Reaching The Summit

TNT Force Cheer #2

by Dana Burkey

TNT Force is one of the top ranked all star cheerleading gyms in North Texas, and for Max Turner it is a place she never thought she would call home. After a rough start to her cheerleading career, she is finally fitting in and enjoying her time practice at the gym, as well as her time performing on Blast, the gyms junior level 3 team. But, the farther into the competition season they get, Max and the other ladies of Blast are starting to falter in their elite level cheerleading. With stunts not staying in the air, tumbling passes not hitting the mark, and competition after competition going by without a first place win, Max is beginning to get overwhelmed by her competitive spirit. Is staying on a losing team with her friends worth the constant defeat? Can her team rise to the occasion and actually win? With Summit, a massive international cheerleading competition, less than a month away, Max has a big decision to make. Knowing that her team is fighting to even compete at a basic level, is it time for Max to leave the gym and go back to playing the sports she enjoyed before she began cheer? With her friends, team, and cheerleading career hanging in the balance, follow Max as she navigates through big decisions and changes that could forever affect her place at the TNT Force gym.

336 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2016

About the author

Dana Burkey is a self-published author living in Bellingham, Washington. She has been enjoying her time in the Pacific North-West since 2009, making her move there after graduating from Youngstown State University in Ohio. She began self-publishing young adult fiction in August of 2014, and is most known for her TNT Force Cheer Series. Currently Burkey is enjoying performing improv, creating stories, and looking for life's next adventure.

Reviews

[Dana Burkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark your calendars for the release of book 2 in the TNT Force Cheer series! Following Max after joining the TNT Force cheerleading gym in Learning to Fly, Reaching The Summit shows readers Max's competitive side. The book also helps reads get to know max's friends, including Connor, Peter, and of course Halley and Lexi. The book takes a longer look at the competition aspect of competitive cheer, leading up to the final competition of the season for Max's team: Summit!

This book picked up shortly after the last one ended, and will be another fun read for young audiences. The book allow everyone to see a little more of the cheerleading world through Max's unique experiences. This book is due out in October of 2016, with ARCs available to readers this summer!

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reaching the Summit is the second book of the TNT Force series and this second book of the series did not disappoint. This time, we can see Max grow as an adolescent, as an athlete, and as a friend. And I loved it!

I love the new things that are here in the book. My head is actually too jumbled to say anything because there are so many good elements about the book. I mentioned that we see Max grow as an adolescent. Max is thirteen years old now and she's beginning to understand herself as a girl and how other sees her too. I love the fact that Max is very open about this. Things like make-up and dresses definitely bothered her at first but she realized that it wasn't that bad. I swear, while reading this, I was actually wishing I had friends and older influences to share make-overs with and stuff when I was a kid. I just feel like every girl deserves this so much! I really appreciate the fact that Max also feels insecure about some things too. I just find that negative feelings mentioned in books are such a good thing for young readers because they would know that it is not bad to feel that way but at the same time, they are not the only ones feeling them. Another adolescent scene I saw was definitely Max's relationships with boys. Without saying too much, I just find this is good (and adorable) because this is part of growing up.

You know how there are people who are just talented and who are good in whatever sport they try? Well, Max is one of them. It was mentioned before that Max was in a basketball team and it's also mentioned in this book that she does other sports too. I definitely saw that Max grew as athlete more. Besides the fact that Max is very competitive, we see her grow by realizing that showing sportsmanship is better than anything else. And the attitude that you bring to any sport definitely counts.

Friendship is such a main focus in this book. I am in love with the way Max appreciates her friendships in this book. In the previous book, it is mentioned but not as much as in this one. I love that she trusts her friends with the new things she experiences. Or that, she makes sure that she makes time with all of them.

I very much love the realness of this book to life. For example, you just cannot help but compare the people you meet. Or compare this experience to another experience. In this book, we meet a friend from Max's softball team. And Max realized that she never got to hang out with her teammates outside the field. And it's just so real all through out life. There's just people you meet, and that's it. That's why you appreciate the people that stay and make an effort to reach out and become friends for the longest time.

I found this book very interesting but quite dragging. It was hard for me to start the book. But I think that the writer improved her writing style because I can actually imagine the stunts better and clearer this time. And the way she tries to pass a message to the reader is very evident which I truly appreciate.

Besides the book being quite dragging there is another thing that didn't sit too well with me. I don't want to give away too much but there is a part that I feel like is very over done to the point that it looks bad that I thought kids who read this might have a negative thought about it. But I'm not sure, that's just probably me.

I still stand by to what I said from my previous review with the first book. This is definitely something parents should read too. Although, Max's dad have lesser parts here, his appearances count every second. And the things that he say just makes him such a good parent because he actually let's Max think, choose and realize things on her own. He doesn't make things easy or spoon feed her because he really wants Max to know what she wants and learn from her decisions. And it's not just her dad but the adults in the book too, like her coaches.

I really wish the series would get more attention because it's not just good, but very good and inspiring. This is such a satisfying read!

I was given a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

[Celinda Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

*First of all I want to say thank you to Dana Burkey for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
Ok I just have to say that I LOVED this book! Dana once again writes an enertaining story that is full of heart and a fun charm that is intoxicating from the 1st page until the last. You can check out my full review of Reaching The Summit & my interview with Dana here:
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[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining read. Although I never participated in competitive cheerleading, I really enjoyed Reaching The Summit. I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway.