn as the contest winner.
All of a sudden he feels a lot of stress. The pressure is almost too much. He knows how much this money could help out his family. He knows his parents are struggling to pay bills and that their house is in jeopardy of being taken over by the bank. Also, all of a sudden there are cameras and reporters everywhere. While he practices they are there. At his games, they are there. He also is preoccupied with his friend Abby’s problem of going blind. Add all of those pressures up and it is easy to see why his game performance has been suffering. He is missing easy passes and over analyzing his performance. His coach even takes him out of a big game because of his lack of focus. His confidence takes a serious nose dive.
Can he pull himself together? Does he make that important throw? You will have to read the book to find out! Excellent pacing and great story telling keep you on the edge of your seat. You are cheering for Nate all the way through this book. Great for reluctant readers, especially boys. This story is great for older elementary kids.