On the surface, fourteen-year-old Chris is pretty average, playing hockey and having friends. But underneath it all, Chris is depressed, full of self-blame and negative thoughts. He quits his hockey team, feeling he has let them down, but his doctor suggests that he should pick up another sport. Chris starts playing soccer, and the positive benefits of sport start to take effect: He is motivated and has fewer self-doubts. But former hockey teammate Trent is on the team, and his suspicions about Chris and his emotional state threaten Chris's acceptance and recovery. When Chris and Trent are chosen for a team to play in a summer tournament, Chris decides to keep his depression a secret. But will rumour and stigma about his condition make him relapse and turn his own team against him?
Thirteen-year-old basketball star Jordan Ryker feels like his life is falling apart. All Jordie wanted was for his parents to stop fighting. Soon, he gets his wish. His parents separate and then his dad announces he’s gay. Shocked, Jordie struggles with how to process all this. His dad taught him everything he knows about basketball, and there’s an important championship game coming up. He needs him more than ever. But Jordie feels like his dad has abandoned his family. He doesn’t want anything to do with him now and he definitely doesn't want to meet his dad’s new boyfriend. It takes a new girl with wicked basketball skills and a revelation from his best friend to help Jordie realize that while some things change, other things never do.
“When you’re hurt, the natural instinct is to hurt back. That doesn’t make it right. But it does make you human. Making mistakes is human, but trying to make things right after makes you a better one.”
This novel is a perfectly-flowing, well-told tale that intersperses delicate issues and emotions with gripping basketball scenes. There’s everything from fun, snappy dialogue to raw emotions and the restorative power of best friends and caring family. Boys accustomed to locker-room banter and team-sports pressure will relate. Athletic and independent-minded female readers will embrace it for the high-spirited character named Tammy, a budding basketball star who chooses to be the first girl on a boy’s team.
Bill Mosienko was one of Manitoba’s greatest hockey players and athletes. Mosienko became a hockey legend in 1952 when he recorded the fastest hat-trick in NHL history—a record that stands to this day. This biography tells the story of a Manitoba legend, from his childhood spent skating on the rinks of Winnipeg’s North End in the 1920s and 30s, to his illustrious fourteen-year NHL career, to his return to Winnipeg to play with the Winnipeg Warriors, to his post-retirement career as the owner of the iconic Mosienko Bowling Lanes. Through exclusive interviews with Mosienko’s friends, family, and teammates, Dilello paints a vivid picture of Mosienko, a man known for his sportsmanship and community spirit as well as his incredible hockey talent.
Ty Dilello’s beautifully written biographical account of William “Bill”Mosienko also depicts some of the National Hockey League’s other G.O.A.Ts. (Greatest of All Times). We follow their journey from virtually unknown to world famous players. The book chronicles the early days of immigrant families living in North End -- one of Winnipeg’s poorest neighborhoods, plagued by poverty and diseases -- and how they dealt with culture shock, economic hardships and racism.
The family’s initial trip should have taken them to Saskatchewan, but a chance encounter with the Shibickys (NHL star Alex Shibicky’s parents) may have been a blessing in disguise.Roman Shibicky somehow convinced them to go to Winnipeg and this is where Bill was introduced to the sport that would eventually make him a household name.
Daniel Mosienko certainly had it hard -- maintaining his extremely large family on such a minimal salary ($1.25 per hour) from his job as a boilermaker with Canadian Pacific Railroad. The depression certainly made life unbearable, yet amidst all that hardship, the Mosienkos found a way to make it through.
Sam's grandfather, Pops, always taught Sam that the most important aspects of rugby are sportsmanship and teamwork. Things are not great at home, but Sam's struggles really begin when his school is shut down and he transfers to Rosedale Heights. He has trouble fitting in with the snobby Rosedale team, especially Bittner, who resents Sam's presence. All seems lost when, set up by Bittner, Sam gets kicked off the team under suspicion of stealing. Can Sam prove his innocence and get back in play for the highly anticipated England game? And can he play the kind of rugby that will make Pops proud? Find out in this gripping high/low middle grade sports story.
