Line Change

by W.C. Mack

JT McDonald is back and dealing with a difficult hockey coach ― his dad! JT McDonald is finally back on the ice with his team, doing better at math thanks to tutoring from his teammate Eddie and sporting the awesome new helmet he bought with his prize money from the Vancouver Canucks contest. Everything seems to be getting back on track for JT. That is, until Coach O'Neil has a bad fall on the ice and the team is left without a coach mid-season. JT is thrilled when his dad steps in to lead the team ― but his teammates have a harder time adjusting to the new coach. Suddenly practice time isn't fun anymore, they're fighting among themselves, and they're devastated when they lose a game that should have been an easy win. Can the Cutter Bay Cougars get back on track before the season ends?

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

W. C. Mack was born in Vancouver., B.C. and now lives in Portland, Oregon. She also writes as Winnie Mack.

Reviews

[Siina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely adore this series and I don't even like ice hockey! I never knew I would enjoy a book about a eleven-year-old boy playing ice hockey in Canada. This second part to the series concentrates on Jonathan's team the Cougars and how their manager gets sick and Jonathan's dad replaces him for the time the guy is out of the picture. Dad has different plans to coach and there are conflicts and whatnot, but eventually everything turns out well. Again the plot is simple, but very effective. Mack is an amazing writer, who keeps the tension up and writes so smoothly that you're never bored. The style is awesome and you just end up devouring the book. The series is one of the best ones about sports we have here in Finland for kids and soon we are about to get the third part, which I need to read too. It's just that the covers aren't so good, which hinders the whole thing, since kids are picky. The content, oh the content? So awesome.

This second part is a good continuation to the series and deepens the characters and their relations to one another. Especially happy I'm with Jonathan and Bosco's blooming friendship. My dirty mind wants to ship these two and there's surely something in the setting - it can't be just me. I like how we get to see more of Wendy and the family altogether. Once again it's wonderful how Mack pinpoints important things such as school and whatnot without pointing any fingers. The book is very normal and somehow very magical too. The easiness of it all amazes me and I do hope Mack keeps writing and that we would get more of her books in Finnish. Thank you Karisto for picking this up!

[Reetta Saine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tämän hetken vetävin lätkäsarja jatkaa hyvää menoaan. Isä valmentajana aiheuttaa Nuggetille päänvaivaa, eikä pelikään suju joukkueella niin kuin ennen. Uusien kuvioiden kautta selvitään kuitenkin pinnalle - ja onneksi pääpaino on edelleen urheilussa. Tytöt on vielä yök :p.

[Teebz Hbic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for Line Change can be found on Hockey Blog In Canada.

[Jukka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oivallinen jatko-osa kirjasarjaan ja toivon että sarja saa jatkoa. Tarina oli mukaansa tempaava kirja tulikin luettua melkein pötköön ja olisin mielelläni lukenut hieman pidemmänkin tarinan aiheesta. Vaikka en ehkä olekkaan kirjan kohdeyleisöä pidin siitä. Jos jääkiekko tai urheilu yleisesti on lähellä sydäntä ja nuorille suunnattu kirjoitustyyli ei häiritse suosittelen sarjan molempia kirjoja lämpimästi.

[Mariliis Elizabeth Holzmann]

I was lucky enough to receive this book!
I have been living in Finland for the last few years so being in a hockey obsessed country really sets the mood for reading about a boy’s obsession with hockey and the quest to succeed at the game. Writer has done a nice job of capturing characters thoughts and feelings about the game and family relationships. Great book for younger readers or hockey fan’s.