Author(s): Janet Eoff Berend
Format: Paperback
No. of Pages: 128
Publisher: BREAKAWAY BOOKS
Language: English
Date Published: 2012-08-28
Dimensions: 149.86 x 223.52 x 10.16mm
Publication City/Country: Halcottsville, New York, United States
Edition:
Illustrations:

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.