This was really enjoyable. I loved the way this book was written! I will be purchasing a copy for my library.

The format of this book was interesting, but it didn’t feel like a complete story. I think a very targeted audience will enjoy it, but I’m not sure it’s right for most of my elementary school’s readers.

Hazard (Haz) does not think therapy will actually fix his so-called anger issues. He goes along with it because he needs the therapist to sign an approval form so that Haz can go back to playing the sport he was made for: football. The therapist is convinced that Haz's propensity to smash other players on the field might have something to do with the fact that his dad was injured in an explosion while serving in the military, but it's going to take more than cheesy social-emotional writing activities to get to the root of Haz's feelings.

This story is told through a series of emails and text messages Haz sends to his therapist. Even though we only get to see one side of the conversation, I really appreciated the way I could feel Haz's character developing. I learned a lot more about how military operations work than I had been expecting, and there were definitely some lines that were brilliantly worded. This one is a quick read that isn't so much about anger management as it is about family. It's not the sort of story one reads for fun, but it has just enough depth and creativity to make it hard to put down.

In a clever spin on storytelling which relies solely on text messages between Hazard Stokes, his football buddy and his therapist, Dowell let's us see that all the wounds suffered in war don't necessarily happen to the soldier on the battlefield. Hazard is an excellent football player who up until recently has always played by the highest standards. But when he takes a cheap shot which injures an opponent, the Coach pulls him from the field and suspends him until he completes several weeks of therapy sessions to get his "anger issues" under control. Writing like a wise cracking 12-year-old, Dowell takes us inside the mind and heart of a hurting young man who doesn't know how to cope with his father's injury and the rejection he feels when his father refuses to see him or his brother at Walter Reed Medical Center. Through letters shared between his parents, both of whom serve in the military, Hazard learns that not all wounds are visible. Some moral wounds go much deeper and need a lot more time to heal and slowly, Hazard realizes that his angry and violent behavior on the football field is just an extension of the hurt he is feeling inside. With a better understanding of his father's position, Hazard is ready to not only work on healing himself, but ready to share that healing with his father who will need his support for a long time to come. A fast read that leaves quite an impact.

I would recommend this book to many midgrade readers. The male focus will draw readers in. The email/text format makes the read go quickly. I found myself really thinking about how Hazard was evolving throughout his therapy/counseling process. A great positive representation of the importance/significance of mental health support for vets and their families.

Told in a series of email and text messages, this is novel of a young teen dealing with life and family changes as a result of war. After a "bad hit" on the football field results in Hazard Stokes being forced into therapy, his email correspondence and reluctant therapy homework assignments help him come to terms with the events that led to his father's return from Afghanistan, and both his father's and his own reactions to what that means moving forward. While the author does not go into too much graphic detail, young teen readers will get a realistic feel for war and the impacts it has on both military personnel and their families.

Hazard ends up in therapy after a dirty hit gets him kicked off the football team. Through his sessions and the weekly assignments, Haz reluctantly processes his anger and his feelings surrounding his dad who is recovering from an IED explosion.

Told in verse, Hazard is a great middle grade novel for reluctant readers. Hazard features solid writing and good themes, although the resolution feels a bit rushed.

This would be a great book to pair with Jacqueline Woodson's Before the Ever After--two novels in verse about sons with strong relationships with their fathers that deteriorate after the father is injured, and both involve football in some way. In this Hazard is taken off the team and put into counseling after he makes a dangerous play on the field, and the book is told through emails and texts in verse that reveal that his father is recovering in a military hospital after losing his leg at war. Engaging, easy to read, this will definitely appeal to middle school and high school students.

A superb and informative read! Haz is a highly regarded football player on his eighth grade team.. His parents are in the military and his father has served in Iraq and Afghanistan where he is severely injured. .During his first game of the season, he exhibits unwarranted physical behavior against the opposing team and is kicked out. He is referred to a therapist to work through his issues.
This is such an important book during these trying political times. It certainly will appeal and help those children whose parents are in a similar situation. However, it is especially important for those children not directly affected by the trauma and sadness portrayed. Children have so much to cope with today and this book did a beautiful job of explaining and dealing with those feelings. The author chose to write this story through modern communication utilizing texts, and emails which will appeal to technology-savvy youth.
It provides hope and reason for a tough situation that is not so rare. A must read for everyone-

Read this book! I plan to purchase several copies for my middle school library. Hazard is one of those unique novels that will resonate with anyone who reads it. Hazard is a young man in eighth grade who has just been suspended from playing football because he was becoming too aggressive. Hazard's story is told through emails and texts between he and his mother, father, buddy and therapist. Hazard must see a therapist to be able to play ball again. He needs to understand what caused him to lash out the way he did. As you read through the emails and texts you learn that Hazard's father lost a leg in Afghanistan and returned stateside to a military hospital to recover. His mother is staying at the hospital with his father and Hazard and his annoying brother are living with their grandmother until dad comes home. Hazard is a funny kid and it turns out he has a flare for writing. Hazard's answers to the therapist's questions are so raw and honest as he comes to understand how he feels the effects of his father's injury and how he needs to deal with the anger before he hurts someone else. The language and format make it perfect for middle school, reluctant readers will be drawn to the ease of the format.
Excellent choice for classroom reading, book clubs or teen groups. Many, many thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read an ARC.

Haz prides himself on his athletic skills and performance. When his coach benches him and requires him to see a therapist, he isn’t pleased. With the condition that the psychiatrist has to sign off on his return to the field, Haz does the work (pretty robotically at first). Eventually he sees that his coach has identified a need he was unaware of himself.

One hesitation for my audience of middle schoolers—Haze’s voice feels older than 14/8th grade.