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Gordon Korman is one of the most beloved contemporary authors of today with more than 40 middle-grade novels to his credit. He published his first book at the wee age of fourteen, which turned into the Bruno and Boots series- still in print! Also a tireless self-promoter, Gordon travels across the country and even travels abroad to promote his books. Originally from Toronto, Gordon and his wife, a teacher, now live on Long Island with their little boy.

When Marcus moves to a new town in the dead of summer, he doesn't know a soul. While practicing football for impending tryouts, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with an older man. Charlie is a charismatic prankster—and the best football player Marcus has ever seen. He can't believe his good luck when he finds out that Charlie is actually Charlie Popovich, or "the King of Pop," as he had been nicknamed during his career as an NFL linebacker. But that's not all. There is a secret about Charlie that his family is desperate to hide.

When Marcus begins school, he meets the starting quarterback on the team: Troy Popovich. Right from the beginning, Marcus and Troy disagree—about football, about Troy's ex-girlfriend, Alyssa, but most of all about what's good for Charlie. Marcus is betting that he knows what's best for the King of Pop. And he is willing to risk everything to help his friend.

The New York Times - Richard Sandomir

…a brisk, heartfelt…novel about the risks of pursuing a sport that can devastate one's brain…Korman succeeds in showing the Popoviches' frustration with Charlie's deteriorating condition, as well as sympathetically portraying their confusion at how Marcus, an outsider, has become a better judge than they are of what Charlie can still remember and enjoy. And while Korman goes in, not surprisingly, for an inspirational endgame…he makes an intelligent choice in the way he wraps up Charlie's unsettling story.