"Music, performing arts, sports and hockey collide in this young adult novel about family, commitment, and friendship set against coming-of-age social issues of two exceptionally gifted young adults who are both facing uncommon pressures to succeed. --
Two children go ice skating, fall through thin ice, and once they are safely home, they learn more about how matter changes state from solid to liquid to gas. Includes two hands-on experiments and further resources.
A professional ice skater is targeted by a vengeful killer in this “riveting” romantic thriller by the New York Times–bestselling author (RT Book Reviews). Blood runs cold . . . At first, the victims seem random, casualties of bad luck or bad judgment. But the body count keeps growing, until there’s no denying the trail of death that makes its way from city to city. And always, it leads right to Sasha Miller’s door. Sasha’s ice-skating career was almost destroyed when her partner was jailed on drug charges. Through sheer determination she rebuilt her life, yet lately, she can’t shake the feeling she's being watched. Undercover DEA agent Mick Vinicor was convinced Sasha had something to hide. Now he’s realizing how much she has to fear . . . The nightmare has begun again. But this time, the stakes are much higher. Someone has been waiting to make Sasha pay—someone who’ll show her that vengeance is twisted, merciless, and colder than the grave . . . “Riveting and absorbing . . . Sensual and emotional . . . Dynamic suspense.” —Romantic Times
It’s Impossible to Forget Tonya Harding. She will be forever remembered as a tough-talking, hard-living athlete who would do anything to become an Olympic Gold Medalist. But was Tonya Harding a misunderstood girl from the wrong side of the tracks? Did her raw talent and burning ambition trip her up? How far was she willing to go to beat her greatest rival, Nancy Kerrigan? Award-winning sportswriter Joe Layden and bestselling author Frank Coffey go past the bright lights of the rink to find the truth behind Harding’s public image. Despite a nightmare childhood of poverty and abuse, a troubled marriage, and a disastrous divorce, Harding became one of her generation’s greatest figure skaters. But did she reach her sport’s ultimate goal fair and square? How deeply was she involved in the stunning attack on Nancy Kerrigan? How did she really feel about her rival? Throughout the controversy that derailed her career, Harding held her head high and stayed true to herself. Fierce, undaunted, uncensored—this is the true story of Tonya Harding. Includes 10 revealing photographs!
In 1921, when he was 11 years old, Anatol Rapoport attempted to ice skate out of Russia to freedom in Poland. Caught by border guards and turned back, he decided to try again with the help of professional Army smugglers. This bittersweet story of emigration, by the famed psychologist and mathematician known for his work in game theory, is set against the background of the Russian revolution and civil war. Poignant accounts of life in the Ukraine and Crimea, stories of Red and White Army soldiers bivouacking in his home, and a 200-mile train ride that takes 13 days in the comfort of a boxcar make this Canadian/American author's story unforgettable.
Ryan Minkoff was blessed with athleticism, perseverance, and an unquenchable passion for playing hockey. His journey to the pros against lofty odds was, as he says, “unconventional.” Minkoff’s love for the game began in Minnesota, the State of Hockey, where his youth and high-school experiences were anything but ordinary. His suitcase always packed, he played for seven different hockey programs in a fourteen-year span. While Minkoff’s confidence wavered and was often challenged, his determination and passion stayed strong, and he found his way to the University of Washington to play in the unfamiliar world of club hockey. Despite discouraging circumstances, such as games in empty arenas starting well after midnight to hitchhiking home after a long road trip, Minkoff not only set records, captained the squad, and ran the club as the president, he also formed strong bonds with his coaches and teammates. Following an illustrious club career, Minkoff landed in the professional ranks of Finland, where—in the midst of nearly crashing a Zamboni, acting as the town’s Santa Claus, and sleeping at the rink—he truly discovered his gift of a lifetime in the game of hockey. Thin Ice is an honest, witty, inspirational coming-of-age story. Ryan Minkoff’s debut memoir is for anyone who roots for an underdog whose dreams will not fade no matter the obstacles.
A bracing call to arms for hockey fans, players, and coaches everywhere Those who have been lured by the the sound of skate blades slicing into fresh ice, by the incomparable speed, split-second decisions, and everything-or-nothing attitude of the game know that hockey can seem like its own world. It's all-consuming and exhilarating, boasting its own language and complex morality code. Yet in another light, that tight community can turn insular; the values of teamwork and humility can manifest as collective silence in the face of abuse and discrimination, issues which have been brought to the forefront of the sport as many share their stories for the first time. In Game Misconduct, reporters Evan Moore and Jashvina Shah reveal hockey's toxic undercurrent which has permeated the sport throughout the junior, college, and professional levels. They address the topic with a level of passion that comes from being rabid hockey fans themselves, and from experiencing its exclusivity first-hand. With a sensitive yet incisive approach, this necessary book lays bare the issues of racism, homophobia, xenophobia, bullying, sexism, and violence on and off the ice. Readers will learn about notable players and activists fighting for transformation as well as those beyond the spotlight who are nonetheless deeply affected by hockey's culture of inaction.Both a reckoning and a roadmap, Game Misconduct is an essential read for modern hockey fans, showing the truth of the sport's past and present while offering the tools to fight for a better future.
Dick Gartee is a time traveler who has journeyed ninety-three years from the past—one day at a time. During the Great Depression, the only hockey puck in the neighborhood slides onto thin skim-ice and nine-year-old Dick heroically skates after it. When his father leaves his mother for another woman, plucky thirteen-year-old Dick takes a night job in a bakery to help his mother make ends meet. At seventeen, with World War II raging, he enlists in the Navy and rises from gunner mate to payroll and disbursements. By age twenty, the Navy trusts him with two million dollars cash. In the post-war years, he teaches himself engineering, builds factories, and designs manufacturing production lines and industrial robots. Elements of daily life that seemed ordinary to Dick are inconceivable to young people today. His biography provides context for key transformative eras of America’s recent past as Dick faces tribulations and joys with morality, humor, and humility. Younger readers will be astonished to learn how people managed before smartphones while older generations will smile as they recall anecdotes their parents shared. But no matter your age, you will be charmed by Dick’s story, and maybe you will discover some things you didn’t already know.
Kaitlin has given up a lot--even attending school--to pursue her dream of being a champion figure skater, but after she throws a tantrum at a major competition, she is dropped by her coach and prestigious skating club and can only get a spot in the much-ridiculed Fallton Club.
Sharon Robinson, the daughter of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, has crafted a hearwarming, true story about growing up with her father. When Jackie Robinson retires from baseball and moves his family to Connecticut, the beautiful lake on their property is the center of everyone's fun. The neighborhood children join the Robinson kids for swimming and boating. But oddly, Jackie never goes near the water. In a dramatic episode that first winter, the children beg to go ice skating on the lake. Jackie says they can go--but only after he tests the ice to make sure it's safe. The children prod and push to get Jackie outside, until hesitantly, he finally goes. Like a blind man with a stick, (contd.)