Spiked

Lorimer Sports Stories

by Steven Barwin

Eighth-grader Emma is the tallest person in her class. While she used to be into sports in a big way, now that she's hanging out with her new best friend, other things have become more important -- like clothes and makeup and fitting in. When Emma gets roped into volunteering for the girls? volleyball team, she feels the urge to play again. First, though, she?ll have to overcome her fear of what her new friends will say if she does.

Genres: Sports

120 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2013

About the author

STEVEN BARWIN is a writer and a teacher who lives in Toronto. He has written for television shows as well as DVD interactive games. His previous Sports Stories novels, Slam Dunk and Roller Hockey Blues, were both Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice selections.

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great middle school book about fitting in with your peers and discovering your potential. Not everyone who is friendly is your friend. Emma wants to be popular and fit in, but she figures out that not all of the popular kids have good intentions. Being popular is not always good.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emma is horrified when her mother makes a deal with her math teacher and volunteers her to help with the volleyball team. Then the coach gets her to agree to be on the team rather than running his errands and cleaning the locker room. Unfortunately, her friend Hailey decides that Emma is a traitor to their friendship and begins to torment her. The team captain is not much better, because she resents that Emma joined the team reluctantly. Things get worse and worse as bullying at school and online makes Emma miserable. Will she find some real friends that will stand up for her? Will everyone see the bullies for what they really are? And will Emma rediscover her love of sports? This story has sports, friendships, and other complications all set in a school environment. It's great for readers who enjoy sports stories or school stories.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

[Melissa Herston · Rating 3 out of 5]

In compliance with FTC guidelines; I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

This book is a good story for young readers.

I felt this story did an okay job of capturing the range of emotions an eighth grade girl might feel when going through an unwelcome change but there could have been a more in depth analyses of the emotion the main character was feeling.

I had a hard time picturing the characters as there was not very much description given to each one. The surroundings were offered even less description.

The story was short. It took about two hours to read and came to a rather abrupt ending. I appreciated the realistic ending as opposed to a storybook ending where everything is happily ever after.

[Mary Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much depth to the characters or plot, but an easy read with a storyline that many tweens can relate to--peer pressure, bullying, fitting in, meaning of friendship, etc. It's a bit heavy-handed in the lessons, but certainly gets the point across. Includes some adults as positive role models, particularly the volleyball coach. Reminiscent of the old "After School Specials" on TV. Good choice for reluctant readers. Targeted age range (10-13) is just right.

[AnnieM · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's tolerable. I wish there was something a bit more. The characters seemed shallow, although some of them were genuinely shallow. It's hard to find a decent sports focused novel. I hoped this would have been a little better.

Maybe after an edit and the final publish it will be better. It won't work in my library.