a good insightful read, making us really think about football and the dangers of one of America's most beloved sports. How will this game impact our youth and is it safe to let them play it. Made me really think deeply about it. Worth the read.

The suicide of Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriot who was serving a life sentence for the murder of his friend, got me thinking about Kennedy’s book, Lasting Impact: One Team, One Season. What Happens When Our Sons Play Football. Kennedy’s book follows one high school football team, New Rochelle in suburban New York, through their 2014 season. Kennedy sets the boys’ state playoff drive alongside questions swirling around football: the potential for permanent brain injury and the specter of domestic violence played out in the NFL (along with the possible connection between the two issues). How does Hernandez’s suicide fit in? His family donated his brain to the ongoing CTE brain injury study in Boston, the results of which may shed light on not only Hernandez’s suicide but his murder conviction and violent history as well.

Kennedy is a talented writer, and I’ve enjoyed his work in Sports Illustrated for years. I had the sense reading his book that this work was less dispassionate news reportage and more of a searching inquiry about whether he should allow his own sons to play football. A totally uninterested third party might read his book and think, “My son has a chance of not only permanent brain damage but also death (Kennedy details several on-field fatalities)? Of course he won’t play football.” Kennedy is conflicted, however, because he clearly loves the game and, like many of the coaches and parents he interviews, appreciates the values of discipline, hard work, and team commitment that football teaches.

If it sounds like these are two different questions, that’s how the book reads as well. There is the straightforward nonfiction account of a season in the life of a high school football team. And then there are the ethical questions that must be addressed by everyone who plays, coaches, or watches the game of football. If you are interested in football or have a child who is, I highly recommend Kennedy’s book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.