The Field - YA Book Review

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There are two fields in Tracy Richardson's The Field. The first is the soccer field. Eric Horton is a fantastic goalie. He made the Varsity team and has been able to start as goalie, taking away that privilege from a senior! Eric often feels that he's so good at blocking shots because it's almost as if he can visualize where the ball is going to go before it even leaves the ground.

And that's where the second field comes into the plot. The Universal Energy Field. Turns out, there may be more to Eric's talents as a goalie than meets the eye. When Eric meets a French professor who is doing research in Indiana, Eric discovers that not only could he be clairvoyant, but he could also be able to turn his thoughts into energy, real energy that could light up lightbulbs.

As Eric works with the professor and tries to come to terms with his new talent, he's also got to deal with keeping his position as starting goalie on the school soccer team, dating the professor's daughter, and trying to help his friend who has spiraled into the "party scene" due to issues at home.

There is an underlying theme of alternative energy sources in this book. There is a "clean coal" plant in the community that the kids take a field trip to. And the kids, themselves, are very educated about coal, nuclear energy, and more. (A little TOO educated if you ask me. Some of their conversations didn't seem too realistic, but maybe I'm not giving enough credit to today's teenagers.)

The science aspects of this book aren't too heavy-handed, nor is the theme of alternative energy. The author has a biology degree, and she uses it well to tell this story. I think the soccer and the sci-fi will appeal to teens. The description of the soccer games didn't always keep my interest, but I just don't like reading about sports scenes or listening to someone give me a play-by-play. I have to see the game in person to understand what's going on.

I actually met the author at Book Expo America and was telling her that I'm always looking for new YA books for my middle school book club. She sort of cautioned me against using this book for middle schoolers because there is a lot of bad language in the book. There is also underage drinking. The characters are in high school, and so this book would be better for kids in that age range.

The Field is published by Luminis Books and is available to purchase today. I received a free autographed copy of the book at Book Expo America with no obligation to review the book.