Orr’s afterword has the final words—on passion, struggle, respect—qualities Kootstra has spun into her story with...
Kootstra manages to breed a saxophone to a hockey stick and produce one sweet boy.
It’s the start of grade six. Enough said. But Jay Roberts kind of likes junior high. Home is Parry Sound, Ontario, a small, largely white burg on the shores of Georgian Bay, where Jay gets to exercise his obsession eight months of the year: hockey. And…the peerless Bobby Orr was born in Parry Sound. (Orr is important to the story, so it’s too bad he is summed up as “easily skating around his opponents to find his way to the net for a goal or, if his team was unable to score, fading back to play his position as a defensemen.” Good thing that Orr’s reputation precedes him.) Two nemeses will test Jay’s patience and confidence this year: bully Mick and the saxophone, an instrument Jay gets saddled with and for which he has little affection. But this story has the buoyancy of a life preserver, and humor’s sprinkled around like salt on an icy sidewalk. “All your father and I expect of you is to do your best, your very best, at whatever you do, and try not to throw up.” With a cool hand, Kootstra also gives hidden depths to band geek Ben, draws the commonalities between a stick and a sax, tells two convincing stories about confidence and the journey being the point, and fashions a sharp visualization to end the tale.
Orr’s afterword has the final words—on passion, struggle, respect—qualities Kootstra has spun into her story with understated dexterity. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-670-06940-8
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Puffin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2016
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Breathless action and engaging puzzles make this a page-turner.
In this follow-up to The Mystery of Locked Rooms (2024), young escape artists rashly accept a mysterious game designer’s offer to get a sneak peek at a challenging new set of escape rooms.
Worried by announcements of a new, high-tech fun house that might drive their employer, the Delta Game, out of business, middle schooler Sarah and her friends Hannah and West jump at the chance to give Mystery Mansion a try before it opens to the public. More’s at stake than they suspect, but Currie dispenses with the backstory in a perfunctory way at the end. Her real focus—and the chief appeal here—lies in the set of fiendishly clever escape rooms that she’s devised for the trio and the team dynamics that carry them through: Hannah is the reckless thrill seeker, West is the observant brainiac, and anxiety-prone Sarah has a knack for making correct choices. The story cranks up the suspense, and the Deltas call on all the courage and smarts they can muster, sweeping readers along as they work urgently against the clock to complete the course. Hannah is cued white, West is described as dark-haired, and narrator Sarah isn’t physically described.
Breathless action and engaging puzzles make this a page-turner. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781464234941
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
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