Forward Pass

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Description

Podium Sports Academy’s star goalkeeper wants nothing more than to play on Canada’s National Team. Parmita works hard at school and on the pitch, so if it seems like she’s avoiding boys, she hopes everyone will think it’s because she wants to be the best, and not because she’s secretly attracted to girls.

The team’s new assistant coach may actually have the pull to get Parmita a National Team tryout, but Parmita is uncomfortable with her coach’s constant flirting and accidentally-on-purpose touching. After the coach guesses her secret about her sexuality and corners her in the locker room, Parmita has to decide how far she’ll go to get a tryout.

 

Awards

Best Book for Kids and Teens starred selection
Commended One of the Year’s Best 2013 Resource Links

 

Details

  • Reading level: YA Teen
  • Paperback: 144 pages
  • Publisher: James Lorimer and Company
  • Language: English
  • ISBN: 145940372X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1459403727

Awards: Canadian Children’s Book Centre – 2013

Commended – Best Books for Kids & Teens *Starred Selection*

Publishers Weekly

“Exciting soccer action, hot-button issues (conservative Christian views, differing attitudes toward homosexuality, sexual abuse), and teen angst find balanced footing within Parmita’s experiences in a story that will leave readers with plenty of food for thought.”

Booklist (U.S.)

“Appealing to sports fans and high-school students reading below grade level.”

Patricia Jermey Resource Links

“Podium Sports Academy is a great concept. Take the pressures of a regular high school experience and dial them up tenfold — and you have Podium Sports Academy.” Rated E, excellent – Resource Links”

Jillian Sexton CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“Lorna Schultz Nicholson is to be commended for her no-fear approach to writing about serious issues that have resonance with real life. Nicholson’s extensive knowledge of the sports world makes for a glimpse into the real behind-the-scenes of practices, locker rooms, and tournament life. Nicholson gives her protagonists and secondary characters great depth, which ensures that the friendships and team dynamics between the characters are relatable and, above all else, believable.”

Tara Chevrestt BookBabe.blogspot.com, NewAgeMama.blogspot.com

“Parm being a young girl who hasn’t yet ‘come out’ of the closet yet is faced with some really tough choices. This is an important story. Many young people face stuff like this and sadly, out of shame or fear, won’t speak up. This enables people in positions of power to continue abusing others, something Parm realizes…. I appreciated the lessons in this book and the fact it brings awareness to a serious problem, not only sexual abuse, but a teenager’s fear of ‘coming out’.”