On the Line

by Paul Coccia, Eric Walters

Overview

Key Selling Points

• In On the Line, a basketball star struggles to make sense of things when he learns his father is gay.
• Veteran children’s author Eric Walters has teamed up with rising star Paul Coccia to bring their expertise together into a single POV.
• This book explores the themes of family dynamics and divorce.
• Paul Coccia's book Cub was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and was commended as a CCBC Best Books for Kids and Teens.
• Eric Walters has written more than 10 books featuring basketball, including Triple Threat, co-written with NBA fan-favorite Jerome Williams.
• Eric Walters founded the I Read Canadian Day movement and the day is now celebrated annually on February 17th.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459827158
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	03/15/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
Lexile:	550L (what's this?)
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Paul Coccia is the author of The Player and the bestselling Orca Soundings title Cub, which was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. He has an MFA in creative writing from UBC and lives in Toronto with his family.

Eric Walters is a Member of the Order of Canada and the author of over 115 books that have collectively won more than 100 awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Award for The King of Jam Sandwiches. A former teacher, Eric began writing as a way to get his fifth-grade students interested in reading and writing. Eric is a tireless presenter, speaking to over one hundred thousand students per year in schools across the country. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.

Paul Coccia is the author of the bestselling Orca Soundings title Cub, which was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, and The Player. His most recent book, On The Line, was co-authored with Eric Walters. Paul has an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and lives in Toronto with his family.

Eric Walters is a Member of the Order of Canada and the author of over 125 books that have collectively won more than 100 awards including the Governor General’s Literary Award for The King of Jam Sandwiches. A former teacher, Eric began writing as a way to get his fifth-grade students interested in reading and writing. Eric is a tireless presenter, speaking to over 100,000 students per year in schools across the country. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.

What People are Saying About This

Ken Setterington

“The pairing of superstar author Eric Walters with relative newcomer Paul Coccia is nothing short of brilliant. The result is a thoughtful, engaging story of basketball, cars, trucks, friends and family and what happens in a small town when it is revealed that someone is gay. This is a heartfelt story that is sure to appeal to Walters's fans and will propel Coccia to a wider audience. Very highly recommended.”

Chris Voth

“On The Line is a heartwarming story about a 13-year-old boy named Jordan, who is put in a situation that requires great maturation. Jordan’s growth involves navigating around new obstacles surrounding homophobia, sexism and masculinity. Through all of the pain Jordan experiences, basketball is the guiding light that offers support when needed and catalyzes him to reflect when he’s ready. Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of the book is the relationships between characters and how they develop. The friendships are immensely powerful and act as a great example of what to strive for. This story brought tears to my eyes because I can relate to how sport has the ability to be the space where one feels comfortable when everything around them seems to be falling apart. I was also really impacted by seeing the reality of how one’s actions have a ripple effect on those around them, including how quickly word can spread throughout a community. A must-read for anyone in the LGBTQ+ community, allies, athletes or anyone with a beating heart!”

Editorial Reviews

On the Line navigates emotionally charged themes with compassion and honesty. The dynamic basketball setting will appeal to its middle-grade audience along with its cast of well-drawn and endearing characters. A touching and refreshing story of a young teen learning what it means to love unconditionally.”

Michelle Kadarusman

An emotional, thought-provoking journey exploring identity, with a basketball backdrop.

Booklist

Beautifully and realistically rendered…Shines a light on the restorative power of best friends and caring family…Both straight and LGBTQ+ readers will love a work created by two outstanding writers who, as it turns out, are greater than the sum of their storytelling parts. Highly Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

A relationship-driven story.

Kirkus Reviews

Readers will embrace the language and style of the book…This is a coming-of-age story with a real-life scenario that teenagers, or those they know, could face.

School Library Connection

A story that challenges young readers to see beyond themselves and from different perspectives and with compassion for the struggles that others may be experiencing.

CanLit for Little Canadians

On The Line is a heartwarming story about a 13-year-old boy named Jordan, who is put in a situation that requires great maturation. Jordan’s growth involves navigating around new obstacles surrounding homophobia, sexism and masculinity. Through all of the pain Jordan experiences, basketball is the guiding light that offers support when needed and catalyzes him to reflect when he’s ready. Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of the book is the relationships between characters and how they develop. The friendships are immensely powerful and act as a great example of what to strive for. This story brought tears to my eyes because I can relate to how sport has the ability to be the space where one feels comfortable when everything around them seems to be falling apart. I was also really impacted by seeing the reality of how one’s actions have a ripple effect on those around them, including how quickly word can spread throughout a community. A must-read for anyone in the LGBTQ+ community, allies, athletes or anyone with a beating heart!

Canada’s first openly gay national team athl Chris Voth

The pairing of superstar author Eric Walters with relative newcomer Paul Coccia is nothing short of brilliant. The result is a thoughtful, engaging story of basketball, cars, trucks, friends and family and what happens in a small town when it is revealed that someone is gay. This is a heartfelt story that is sure to appeal to Walters's fans and will propel Coccia to a wider audience. Very highly recommended.

Ken Setterington

A story that challenges young readers to see beyond themselves and from different perspectives and with compassion for the struggles that others may be experiencing.

CanLit for LittleCanadians

2022-01-11
A middle school basketball player enters a season of strife off the court.

Star power forward Jordan Ryker feels more at home on the basketball court than anywhere else. His parents fight constantly about everything, but especially money with the imminent shutdown of the local automotive plant where his dad works. After every argument, his mom vents her feelings to him, while his ever calm father drives off in his rebuilt ’69 Camaro. At least Jordan can count on Junior, his best friend. When Jordan’s parents announce their separation, even basketball season can’t distract him from his overwhelming home life. Complicating his feelings further, he learns his dad is gay and dating a man. Through Jordan’s first-person point of view, the women and girls in the story are portrayed one dimensionally as highly emotional, an outspoken feminist who doesn’t fit in with other girls, and an attention-seeking flirt. Aspects of Junior’s identity only reveal themselves to serve as sources of conflict. Basketball action plays second string to interpersonal drama, most of which comes as a consequence of Jordan’s father’s coming out. Although Jordan does experience character growth, it happens all at once in a sudden transformation before the resolution. The book follows a White default; Junior is described as half Filipino (the rest of his parentage is not specified).

A relationship-driven story let down by limited characterization. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews