"Was it real, what he saw now? People who were going crazy had hallucinations. But this wasn't a hallucination - this was real." Gary couldn't believe the form he saw in the mirror.

Gary was a guy who had it all. He was your classic high school hero: good-looking star of the football team, with a cute girlfriend, loads of friends and many who wanted to be in his shoes. He loved football more than anyone could understand. Simply ... he had it all. But in just one moment he lost it all.

Robin Brancato's book focuses on the struggle of a high-school football hero who tries to reclaim part of his life after a freak accident on the football field robs him of everything. He has to realize there is more to him than his prowess on the field. From the football field to the hospital room to the physical rehab ward, we follow Gary's journey as he discovers how to live again. We share in his anguish, his pain and his trials. Brancato leads us on this journey with compassion and a range of feeling.

It is a realistic and honest story that absorbs the reader quickly. Will he ever recover or be just be a shadow of his former self? I was plagued by the nagging question of how I would have faced Gary's ordeal. After the pain and tears, Gary learns a lesson that makes him a bigger hero than he ever was on the field. .