Fifteen-year-old Monty [protagonist of Brogg's Brain] is on the track team, but he has little ambition and little expectation of winning races. It's his father who keeps pushing Monty, who talks things over with the coach, who pushes so hard he almost makes the boy lose interest. One night he and Cindy (a mild but growing love interest) see a movie called "Brogg's Brain," and—as in the movie—a disembodied voice seems to spur Monty on to win a race. This is not, however, the formula last-minute victory: Monty's win brings him no new status, no kudos, just some personal satisfaction. Although this has less surface sophistication, it is in some ways more mature than other (not all) Platt novels, knitting the theme of the reluctant sportsman, the basic father-son relationship, the growing self-confidence, and the increasing relaxation in the boy-girl relationship into a sturdy and effective...