Game Changer

In his attempts to encourage his son to recover, Jim calls him a game changer, the player who can alter the direction a play is going and, in the end, help his team. Describe how Ethan Metzger is a game changer using examples from the text.

Trace the evolution of Sarah’s character in the novel. In the tender moments right before Teddy awakens, she asks for both her husband’s and her daughter’s forgiveness. How does her character change over the course of the novel?

The novel investigates ways in which social media impacts real-time, real-world events. How does the novel explore both the advantages and problems with such a massive communication system?

Using Will and the Coach as elements of your answer, how does the novel view athletics in high school? How is the concept of family used in both a positive and negative way? Why does the novel leave the question of administration sanctions against the program?

How is Ethan Metzger courageous in the novel, and how is he not? Does Ethan deserve to be disciplined for his actions or forgiven? Use evidence from the novel to support your argument.

How is football different from other team sports, such as basketball or baseball, in high schools? What are the implications behind Teddy’s injury in the scrimmage?

Explain the logic of the Hit Parade. How does the competition reflect the mentality and culture of football? Is football to blame more than Ethan for Teddy’s injury?

What does it mean to be a man? Use Jim, the Coach, Will, and Ethan as examples to define what it means to be a man, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually.