The Great Quarterback Switch by Matt Christopher has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is the part of the “Matt Christopher Sports Series.”
The Great Quarterback Switch by Matt Christopher has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is the part of the “Matt Christopher Sports Series.”
Twelve-year-old twins Michael and Tom Curtis both love football. Tom plays for the Eagles, while Michael supports the team from his wheelchair on the sidelines. When Michael was 10, he was hit by a car and lost the use of his legs.
The boys wonder if they have ESP between them because their thoughts often seem to align. An elderly neighbor and former science teacher Ollie Pruitt has mentioned something called Thought-Energy Control, or TEC. TEC goes a step beyond ESP.
The boys don’t know much about it and decide to ask Mr. Pruitt for more information. Pruitt theorizes that since people are made up of particles of matter, humans will someday be able to transport themselves wherever they wish. Some believe aliens are doing that right now, he says. He tells them two people can change places with each other if they concentrate and wish hard enough, using their combined TEC. The boys decide to try it to allow Michael to play football again.
The boys try TEC in a game, and Michael finds himself transported into Tom’s body while Tom is in Michael’s. They do this several more times in other games, especially when the team is losing. Many play-by-play accounts of the various games appear in the story.
When Michael is playing, teammates say he seems suddenly more confident than he had earlier in the game. In the final game, Michael tells Tom how important confidence is, not only to Tom’s playing but to the team’s morale. The boys switch back into their own bodies, and Tom begins to play with more confidence. The Eagles win the game and both boys feel proud.
None
Mr. Pruitt believes the boys can switch bodies simply by wishing and concentrating hard. His theory proves true for them. He says the fact that they are smart and have faith works to their advantage. Each boy feels vibrations in his body when the other brother is trying to communicate telepathically. The boys think having Mr. Pruitt at their game may bring them luck.
The boys’ parents are present at home and at games. Dad doesn’t really pay attention when they talk about ESP. Mr. Pruitt believes the boys are in a situation that’s especially conducive to making ESP or TEC work, and he helps them learn how to switch places.
Heck and darn appear in the story.
None
Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books.
You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected].
Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
