{"id":7914958520557,"title":"Captain Skidmark Dances with Destiny","handle":"captain-skidmark-dances-with-destiny","description":"\u003ch6\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR\/ILLUSTRATOR INFO BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/jennifer-a-irwin\"\u003eJennifer A. Irwin\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER HEADING BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFor a while, we were just two cool guys in a cool car out on the town: Alex the Hockey Stud and his sidekick, Captain Skidmark.\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER DESCRIPTION BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWill 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. His seventeen-year-old hockey-star cousin, Alex, is the cherry on the sundae: when he comes to stay with Will's family, the boys hate each other on sight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen, Will stumbles into a local dance school and discovers that for the first time ever, he's\u003cem\u003e good\u003c\/em\u003e at something—but his dad forbids it. No son of his is going to dance. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWill takes readers on a journey through noogies, awkward conversations, and epic farts. Filled with humor, nuance, and emotion, this novel asks serious questions about what makes a family and what makes a man.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER RECOMMENDATIONS BELOW - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"recommended-books\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you like this book, you’ll enjoy these: \u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/worst-case-collin\"\u003eWorst-Case Collin\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/the-way-i-say-it\"\u003eThe Way I Say It \u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/someone-elses-shoes\"\u003eSomeone Else's Shoes\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - START OF TABS - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e [TABS] \u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DOWNLOADABLES BELOW - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDownloadables\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"medium-cover\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/captain-skidmark-dances-with-destiny-cover.jpg?v=1660330883\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/captain-skidmark-dances-with-destiny-cover-hires.jpg.zip?v=1660330883\"\u003eDownload the Cover\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/captain-skidmark-dances-with-destiny-discussion-guide.pdf?v=1669668851\" class=\"product-btn\"\u003eDownload the Discussion Guide\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor \u0026amp; Illustrator\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJennifer A. Irwin, author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJennifer 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. \u003cem\u003eCaptain Skidmark Dances with Destiny\u003c\/em\u003e is her first novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/jennifer-a-irwin\"\u003eRead more \u003c\/a\u003eabout Jennifer\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - ENTER AWARDS \u0026 HONORS BELOW - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAwards \u0026amp; Honors\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComing soon!\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - ENTER REVIEWS BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEditorial Reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNavigating adolescence is hard; family dynamics can make it even harder.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThirteen-year-old Will Stone feels like a loser. He’s a skittish new student at Boundary Street Middle School in Evanston, Ontario. His dad, the new principal, has cachet as a former professional hockey player, while Will has earned a special level of disgrace after scoring a goal for the opposing team. Things might be looking up with the news that his cousin Alex, 17, will be coming from cosmopolitan Montreal to live with them. Will sees a potential cool protector. Instead, Alex turns out to be a surly slob. Worse, he becomes the hockey team’s new assistant coach. Deliverance comes unexpectedly: Will’s kinetic ricocheting as he flees bullies attracts the eye of Jesús Rodriguez, who invites Will into his dance studio. Will is leery, but the flattery of attractive Tessa Harper seals the deal. Will’s hockey skills fail to improve, but he doesn’t care as he tears it up on the dance floor, and his self-esteem blossoms. Now, how to break this news to his hockey-fanatic family? If the first half of Irwin’s bubbly debut is about finding one’s bliss, the second half tackles deeper, related questions about identity and masculinity. The first-person narrative sometimes feels too sophisticated for the hyper hero, but there’s consistent humor, compassion in abundance, and relatable characters. Will and his family read White; some ethnic diversity is cued in the supporting cast.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdolescent angst and its issues unpacked with a caring, comic eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWill Stone may well be the worst hockey player ever to take the ice, but from the moment he’s roped into taking a ballroom-dancing lesson, he knows he’s got a gift. But what will his former NHL-star dad say when he finds out? Not to mention his caustic, scornful grandpa and the vicious tormentors who have made life at school a living hell? Except for the relentless bullying, Irwin delivers her debut’s events in a light tone, endowing her resilient but conflicted 13-year-old with comically painful adolescent issues. She also provides unexpected allies, both high-schoolers, in dance partner Tessa (“majestically hot”) and a newly arrived live-in cousin with pa-rental issues of his own. The author sets up cli-mactic 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DETAILS BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDetails\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardcover\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-1-62354-254-2\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAges: 10+\u003cbr\u003ePage count: 320\u003cbr\u003e5\u003csup data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\/\u003c\/span\u003e\u003csub data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e2 \u003c\/sub\u003ex 8\u003csup data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\/\u003c\/span\u003e\u003csub data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e4\u003c\/sub\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n[\/TABS]","published_at":"2022-08-29T15:54:09-04:00","created_at":"2022-08-29T15:35:20-04:00","vendor":"Charlesbridge","type":"Children's Book","tags":["Browse by Age_Middle Grade","Browse by Fiction\/Nonfiction_Fiction","Browse by Format_Novel","Browse by Language_English","Browse by Subject_Art\/Music\/Theater","Browse by Subject_Humor","Browse by Subject_Life Lessons \u0026 Skills","Browse by Subject_School Days","Browse by Subject_Sports"],"price":1799,"price_min":1799,"price_max":1799,"available":true,"price_varies":false,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":43262552408301,"title":"Hardcover","option1":"Hardcover","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"42542","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":37751228760301,"product_id":7914958520557,"position":1,"created_at":"2022-08-29T15:39:24-04:00","updated_at":"2022-08-29T15:39:25-04:00","alt":null,"width":600,"height":899,"src":"\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/captain-skidmark-dances-with-destiny-cover.jpg?v=1661801965","variant_ids":[43262552408301]},"available":true,"name":"Captain Skidmark Dances with Destiny - Hardcover","public_title":"Hardcover","options":["Hardcover"],"price":1799,"weight":369,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_quantity":9,"inventory_management":"shopify","inventory_policy":"continue","barcode":"978-1-62354-254-2","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":30330677526765,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.667,"height":899,"width":600,"src":"\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/captain-skidmark-dances-with-destiny-cover.jpg?v=1661801965"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/captain-skidmark-dances-with-destiny-cover.jpg?v=1661801965"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/captain-skidmark-dances-with-destiny-cover.jpg?v=1661801965","options":["Title"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":30330677526765,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.667,"height":899,"width":600,"src":"\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/captain-skidmark-dances-with-destiny-cover.jpg?v=1661801965"},"aspect_ratio":0.667,"height":899,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/captain-skidmark-dances-with-destiny-cover.jpg?v=1661801965","width":600}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003ch6\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR\/ILLUSTRATOR INFO BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/jennifer-a-irwin\"\u003eJennifer A. Irwin\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER HEADING BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFor a while, we were just two cool guys in a cool car out on the town: Alex the Hockey Stud and his sidekick, Captain Skidmark.\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER DESCRIPTION BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWill 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. His seventeen-year-old hockey-star cousin, Alex, is the cherry on the sundae: when he comes to stay with Will's family, the boys hate each other on sight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen, Will stumbles into a local dance school and discovers that for the first time ever, he's\u003cem\u003e good\u003c\/em\u003e at something—but his dad forbids it. No son of his is going to dance. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWill takes readers on a journey through noogies, awkward conversations, and epic farts. Filled with humor, nuance, and emotion, this novel asks serious questions about what makes a family and what makes a man.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER RECOMMENDATIONS BELOW - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"recommended-books\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you like this book, you’ll enjoy these: \u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/worst-case-collin\"\u003eWorst-Case Collin\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/the-way-i-say-it\"\u003eThe Way I Say It \u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/someone-elses-shoes\"\u003eSomeone Else's Shoes\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - START OF TABS - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e [TABS] \u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DOWNLOADABLES BELOW - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDownloadables\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"medium-cover\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/captain-skidmark-dances-with-destiny-cover.jpg?v=1660330883\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/captain-skidmark-dances-with-destiny-cover-hires.jpg.zip?v=1660330883\"\u003eDownload the Cover\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/captain-skidmark-dances-with-destiny-discussion-guide.pdf?v=1669668851\" class=\"product-btn\"\u003eDownload the Discussion Guide\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor \u0026amp; Illustrator\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJennifer A. Irwin, author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJennifer 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. \u003cem\u003eCaptain Skidmark Dances with Destiny\u003c\/em\u003e is her first novel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/jennifer-a-irwin\"\u003eRead more \u003c\/a\u003eabout Jennifer\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - ENTER AWARDS \u0026 HONORS BELOW - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAwards \u0026amp; Honors\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComing soon!\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - ENTER REVIEWS BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEditorial Reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNavigating adolescence is hard; family dynamics can make it even harder.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThirteen-year-old Will Stone feels like a loser. He’s a skittish new student at Boundary Street Middle School in Evanston, Ontario. His dad, the new principal, has cachet as a former professional hockey player, while Will has earned a special level of disgrace after scoring a goal for the opposing team. Things might be looking up with the news that his cousin Alex, 17, will be coming from cosmopolitan Montreal to live with them. Will sees a potential cool protector. Instead, Alex turns out to be a surly slob. Worse, he becomes the hockey team’s new assistant coach. Deliverance comes unexpectedly: Will’s kinetic ricocheting as he flees bullies attracts the eye of Jesús Rodriguez, who invites Will into his dance studio. Will is leery, but the flattery of attractive Tessa Harper seals the deal. Will’s hockey skills fail to improve, but he doesn’t care as he tears it up on the dance floor, and his self-esteem blossoms. Now, how to break this news to his hockey-fanatic family? If the first half of Irwin’s bubbly debut is about finding one’s bliss, the second half tackles deeper, related questions about identity and masculinity. The first-person narrative sometimes feels too sophisticated for the hyper hero, but there’s consistent humor, compassion in abundance, and relatable characters. Will and his family read White; some ethnic diversity is cued in the supporting cast.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdolescent angst and its issues unpacked with a caring, comic eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eWill Stone may well be the worst hockey player ever to take the ice, but from the moment he’s roped into taking a ballroom-dancing lesson, he knows he’s got a gift. But what will his former NHL-star dad say when he finds out? Not to mention his caustic, scornful grandpa and the vicious tormentors who have made life at school a living hell? Except for the relentless bullying, Irwin delivers her debut’s events in a light tone, endowing her resilient but conflicted 13-year-old with comically painful adolescent issues. She also provides unexpected allies, both high-schoolers, in dance partner Tessa (“majestically hot”) and a newly arrived live-in cousin with pa-rental issues of his own. The author sets up cli-mactic 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DETAILS BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDetails\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardcover\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-1-62354-254-2\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAges: 10+\u003cbr\u003ePage count: 320\u003cbr\u003e5\u003csup data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\/\u003c\/span\u003e\u003csub data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e2 \u003c\/sub\u003ex 8\u003csup data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\/\u003c\/span\u003e\u003csub data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e4\u003c\/sub\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n[\/TABS]"}