Copyright Date:
2023
Edition Date:
2023
Release Date:
09/05/23
Pages:
372 pages
ISBN:
1-7730-6868-7
ISBN 13:
978-1-7730-6868-8
Dewey:
Fic
Dimensions:
20 cm.
Language:
English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews
An eighth grade goalie plagued by anxiety both on and off the ice finds help and coping strategies.Casting his record of miseries into accessible free verse poems and haiku, with occasional ventures into rhyme, Jonah Vanderbeek tracks his increasing tendency in the years since his mother's sudden death to respond to stress by going stubbornly silent or exploding in rage. Jonah, who is cued as being of Dutch descent, also chronicles inner struggles with fear of failure so intense that at one point he throws up during an ice hockey game-then later comes close to quitting the sport out of guilt when his best friend collapses and is forced to give up his NHL dreams due to a heart condition. The discovery that his distant, repressive dad is actually struggling with an anxiety disorder so severe that he can't work in an office or come to any of Jonah's games is just one more dismal development. Timely if predictable help comes in the form of Rosamie Garcia, an improbably sensitive and tolerant Filipino classmate; a wise school counselor evocatively named Ms. Rogers; and Jonah's own Oma-who steer him toward the realization that there are always helpers. By the climactic championship face-off, he's found ways to keep "the alien / in my brain" at bay, so that win or lose "I'll be okay. // I'll be okay."An unvarnished problem-focused novel with occasional doses of quick ice hockey action. (Verse fiction. 10-13)
The goal light flashes on
crowd groans
our players
deflate.
I whip around
see the puck
tucked in the corner
-- disbelief
even though I know
it's a goal.
Ty
in my face
so close. His eyes blaze
but his voice
is ice -- I thought you said
you had this.
Excerpted from Game Face by Shari Green
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
Thirteen-year-old Jonah is determined to prove that anxiety won't stop him from succeeding as his hockey team's goalie in this dynamic novel in verse. What-ifs rattle around his brain at the worst times, like when he's in the middle of a playoff game. What if he lets his teammates down? What if he can't make it pro? And the biggest what-if of all, the one he keeps to himself -- what if he's like his dad, whose life is controlled by anxiety that has only gotten worse since Jonah's mom died in a car crash? To prove that he's not like that, Jonah is determined to succeed in the high-stress role of goalie. He and his best friend Ty have big plans for their hockey futures. But when Ty suffers a medical crisis during a pivotal game, Jonah's anxiety ramps up to new levels It takes courage to ask for help, but Jonah starts to realize that his team goes beyond the people who lace up their skates with him every week, and maybe it's okay to look for support on and off the ice. From the adrenaline rush of sudden-death overtime to the weight of worrying about letting your teammates -- and yourself -- down, this novel in verse will hook readers from the first line. Key Text Features dialogue poems Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.5 Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.
Common Core
STEAM
Graphic
Novel
High/Low
Chapter
Book
Large
Print
Series Tracker
Manga
Big
Book
Board
Book
Hot
Title
Adult
Language
Mature
Content
Ebook
Ebook
MUA (Multi User Access)
Light Novel
