On the Line

by Paul Coccia, Eric Walters

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Pub Date Mar 15 2022 | Archive Date Feb 22 2022

Orca Book Publishers

LGBTQIAP+ | Middle Grade | Sports

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Description

Thirteen-year-old basketball star Jordan Ryker feels like his life is falling apart.

All Jordie wanted was for his parents to stop fighting. Soon, he gets his wish. His parents separate and then his dad announces he’s gay. Shocked, Jordie struggles with how to process all this. His dad taught him everything he knows about basketball, and there’s an important championship game coming up. He needs him more than ever. But Jordie feels like his dad has abandoned his family. He doesn’t want anything to do with him now and he definitely doesn't want to meet his dad’s new boyfriend. It takes a new girl with wicked basketball skills and a revelation from his best friend to help Jordie realize that while some things change, other things never do.

A Note From the Publisher

Paul Coccia is the author of The Player and the bestselling Orca Soundings title Cub, which was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. He has an MFA in creative writing from UBC and lives in Toronto with his family.

Eric Walters is a Member of the Order of Canada and the author of over 115 books that have collectively won more than 100 awards, and many of them have been translated into one or more of 15 different languages. A former teacher, Eric began writing as a way to get his fifth-grade students interested in reading and writing. Eric is a tireless presenter, speaking to over 100,000 students per year in schools across the country. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.

Advance Praise

“Readers will embrace the language and style of the book…This is a coming-of-age story with a real-life scenario that teenagers, or those they know, could face.”—School Library Connection

“Beautifully and realistically rendered…Shines a light on the restorative power of best friends and caring family…Both straight and LGBTQ+ readers will love a work created by two outstanding writers who, as it turns out, are greater than the sum of their storytelling parts. Highly Recommended.”—CM Reviews

“A story that challenges young readers to see beyond themselves and from different perspectives and with compassion for the struggles that others may be experiencing.”—CanLit for LittleCanadians

“The pairing of superstar author Eric Walters with relative newcomer Paul Coccia is nothing short of brilliant. The result is a thoughtful, engaging story of basketball, cars, trucks, friends and family and what happens in a small town when it is revealed that someone is gay. This is a heartfelt story that is sure to appeal to Walters's fans and will propel Coccia to a wider audience. Very highly recommended.”—Ken Setterington, author of the Stonewall Honor Book Branded by the Pink Triangle and Righting Canada’s Wrongs: The LGBT Purge and the fight for equal rights in Canada

"This story brought tears to my eyes because I can relate to how sport has the ability to be the space where one feels comfortable when everything around them seems to be falling apart. I was also really impacted by seeing the reality of how one’s actions have a ripple effect on those around them, including how quickly word can spread throughout a community. A must-read for anyone in the LGBTQ+ community, allies, athletes or anyone with a beating heart!”—Chris Voth, Canada’s first openly gay national team athlete

“Readers will embrace the language and style of the book…This is a coming-of-age story with a real-life scenario that teenagers, or those they know, could face.”—School Library Connection

“Beautifully...