Captain Skidmark Dances with Destiny

by Jennifer A Irwin (Author)

Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade

This laugh-out-loud middle-grade novel follows thirteen-year-old Will-- who hates hockey and loves dancing--as he navigates school, bullies, and his father's expectations.

Will is a Canadian eighth grader who hates hockey--and he stinks at it, too. Will is bullied at school, doesn't have any friends, and is generally miserable. When Will's seventeen-year-old hockey-star cousin, Alex, arrives to stay with Will's family, Will and Alex quickly realize they can't stand each other. Then Will stumbles into a local dance school. He fights the urge to cha-cha, but he's good! When Will's dad finds out about the dancing, he basically forbids it. And Alex's dad refuses to listen to what Alex wants to do with his life. Will takes readers on a journey through noogies, awkward conversations, and epic farts. He worries, dances, and makes messes. Filled with humor, nuance, and emotion, this novel asks what makes a family and what makes a man.

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Kirkus

Adolescent angst and its issues unpacked with a caring, comic eye.

ALA/Booklist

The author sets up climactic tests of will that will leave readers with two inspiring examples of sons strong enough to chase their own dreams rather than those of their parents, at least one dad who is willing to learn from his mistakes, and a protagonist with a new outlook on a sport he used to hate. That's some fancy footwork.

Jennifer A Irwin
Jennifer A. Irwin holds a master's degree in English literature, as well as a bachelor's in education from McGill University. She teaches middle and senior school English at Lower Canada College. She lives in Montreal, Quebec, with her husband and two sons. Captain Skidmark Dances with Destiny is her first novel.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781623545888
Lexile Measure
750
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Charlesbridge Publishing
Publication date
September 24, 2024
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV005000 - Juvenile Fiction | Boys & Men
JUV039020 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Adolescence
JUV032110 - Juvenile Fiction | Sports & Recreation | Hockey
Library of Congress categories
Dance
Fathers and sons
Interpersonal relations
Bullying
Cousins
Ontario
Hockey
Hockey stories
Bullies and bullying

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