Powerslide

September 1, 2011
Grades 5-8 Casey doesn't really have any plans after high school. Most of his friends are headed off to college, but all he wants to do is skate. It's a good thing the manager of Jack Coagen, teen heartthrob, has picked Casey to train him for an upcoming skate film. Casey will even get to act as Jack's stunt double! However, Goat, Casey's rival, steps in to undermine Casey every chance he gets, hoping to snag the role for himself. Fans of skateboarding and reluctant readers alike will be thrilled because most of the story is action. Casey and Goat face off in unfilled swimming pools and on giant hills, all while dodging cops and battling paparazzi. Casey must vie with Goat for Coagen's job, one he already thought he'd landed, with increasingly dangerous stunts and trepidation, finally learning the lesson that some risks are not worth taking. Ross (The Drop, 2011) executes the simple plot well and keeps it moving at a clip, and he never forgets to include a few epic wipeouts.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)