Stevie and Susan Carol are at it again.  This time their nose for news is about to uncover a scandal at the Army-Navy football game.  If you haven’t met them before, Stevie and Susan Carol are teen sports reporters.  Since winning a writing contest as 8th graders, they have been working with two seasoned reporters, Bobby Kelleher and Tamara Mearns, ever since.  They have covered some of the biggest events in sports (the Super Bowl, the Final Four) and uncovered some of the biggest scandals.  Now they are back again in The Rivalry:  Mystery at the Army-Navy Game (Yearling 2010).

This time around, Stevie and Susan Carol split up (not their relationship, just news coverage) to report on the traditions and competition with “America’s Game,” the annual football game between Army and Navy.  Stevie heads to West Point while Susan Carol travels to Annapolis.  The trouble begins when Susan Carol expresses her frustration with the lousy officiating at the Navy-Notre Dame game.  The same officials are scheduled to work the Army-Navy game, too.  Is it just bad calls, or is something more sinister going on?  In addition to interviewing players and coaches, they also get to know the Secret Service since the President traditionally performs the coin toss to start the game.  When it comes to the President, the Secret Service doesn’t mess around.

It is probably a bit atypical for two teens to uncover so much trouble.  I certainly hope there aren’t scandals underlying every major sporting event like Stevie and Susan Carol find.   Even so, I enjoy each of John Feinstein’s stories involving these two teen reporters.  I love the behind-the-scenes looks at the big events, especially the long-standing traditions with the Army-Navy game.  I love how hard Stevie and Susan Carol work to uncover the truth and back it up before printing.  They know the power of words and don’t take it lightly.