Book Review: Payback Time by Carl Deuker

Payback Time
by Carl Deuker
Non-series

Hyperion Books
ISBN-10: 0-547-27981-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-547-27981-7
Publication Date: September, 2010
List Price: $16.00

Review: Imagine a brown ball spiraling through the air, the sound of the ball hitting the hands of a football player, and thousands of fans cheering. Mitch True has to report every moment for the high school newspaper the Lincoln Light. Dan "Mitch" True is a senior in high school who works on the school newspaper. Payback Time by Carl Dueker captures what it's like to go to high school and be holding a secret that could affect the whole school. Payback Time is a sports fiction novel that teaches a little lesson. It's Payback Time!

This story mostly takes place in a high school where Mitch has a down moment with his newspaper. Reporting the sports events for Mitch isn't always the best. He finds out about the background of one of the new players Angel Marichal. It isn't a pretty story. Mitch doesn't know the whole story so he tries to look into Angel's past. He doesn't always find what he needs but he does come up with numerous possibilities. Could Angel be at Lincoln High School, even though he shouldn't be? Does the football coach have anything to do with this? Is this the story Mitch has been waiting for, for his entire life?

I enjoyed reading this book so much. Sometimes I couldn't put it down. Carl Dueker really keeps the pace but he doesn't skimp on the detail. He describes the football games with an amount of detail that is unimaginable. He uses great language like"It was baffling. There sat Angel, off by himself at the end of the bench. Had McNulty forgotten about him? How does a high school football coach forget six foot three and 220 pounds of muscle in a game where his team was being out muscled?" He kept you on your toes and you never knew what was going to happen next. I really got into the plot. Mitch True is not exactly in shape. He isn't the most handsome guy in school either. I was hooked right of the bat. It didn't take long for the story to heat up. Mitch True could have the story of his life but if he published it he could be putting someone in danger. He tries to figure all of this out and more with the help of his friend Kimi Yon. The ending was great. It wasn't disappointing like other endings I have read. I rate this out of this world book an amazing 5 stars!

Review written by Kathryn (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing a copy of Payback Time for this review.

Have you read Payback Time? How would you rate it?