Review by kridz21 -- The Greatest Game Ever Played...Maybe

[Kenna Ridzi]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Greatest Game Ever Played...Maybe" by Otto L. Wheeler.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Greatest Game Ever Played...Maybe written by Otto L. Wheeler is a work of fiction comprised of elaborate backgrounds of a few key characters followed by a commentary of a football game. There is no main character we follow throughout the story, rather, many characters’ points of view are presented to us throughout the book. We start with intricate summaries of a few characters and environments, such as the officials, coaches, and quarterbacks, which help the reader gain insight into the actions of the characters during the game. The rival teams are called the Mobile Cougars and the Houma Pirates. As described in the book, the coaches have very contradictory personalities and backgrounds, which reflects in the way they coach their teams. Following this, the rest of the book consists of a running commentary from the announcers, in addition to changes in the narrative in which a player or coach may share their perspective.

This book contains a balanced mix of fact and fiction, as well as an abundant amount of detail, which aids the reader in comprehending the book in its entirety. The author makes readers feel as if they’ve been reading about the characters for a while because of the ample amount of background details provided. Because the commentators pick up the narrative for a time, we gain more perception of the details of the players, the game, and bits of information that the reader might have missed. Characters are made uniquely and distinguishable from others because of their diverse personalities and even the way certain characters speak.

On a slightly negative note, the book did have a few faults. The reader could easily miss important information, such as a goal scored, if they aren’t paying close attention. Readers might benefit from keeping notes as they read due to the immense amount of players and characters. One negative effect of the commentators narrating most of the game is that one may begin to lose interest if the reader isn’t passionate about football. However, the commentators do provide a sufficient amount of imagery to help readers visualize the game. There were a few repeating grammatical errors found consistently throughout the book.

Despite these factors, I would rate the book a 3 out of 4 stars. It is clear that the author is very passionate about the topic, which reflects in his work. This novel was entertaining and the negative aspects, although impacting the book significantly, did not disrupt my enjoyment of this novel excessively. This book was well worth reading and I came away with more knowledge about the game than when I began reading.

I’d recommend this book to readers who are immensely passionate about football of facts about football. In addition, this book would fit teenage readers and older because of the amount of attention it requires to read. There is a small amount of swearing included in the book, so this book would fit with a mature audience.

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The Greatest Game Ever Played...Maybe
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[Eutoc]

I'm an ardent supporter of sports. I can't say if I enjoy reading books on it but I do enjoy watching it. This could be my first shot at reading sport books

[Mwatu]

Reading sport is definitely a first for me. Glad to see you enjoyed the book and took away nuggets of wisdom about the game.