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Roughnecks
Once in a while you get a second chance. For Travis Cody this is one of those times. His team, the Oil Camp Roughnecks, is facing the Pineview Pelicans for the state championship. Travis will have forty-eight minutes head-to-head with rival Jericho Grooms. Forty-eight minutes to redeem himself for letting Grooms break him on the play that cost the Roughnecks an undefeated season. Forty-eight minutes to prove he isn’t a quitter.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
19 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Cochran
20 books3 followersTHOMAS COCHRAN is the author of "Running the Dogs" & "Roughnecks". He lives in West Fork, Arkansas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
April 21, 2008
It is a story of a boy named Travis. He is a football player and it is very big in his town. In his first game against there huge rival he screwed up. Now he has a chance to redeem himself when they play again in the state championship!
May 10, 2017
The book Roughnecks is by Thomas Cochran. The best part about this book is how realistic it is. Roughnecks does a good job portraying what it is like to be in high school. You have to worry about practicing, doing well in school, your social life, trying to get into college after you are finished with high school, and also performing well in games. Roughneck’s main character is Travis Cody who has a lot of pressure, because he is in the championship game. The book tells how if he doesn’t do well that the people of his town would not be very happy with him, and how he is trying to get college scouts to look at him. The setting takes place in Oil Camp, Louisiana. The whole book focuses on one day, but has many flashbacks. The author draws us into the book by starting it with Travis Cody waking up the day of the championship game and slowly takes us through that day and explains the flashbacks that Cody has. This book is set in the present day. The main character, Travis Cody is the noseguard for the football team and the narrator, this book is set in First Person. The book describes Jericho Grooms as somewhat of an antagonist, who plays on the Pineview Pelicans the opposing team of the Roughnecks. Jericho is a Defensive Tackle playing against Travis, and is also a huge college prospect, and is very intimidating to Travis. Then there is Travis’s Girlfriend Nita and Travis’s best friend Nathan but Travis calls him Lunk. Nita and Travis had promised each other to be valentines for life. Lunk has been Travis’s best friend since they were little kids.
The plot of the book describes how Travis prepares for his game and how he got to the championship game. The book fills the reader in on what has happened in Travis’s life and the events that had lead up to the day of the championship. It starts out as Travis waking up to the championship game day. Then it goes through his routine of waking up and getting ready for school, and eventually going to school. The theme is redemption for playing bad previously and dwelling on how he can't fail in the championship game. The reason I say this is because the game before the championship was against Pineview. And Travis’s team was going to go undefeated until Travis missed a block against Jericho Grooms which caused his team to lose the game. Travis was scared to play him again, but knew he would not miss that block in the championship game.
In this book the author’s style is very hard to follow, because he would use so many flashbacks that it was hard to tell when he was talking about the current day or a flashback. The characters I thought were very realistic and believable. The plot was not the best. Travis is always explaining how nervous he is about the championship game later that night, but all that is talked about throughout the whole book is all of the events that lead up to it. The book then tells us how he only plays a minute of the game against Jericho Grooms and then we don’t ever find out who wins the game. What I think the author was trying to achieve was that Travis could get over his fears and not be scared of Jericho. I think the book was mostly complete except that the reader doesn’t find out who wins or how Travis did in the game, or if the game was even won. This book I would say is very realistic. Most of the events probably can happen in real life. The strength of the development in the characters is you get a better understanding how their economy works. For example, you find out that their town is very into football. The weaknesses of the character development is some of the characters don’t get enough description so don't know who everyone is it can get very confusing.
I would not recommend this book. First, it is very hard to keep track of everything between all the flashbacks and memories he thinks about. And second, he tells us about how big this game is and they end it with him against Jericho Grooms without the reader finding out who wins or what. In conclusion this was not my favorite book, but wasn't unbearable to read.
The plot of the book describes how Travis prepares for his game and how he got to the championship game. The book fills the reader in on what has happened in Travis’s life and the events that had lead up to the day of the championship. It starts out as Travis waking up to the championship game day. Then it goes through his routine of waking up and getting ready for school, and eventually going to school. The theme is redemption for playing bad previously and dwelling on how he can't fail in the championship game. The reason I say this is because the game before the championship was against Pineview. And Travis’s team was going to go undefeated until Travis missed a block against Jericho Grooms which caused his team to lose the game. Travis was scared to play him again, but knew he would not miss that block in the championship game.
In this book the author’s style is very hard to follow, because he would use so many flashbacks that it was hard to tell when he was talking about the current day or a flashback. The characters I thought were very realistic and believable. The plot was not the best. Travis is always explaining how nervous he is about the championship game later that night, but all that is talked about throughout the whole book is all of the events that lead up to it. The book then tells us how he only plays a minute of the game against Jericho Grooms and then we don’t ever find out who wins the game. What I think the author was trying to achieve was that Travis could get over his fears and not be scared of Jericho. I think the book was mostly complete except that the reader doesn’t find out who wins or how Travis did in the game, or if the game was even won. This book I would say is very realistic. Most of the events probably can happen in real life. The strength of the development in the characters is you get a better understanding how their economy works. For example, you find out that their town is very into football. The weaknesses of the character development is some of the characters don’t get enough description so don't know who everyone is it can get very confusing.
I would not recommend this book. First, it is very hard to keep track of everything between all the flashbacks and memories he thinks about. And second, he tells us about how big this game is and they end it with him against Jericho Grooms without the reader finding out who wins or what. In conclusion this was not my favorite book, but wasn't unbearable to read.
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May 14, 2020The book Roughnecks by Thomas Cochran is a good book for all sports fans. The book Roughnecks by Thomas Cochran is about a kid Travis Cody plays football for the Oil Camp Roughnecks. They won all of there games but one. The team they lost to they are now playing in the championship. When they played Pineview Pelicans in the season they lost a pass to there star player Jericho Grooms. Travis Cody let him go and because of that, he got benched. Travis is getting a second chance to prove himself not many people get that chance but he does. It is the Louisiana AA state high school football championship. They filled the bleachers and are ready for the 7:30 kickoff. Travis will have 48 mins to go head to head with Jericho Grooms to redeem himself. Will Travis be a winner or a loser?
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January 17, 2020I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 because it's about kids going through high school and all their high school memories.
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October 14, 2010The book I have recently been reading is called, the Roughnecks by Thomas Cochran.
Most people might think that the the book is probably disturbing because of the title. But it's actually all about Football and alittle of drama. The name Roughnecks is the name of the high school in lousiana. So this book is mainly about a high school football team named the Oil Camp Roughnecks. That take on the rival team called the Pineview Pelicans. These two teams met at the last game of the regular season. And the Roughnecks star player Travis Cody (who is the main character of the story) has accidently lost the game for his team by leting his oppenant attack the kicker and cost them an undefeated season. Now the Roughnecks get one more oppertunity against the Pelicans and their star player Jerico Grooms at the state championship.
I found this book to be very interesting, not just because it's about football, but also because what this young kid did took heart.
Young Travis Cody went up against the biggest and the best nose tackle in the whole nation. Plus, he also has alot of pressure on him,cause it is up to him to stop Jerico Grooms in the whole game. He also has to face the fact that it was his fault they lost their undefeated season.
One reason why i think other students should read this book. Is because it is a very inspiring and and their is alot of humor on every page. I think it will also motivate you to never let the fear of something get in your way of being what you want to be,or doing what you want to do. Because as you let that fear control your destiny like Travis did. You will start to have doubts in your mind that you cant to it. I know that if you love the sport as much as I do,that you will like this amazing book. Some of the thing they talk about is very complacated so you would have to know football.
The character I like in the book is the main character Travis Cody. Even though Travis knew that all odds were on his shoulder in this big game. so he didn't decide to punk out or not show up. He then came out to the game and did what he was suppose to do. He wasn't really scared through out the book,but the was a little worried. But he never did let that fear consume his love an passion for the game
I think the author's message in the book is to tell all readers that if you really want to do something you must do it.
This book made me think about all the young men you can't accomplish anything because they have so much fear in them that they are scared to try it.
I would recommend this amazing book to all the people in the sports nation. I also give the book a 5/5 stars in the academic preformence
Most people might think that the the book is probably disturbing because of the title. But it's actually all about Football and alittle of drama. The name Roughnecks is the name of the high school in lousiana. So this book is mainly about a high school football team named the Oil Camp Roughnecks. That take on the rival team called the Pineview Pelicans. These two teams met at the last game of the regular season. And the Roughnecks star player Travis Cody (who is the main character of the story) has accidently lost the game for his team by leting his oppenant attack the kicker and cost them an undefeated season. Now the Roughnecks get one more oppertunity against the Pelicans and their star player Jerico Grooms at the state championship.
I found this book to be very interesting, not just because it's about football, but also because what this young kid did took heart.
Young Travis Cody went up against the biggest and the best nose tackle in the whole nation. Plus, he also has alot of pressure on him,cause it is up to him to stop Jerico Grooms in the whole game. He also has to face the fact that it was his fault they lost their undefeated season.
One reason why i think other students should read this book. Is because it is a very inspiring and and their is alot of humor on every page. I think it will also motivate you to never let the fear of something get in your way of being what you want to be,or doing what you want to do. Because as you let that fear control your destiny like Travis did. You will start to have doubts in your mind that you cant to it. I know that if you love the sport as much as I do,that you will like this amazing book. Some of the thing they talk about is very complacated so you would have to know football.
The character I like in the book is the main character Travis Cody. Even though Travis knew that all odds were on his shoulder in this big game. so he didn't decide to punk out or not show up. He then came out to the game and did what he was suppose to do. He wasn't really scared through out the book,but the was a little worried. But he never did let that fear consume his love an passion for the game
I think the author's message in the book is to tell all readers that if you really want to do something you must do it.
This book made me think about all the young men you can't accomplish anything because they have so much fear in them that they are scared to try it.
I would recommend this amazing book to all the people in the sports nation. I also give the book a 5/5 stars in the academic preformence
November 16, 2011
19/11 i am now reading the book roughnecks i have read it before but not all of it and i am only on page 12 right now so not much has happened so far the man person in the books name is Travis Cody and he is getting a second chance at this football team pine view pelicans for the state championship. and this is how far i am right now.
26/11 so far in the book Travis Cody has been preparing for the game against pine view but he is most worried about Jericho grooms who is the nose guard and Travis is the center and grooms is a really good player and hes not sure about how the game is going to go down. He really has been visualizing the game and he has been talking to his parents about it. In his morning routine he always reads the paper and one day it just so happened that he was in it and so was Jericho grooms the paper talked about how good of a player that grooms was but it also talked about how good Travis was. There's also someone who he doesn't know but keeps calling his phone saying " damn Cody, god damn Cody don't mess this one up too you cost me money last time, you mess up this time and you will pay!". But Travis keeps asking who it is and he gets no answer from the man on the phone. And now it's a new chapter
2/11 i am now on page 64 and not a lot has happened its mostly just a review of his life when he was fourteen. about how he got his first job at a gas station and how he needs to prepare for Jericho grooms more before his game. its also introduced a new person in the book the greaser but in the book they call him either grease or G and he is the equipment manager so called he washes all the stuff and he takes care of the locker room and the field. he also is like best friends with Travis and he talks to him a lot and every morning and after school Travis goes into the locker room and gets in the jet tub that G has prepared for him to use.
16/11 i finished the boook roughnecks i really like the book and how the ending was but i would have liked the book more if it was more intense like more words to describe things better. the ending was good it ended with travis in the state game and it was a really tough game against grooms. i think that if there were more books by this author i might read them but i dont know for sure. id like to read a book by this author about another sport maybe basket ball or hockey i think that whatever sport he is writing about depends on how good its going to be and how much i like it. All in all the book was pretty good and i did like it i think i would give it a rating of 8 on a scale of 1-10.
26/11 so far in the book Travis Cody has been preparing for the game against pine view but he is most worried about Jericho grooms who is the nose guard and Travis is the center and grooms is a really good player and hes not sure about how the game is going to go down. He really has been visualizing the game and he has been talking to his parents about it. In his morning routine he always reads the paper and one day it just so happened that he was in it and so was Jericho grooms the paper talked about how good of a player that grooms was but it also talked about how good Travis was. There's also someone who he doesn't know but keeps calling his phone saying " damn Cody, god damn Cody don't mess this one up too you cost me money last time, you mess up this time and you will pay!". But Travis keeps asking who it is and he gets no answer from the man on the phone. And now it's a new chapter
2/11 i am now on page 64 and not a lot has happened its mostly just a review of his life when he was fourteen. about how he got his first job at a gas station and how he needs to prepare for Jericho grooms more before his game. its also introduced a new person in the book the greaser but in the book they call him either grease or G and he is the equipment manager so called he washes all the stuff and he takes care of the locker room and the field. he also is like best friends with Travis and he talks to him a lot and every morning and after school Travis goes into the locker room and gets in the jet tub that G has prepared for him to use.
16/11 i finished the boook roughnecks i really like the book and how the ending was but i would have liked the book more if it was more intense like more words to describe things better. the ending was good it ended with travis in the state game and it was a really tough game against grooms. i think that if there were more books by this author i might read them but i dont know for sure. id like to read a book by this author about another sport maybe basket ball or hockey i think that whatever sport he is writing about depends on how good its going to be and how much i like it. All in all the book was pretty good and i did like it i think i would give it a rating of 8 on a scale of 1-10.
November 1, 2012
In this quick minded story following a high school senior in playing the biggest game in his career. Thomas Cochran views the game of football on the field and off the field involving all team players.
As the team starts to dig in to challenge their biggest rivalry, the Pineview pelicans, for the state championship against some of the best and most sought after athletes in the state of Louisiana, Travis Cody, an offensive guard for the Oil Camp Roughnecks, carries on with the thought of stopping Jericho Grooms. Reminiscent in the book, Travis is posed with the memory of how he missed a block on Grooms to let up a 2 point conversion to lose their undefeated season and his fathers death. With the demoralization of his inner fear, he reaches out to his girlfriend and boss for help and stability.
The central idea this book radiates throughout is to not let mistakes own your life and to get up and have confidence in what you'll do. Also it touches upon how often these build a character and help make you stronger however only if you can accept your mistakes.
Thomas Cochran has much knowledge of football and the amount of football is mental often near game days. He really knows how to enthuse a team. I found the story
being told from a lineman inspiring because its uncommon to view a story from a background roll. Complementary, the town is a typical, energetic and football obsessive
community, used to winning, and all newborns are given a roughnecks football. My most intriguing quote is stated as Cody talks about Coach Crews ;“My feelings about Crews are complicated. I've loved him and I've hated him. I've resented him and I've
appreciated him. I've cussed him and I've thanked him. He made me what little bit of a football player I am during Spring Ball following my ruined junior season. He rode me extra hard for twenty consecutive days. He tested me for four weeks. No matter what I
did it wasn't exactly right. If I blocked somebody five yards back he wanted six. If I tackled somebody at the line he wanted a loss. I was in better shape than I've ever been in but he almost broke me. He pushed me past where I'd been able to push myself and I thought I'd pushed myself as far as I could go.”
On the whole, Roughnecks is a inspiring book for it is more than a winning season of victory, it shows what it means to be a high school athlete. It demonstrates the mental boundaries of a high school athlete they break out of pride and the love for the game.
As the team starts to dig in to challenge their biggest rivalry, the Pineview pelicans, for the state championship against some of the best and most sought after athletes in the state of Louisiana, Travis Cody, an offensive guard for the Oil Camp Roughnecks, carries on with the thought of stopping Jericho Grooms. Reminiscent in the book, Travis is posed with the memory of how he missed a block on Grooms to let up a 2 point conversion to lose their undefeated season and his fathers death. With the demoralization of his inner fear, he reaches out to his girlfriend and boss for help and stability.
The central idea this book radiates throughout is to not let mistakes own your life and to get up and have confidence in what you'll do. Also it touches upon how often these build a character and help make you stronger however only if you can accept your mistakes.
Thomas Cochran has much knowledge of football and the amount of football is mental often near game days. He really knows how to enthuse a team. I found the story
being told from a lineman inspiring because its uncommon to view a story from a background roll. Complementary, the town is a typical, energetic and football obsessive
community, used to winning, and all newborns are given a roughnecks football. My most intriguing quote is stated as Cody talks about Coach Crews ;“My feelings about Crews are complicated. I've loved him and I've hated him. I've resented him and I've
appreciated him. I've cussed him and I've thanked him. He made me what little bit of a football player I am during Spring Ball following my ruined junior season. He rode me extra hard for twenty consecutive days. He tested me for four weeks. No matter what I
did it wasn't exactly right. If I blocked somebody five yards back he wanted six. If I tackled somebody at the line he wanted a loss. I was in better shape than I've ever been in but he almost broke me. He pushed me past where I'd been able to push myself and I thought I'd pushed myself as far as I could go.”
On the whole, Roughnecks is a inspiring book for it is more than a winning season of victory, it shows what it means to be a high school athlete. It demonstrates the mental boundaries of a high school athlete they break out of pride and the love for the game.
January 9, 2009
The book I read was Roughnecks it is a fiction book. I choose this book because it looked interesting just by the name of it and I wanted to know about how football players think. This book is about a boy named Travis and he is really good at football until another kid named Jericho Grooms, he is a lineman for the Pelicans which are Travis' rivals. Throughout the story Travis always feels down and disappointed that Jericho Grooms took him out in the championship and just because Jericho Grooms took him out Travis' team lost against the Pelicans. Travis trains hard just for the championship so he could take out Jericho Grooms and so he could feel better.
The central district conflict is man vs. self becuase Travis struggles with himself, he is not sure if he can take on Jericho Grooms and he is very scared taking him on. The theme of this book would have to be do not give up on your dream. The author writes as if he is a kid growing up with all these problems and he is expressing all of his feelings based on football because football is hard to play once you mess up it may cause you the game like in real life you only have one chance to live and if you mess that up then your life is wasted. The writing style the author uses is in teenage slang with a little midwest. I would only recommand this book to sport players, mostly football players because it talks more about football than anything else.
The central district conflict is man vs. self becuase Travis struggles with himself, he is not sure if he can take on Jericho Grooms and he is very scared taking him on. The theme of this book would have to be do not give up on your dream. The author writes as if he is a kid growing up with all these problems and he is expressing all of his feelings based on football because football is hard to play once you mess up it may cause you the game like in real life you only have one chance to live and if you mess that up then your life is wasted. The writing style the author uses is in teenage slang with a little midwest. I would only recommand this book to sport players, mostly football players because it talks more about football than anything else.
March 1, 2010
I read the book roughnecks and it takes place in modern Louisiana in a town called oil camp. The basic plot of the book was a kid who is trying to take state football title. The conflict is that Travis the main character has to play a team that oil camp lost to at the end of the regular season and their big huge division 1 center/nose guard. The conflict is man vs. man because
Travis has to go up against the best player in Louisiana. In the beginning of the book Travis is haunted by the game they lost to Pineview in the end of the regular season and has so much pressure on him to win the game and having to go up against Jericho grooms again. During the coarse of the book Travis runs into people who inspire him and also helps him overcome his fear and point out a couple of grooms tendencies.
The theme of the novel is not to give up and if you keep trying you’ll come out way stronger then what you started off as. The theme develops as Travis goes through his everyday life and tries to find a way to forget about the game until game time. I think that the author’s attitude towards the theme was supportive because it popped up in the book at many different parts and he makes it very obvious. The theme contributed to me as a person in sense that its easy to give up the hard part is staying the coarse and pushing yourself to finish. I didn’t learn something new but I would rate this 4 out of 5 and for people who love to be inspired
Travis has to go up against the best player in Louisiana. In the beginning of the book Travis is haunted by the game they lost to Pineview in the end of the regular season and has so much pressure on him to win the game and having to go up against Jericho grooms again. During the coarse of the book Travis runs into people who inspire him and also helps him overcome his fear and point out a couple of grooms tendencies.
The theme of the novel is not to give up and if you keep trying you’ll come out way stronger then what you started off as. The theme develops as Travis goes through his everyday life and tries to find a way to forget about the game until game time. I think that the author’s attitude towards the theme was supportive because it popped up in the book at many different parts and he makes it very obvious. The theme contributed to me as a person in sense that its easy to give up the hard part is staying the coarse and pushing yourself to finish. I didn’t learn something new but I would rate this 4 out of 5 and for people who love to be inspired
October 24, 2014
Have you ever had a game put on your shoulders and you fail? Well in the book Roughnecks by Thomas Cochran, Travis Cody failed in the high school football state game, but he has his chance to get revenge when they play the same team in the finals once again. Within Roughnecks, Thomas Cochran gives us an example of overcoming adversity.
Travis Cody wants to redeem himself more than anything after this mistake in the championship game last year. The only issue is that he still has to block Jericho Grooms all game long once again. This time Travis is determined to not let Jericho ruin his run at a state championship. “I’m driving the big man back and to the left. I’m erasing him from the play. I’m putting Jericho Grooms and every doubt I ever had into the dirt” (Cochran 248).
I would recommend this book to anybody that likes a good football story or a good story of a character fighting through adversity. I would recommend that you have a little bit of football knowledge before you read this book because they use some football vocabulary. I would rate this book a 3 out of 5 stars because it is kind of a slow developing story and the ending is not exactly how I predicted it to be, but it did show a good story of a football player trying to overcome adversity.
Travis Cody wants to redeem himself more than anything after this mistake in the championship game last year. The only issue is that he still has to block Jericho Grooms all game long once again. This time Travis is determined to not let Jericho ruin his run at a state championship. “I’m driving the big man back and to the left. I’m erasing him from the play. I’m putting Jericho Grooms and every doubt I ever had into the dirt” (Cochran 248).
I would recommend this book to anybody that likes a good football story or a good story of a character fighting through adversity. I would recommend that you have a little bit of football knowledge before you read this book because they use some football vocabulary. I would rate this book a 3 out of 5 stars because it is kind of a slow developing story and the ending is not exactly how I predicted it to be, but it did show a good story of a football player trying to overcome adversity.
February 13, 2009
I really liked this book. The story begins with a kid named Travis Cody who plays for the Oil Camp Roughnecks, they will be playing their rival high school the Pinveview Pelicans in the state finals for football. This is a big game for Travis because earlier in the season they played this exact team and one miss play by Travis costed the roughnecks an undefeated season. So he's back out to prove that he is better than the play he made. He has 48 minutes to get prove himself, and hopefully bring the state championship title home for the Oil Camp Roughnecks. I liked this book due to the fact im a huge sports fan, and my favorite sport is football. I don't reccomend it for anyone who doesn't like sports; but i defenatly do for anyone who likes them. It gets intense at times, and really does talk about how high school football is; and how much can be on the line from just one play. It was an awesome book and i'd defenatly reccomend it for anyone who likes sports.
April 13, 2012
I read this book in conjunction with my creative writing students in anticipation of Mr. Cochran (the author) coming to talk with us "writer to writers" -- The book is simply sweet. The original critics apparently praised and poked it for it's old fashioned sensibilities. These, I found darling and perfect for a book set in a very particular place and time. The characters are realistic and well drawn, and I wish to know each of them better. I do believe if I taught in a single gender secondary classroom full of boys, this would be required reading. It's full of good questions and answers for the plans of any teacher or parent who wants a good boy to become a good man. As a writer, Mr. Cochran has performed by the book, and all young writers, reading as writers, will benefit from this sweet treat of a Southern, small town football story. I'd like to see a whole collection of short fiction about Travis Cody's town.<3
August 28, 2016
Good story, centered upon one very long day. Louisiana State Championship football gameday. Oil Camp High School football is the greatest source of pride and passion for most of the folks in the boom-and-bust town. The personal stories are solid enough, but they get swamped by the sense of team and tradition.
There’s no real surprises here: the sports novel standards are immediately familiar. The big rival with the Walmart and the brighter future; the teen hero who needs to redeem himself; the heart-of-gold girlfriend; the win-or-die town crank; and maybe a half-dozen steely father and big brother figures – some living, some dead.
It all adds up to more than 200 pages before we even see the lines of the field. I don’t mind the pace, but some sports fans might. If you’re not a sports fan, I’m not sure how you would stay with this long enough to find out who wins what.
There’s no real surprises here: the sports novel standards are immediately familiar. The big rival with the Walmart and the brighter future; the teen hero who needs to redeem himself; the heart-of-gold girlfriend; the win-or-die town crank; and maybe a half-dozen steely father and big brother figures – some living, some dead.
It all adds up to more than 200 pages before we even see the lines of the field. I don’t mind the pace, but some sports fans might. If you’re not a sports fan, I’m not sure how you would stay with this long enough to find out who wins what.
March 20, 2014
The author of this book is Thomas Cochran. This book takes place in the present time. It is about a high school student who plays football for his school. He plays in very big games and has a lot of pressure on him. The main character of the book is Travis Cody. He is nervous about the state game coming up because he is going against the number one recruit of his class. The book is about building up to this point and Travis facing his fears. I would recommend this book to people who like to play sports and feel that rush during the games. They will be able to understand how Travis feels throughout the book and make many personal connections. If you like Roughnecks you may also like Sudden Death because it is also about sports and the game coming down to the last wire. It is about feeling that rush that you get when you play sports.
November 10, 2015
The book "Roughnecks" by Thomas Cochran is a book that gives a prospective on someone who never gives up. This realistic fiction is based on a teenager named Travis, his football team and him lost one game over the season due to him. He has one final chance to beat this team in the State Championship. Travis is the star player and a senior, he is also the reason his team lost the only game in the regular season. His final high school football game will give him the chance to redeem himself for the loss in the regular season.I was not a big fan of this book, if I were to recommend it to athletes, specifically ones who play football. If you like Roughnecks you may also like the book Friday Night Lights because they both show the struggle of football teams and the players life on and off the field.
February 11, 2016
Good story, centered upon one very long day. Louisiana State Championship football gameday.
Oil Camp High football is the last source of pride and passion for most of the folks in the boom-and-bust town. The personal stories are solid enough, but they get swamped by the sense of team and tradition. There 19s no real surprises here: the sports novel standards are immediately familiar. The big rival with the Walmart and the brighter future; the teen hero who needs to redeem himself; the heart-of-gold girlfriend; the win-or-die town crank; and maybe a half-dozen steely father and big brother figures 13 some living, some dead.
It all adds up to more than 200 pages before we even see the lines of the field. I don 19t mind the pace, but some sports fans might. If you 19re not a sports fan, I 19m not sure how you would stay with this long enough to find out who wins what.
Oil Camp High football is the last source of pride and passion for most of the folks in the boom-and-bust town. The personal stories are solid enough, but they get swamped by the sense of team and tradition. There 19s no real surprises here: the sports novel standards are immediately familiar. The big rival with the Walmart and the brighter future; the teen hero who needs to redeem himself; the heart-of-gold girlfriend; the win-or-die town crank; and maybe a half-dozen steely father and big brother figures 13 some living, some dead.
It all adds up to more than 200 pages before we even see the lines of the field. I don 19t mind the pace, but some sports fans might. If you 19re not a sports fan, I 19m not sure how you would stay with this long enough to find out who wins what.
August 3, 2016
Travis Cody plays high school football for the Roughnecks in Oil Camp, Louisiana. The book covers the 24 hours leading up to the state championship game against their archrivals, the Pineview Pelicans. The last time the teams played, Travis made a mistake that cost the Roughnecks the game and an undefeated season. He's under a tremendous amount of pressure to succeed, and the one thing standing in his way is Jericho Grooms who will be playing opposite him all night in the game. There are a lot of colorful characters who show up in the small town of Oil Camp, and the story has flashbacks and newspaper articles sprinkled throughout, but the main focus is Travis' mental preparation for the game -- I liked the inside-the-head view of things. A good first novel for Cochran.
August 2, 2017
If I understood any football terms, I might have enjoyed it a little more. But since I don't, I was a little lost as to their game plans. Sure, it sounded like a winning play, but I had no idea where the players were going and what they were supposed to do. But I suppose that's my fault, and not the book's.
I didn't care much for the ending. Travis gets satisfaction, but not entirely the way I expected. I had originally thought the game would come up right off, but we instead are taken through the whole of the game day, reminiscing about past games and personal memories while going about his day. In sum, it was an okay book. But if one isn't familiar with football terms, it might be a good idea to read up briefly on those.
I didn't care much for the ending. Travis gets satisfaction, but not entirely the way I expected. I had originally thought the game would come up right off, but we instead are taken through the whole of the game day, reminiscing about past games and personal memories while going about his day. In sum, it was an okay book. But if one isn't familiar with football terms, it might be a good idea to read up briefly on those.
February 4, 2016
This is a very good book. The main character is Travis Cody he is the punter and offensive linemen for the oil camp roughnecks. Theirs not very many times you get a second chance in football but the roughnecks end up losing one game to the Pineview pelicans and Travis feels that he was the reason they lost but theirs only one problem Travis has to go up against the best high school football player in the nation Jericho Grooms all game long once again. Head to head for 48 minutes to get revenge to win the state championship. It is a very good book I would recommend it for young adults and people who like football because there is a lot of football lingo in it. The author of the book is Thomas Cochran
November 10, 2015
Roughnecks Is a book about a student athlete named Travis Cody. Travis is a star football athlete and is a big college prospect. But Travis has some big obsticles along the way that will potentially get in the way of his passion and dedication for the sport. To me this book does a great job of expressing how this can be a great teaching cue on a life lesson. I would strongly recommend this book to any football or student athlete out there. It does a great job of connecting with the readers and is overall a great book
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October 1, 2014The book's title is roughnecks and the authors name is Thomas Cochran. This book is about a football team in the oil fields in Oklahoma. This team is playing to try to beat they're rival team for the state championship. The favorite part of this book to me was when he was talking about how better he could have done in the game last night because I do the same thing the next day and for the rest of that week. If you like comebacks in football and stuff football wise then you should read Roughnecks by Thomas Cochran.
October 23, 2015
I thought that Roughnecks, by Thomas Cochran was a pretty good book. It's not one of my favorites, but it was still very good. I enjoyed reading about how Travis Cody faced his confidence issues after being humiliated by Jericho Grooms. Reading about Travis facing Jericho in the state championship game and regaining his confidence was very exciting. The story was very descriptive and it felt like you were there instead of reading a book. Roughnecks really captured the atmosphere of a high school football game. I would recommend this book to any teenage reader that enjoys sports books.
November 10, 2015
I Liked the book roughnecks because there was always something going on with the football team and because you could feel the pain and stress that the main character was going through because he screwed up a game and made his team lost and is getting made fun of and know he has a chance to redeem himself by playing the same team in the state championship. If you like this book you may also like gym candy because they are both good stories on a football player who overcomes difficulties and they both are very exciting and want to keep you reading.
September 12, 2013
This book is entirely buildup, promising an amazing sports game at the end, where the hero will work hard and finally overcome overwhelming odds. Unfortunately, the climax is only about half a page long, and the hero really doesn't have to struggle to win at all. He just sort of does. Maybe that's realistic or something, but did we really need all that buildup and all those stories about how losing last year affected his life for a half-page long easy victory?
December 14, 2015
I would definitely recommend this book to students who are interested in sports specifically football. This is a fictional book about a young athlete, Travis, who is the main star on the team playing for the State Championships against their rivals, the Pine view Pelicans.This book is mainly about the process of Travis' last year playing football for his team and trying to win the State championships for his team and his hometown. This book is really good and exciting.
June 13, 2016
Roughnecks is about a linemen named Travis Cody. He messed up earlier in the year against the best defensive linemen in the state and that made them lose there only game. But he gets another chance I the state championship game against the same team. He gets incredibly nervous before the game but he overcomes this nervousness and takes on Jericho and beats him to win the state championship.
January 8, 2008
Tom's first novel--also set in Louisiana--an absorbing account of a high school football player's big game day.
March 19, 2008
Reviewed for CBPR
January 22, 2009
Good book!
April 6, 2010
good book
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