Vertical

by Janet Eoff Berend

Overview

Skateboarder Josh Lowman witnesses one of the best skateboarders in town (the local bully) commit a crime. For days he agonizes over whether to tell anyone. Meanwhile, his friendships with a fellow skater (who is debating whether to drop out of school), a beautiful girl in his class (who loves to read, and seems to like Josh), and a cool math tutor (a college student who skates) slowly steer him toward a new kind of courage.

Josh has a mesmerizing narrator's voice; he rattles off a vacuous Valley-speak while slowly coming into his own, intellectually and morally. There is a hint of Holden Caufield about him. Vivid descriptions of skateboarding throughout the book will keep any skateboarder glued to the page. And a plot that rolls ahead constantly will maintain the reader's attention, while intermittently sneaking in a few lessons from English and math class, which serve to advance the story. (References to math in skateboard ramp design; plus small epiphanies from Lord of the Flies, Antigone, and Of Mice and Men.) Josh starts out as a school-hating dude and slowly comes around to seeing that he can skate and be smart . . . and a decent person.

Vertical will be loved by kids and by parents and teachers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781891369988
Publisher:	Breakaway Books
Publication date:	08/28/2012
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	11 - 15 Years

About the Author

Janet Berend has taught English and Creative Writing at La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, California for the past fifteen years

Table of Contents

Rat Traps 7
Nobody Likes a Rat 11
Falling 18
Earthquake Drills 21
Maximum Brotherhood 23
One-Two Punch 29
Bright Horizons 33
Word of the Day 36
Different Directions 43
Restoration of Broken Parts 47
Antigone 50
Initiation 54
Solo 63
Grace Is Sick 67
Obscure 73
Stupid Shoe 80s
Little Tremors 83
The Big One Hits 86
Ice Chips 89
Passing Gas 91
Squeaky Shoes 94
Sick 96
Yoda 99
Men and Mouses 103
Pull the Trigger 106
Leaving 110
Sucky Endings 111
Puzzle Pieces 113
Lost in the Wilderness 116
Preparing for Battle 119
Slaying the Beast 121

Questions for Discussion 124
Glossary of Skating Terms 126
About the Author 128

Editorial Reviews

“I think Vertical is awesome! It felt like I was reliving the early years where my passion for skateboarding was so new, fresh, and profound.”
—Danny Way, three-time X Games gold medalist

“Berend captures perfectly the bravado and angst of teenage boys hooked on wanting to risk it all and terrified of losing something they can’t define. A tightly drawn tale of when to speak out and the cost of friendship, Vertical glides in and out of trouble as deftly as Josh Lowman’s skateboard.”
—Sarah Collins Honenberger, author of the bestseller Catcher, Caught

“Vertical gives you the true feeling of what it’s like to have an obsession with skateboarding.”
—Mike McGill, skateboarding legend

“I really felt a connection to this book and all of the skateboarding parts. It just feels real.”
—Mitchie Brusco, youngest athlete to compete in the X Games 2011 Mega Ramp, first person to land the 900 in Mega Ramp competition

“The narrator’s voice is very authentic. Skating details are incredible. . . . The tension builds gradually and becomes a real page-turner. . . . Teens will appreciate the appeal of day-to-day skating challenges overlaid with larger life challenges. Being a teenager often does feel like being at the top of a large half pipe and what kid doesn’t want to feel that exhilaration of soaring above it all?”
—Laurie Stowell, Ph.D., California State University, San Marcos, Literacy Education


“I think Vertical is awesome! It felt like I was reliving the early years where my passion for skateboarding was so new, fresh, and profound.”
—Danny Way, three-time X Games gold medalist

“Berend captures perfectly the bravado and angst of teenage boys hooked on wanting to risk it all and terrified of losing something they can’t define. A tightly drawn tale of when to speak out and the cost of friendship, Vertical glides in and out of trouble as deftly as Josh Lowman’s skateboard.”
—Sarah Collins Honenberger, author of the bestseller Catcher, Caught

“Vertical gives you the true feeling of what it’s like to have an obsession with skateboarding.”
—Mike McGill, skateboarding legend

“I really felt a connection to this book and all of the skateboarding parts. It just feels real.”
—Mitchie Brusco, youngest athlete to compete in the X Games 2011 Mega Ramp, first person to land the 900 in Mega Ramp competition

“The narrator’s voice is very authentic. Skating details are incredible. . . . The tension builds gradually and becomes a real page-turner. . . . Teens will appreciate the appeal of day-to-day skating challenges overlaid with larger life challenges. Being a teenager often does feel like being at the top of a large half pipe and what kid doesn’t want to feel that exhilaration of soaring above it all?”
—Laurie Stowell, Ph.D., California State University, San Marcos, Literacy Education

From the Publisher