Second Impact, by David & Perri Klass

Second Impact was so good! I think it would appeal to both boys and girls, so I wish it had a little more gender-neutral cover. Right now the cover probably appeals  more to males.

Second Impact is written via blog entries by two Kendall High School students, Carla and Jerry, on the school newspaper's blog. There are also a few chapters that are emails between the two of them. Jerry is the stereotypical high school football quarterback, but he's made one big mistake. In the year before the novel starts, he went to a party and wound up hitting a girl with his car by accident. The school winds up forgiving Jerry and allowing him to continue to play on the team. 

Jerry, soon after starting on the blog, experiences a concussion and that becomes the focus of the novel - Carla blogs about the impacts of concussions on teen athletes, and begs the question of safety in high school football. Not long after Jerry's injury, another teammate, Danny, suffers a more severe concussion. Carla interviews lead brain doctors to get the facts about when students should return to the field.

Kendall HS's principal, Mr. Bamburger, soon decides that he does not want Carla writing about the concussion debacle, as it causes negative PR for the athletic program and the team is on the way to the state championship. Carla does not want her voice silenced, and she begs some good questions - "what about words make people afraid?"

I really enjoyed the novel and reading about Carla's stand against the principal.