Cover Image: The Hockey Saint

The Hockey Saint

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Member Reviews

Tom Leonard is a hockey player and a sophomore in university. His coach made him assistant captain for the team and he may get a full scholarship for his next year at school. He lives with his grandmother because his parents were killed in a car accident when he was a kid. He loves hockey and his favourite player is Jeremiah Jacobson. When he finds out where Jeremiah lives, he goes and sits outside his house, just to think about the problems in his life. Jeremiah goes outside and starts talking to Tom. Jeremiah tells Tom that he lost his father as a child too, so he understands what Tom is feeling. He invites Tom to go out with him the next day.

When Tom meets him the next day, they go to a food bank where Jeremiah volunteers every week. Tom assumed that Jeremiah went there to sign autographs but he wants to help people. Then he takes Tom to his next stop at a hospital to visit with veterans and children with cancer. Jeremiah continues to defy Tom's expectations of who a stereotypical athlete should be.

Tom learns that his idol is very generous. Jeremiah is a famous hockey player who uses his status to help people who are less fortunate. Tom is shocked when he does this without asking for recognition. There are some celebrities that do this in the real world. Celebrities, whether they are athletes, singers, actors, or another profession, have a lot of influence over large portions of the population so they could make a positive impact on the world if they use their influence in a good way. However, many don't use their power to make positive changes.

This is a really good graphic novel because of the way it looks at helping people who are less fortunate. Tom's assumptions of Jeremiah looking for recognition of his good deeds are also knocked down. I like this positive message in the story. It is the third graphic novel in a trilogy from Howard Shapiro. The first one is called The Stereotypical Freaks.

This review will be posted on my blog on May 20, 2017.

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This is perfect for young adults. The Hockey Saint is relatable and covers real life issues. It also has a friendship between a hockey sports star and an average kid, the everyday and something that would be a fantasy for many. The artwork is great, and the message a good one.

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An exciting story but not quite appropriate for my classroom.

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This is the second book in the Forever Friends series. The only familiar face in the whole thing is the main character, Tom. Neither Dan nor Marc from #1 were even mentioned, nor was Jacoby, which was a HUGE disappointment considering the visits to the VA & children's hospital's cancer wards. I mean, what?

Just like the first in the series, this one started slow and built slow, but then picked up. Some of the events were a little beyond suspended disbelief...but overall it was another fun little read.

Also...I really thought with Felicity's reaction that they were going to say Jake was the cause of Tom's parents deaths...but I'm glad they didn't take that route.

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this was every turn cliché. a poor boy who loses his parents gets to live with his grandma not so clever at academics bit genius enough to hack an ex FBI agent, meets his idol who turns out to be an alcoholic who secretly married and dines in the back of a restaurant. the story is about the boy trying to convince the idolized sportsman to quit drinking and get help with rehab. it was boring enough to skim though and without having to read most if the bubbles ( which contains a lot of text with small font and even less important meaning) I found the ending way too cliché and it was just all over the place.
I hated the way the alcoholic "idol" had treated his wife and I don't find having problems on his own justifying the way he behaves.
I gave it 2/5 stars because there are a lot more interesting comics/manga out there with sport premise.

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A graphic novel that I really enjoyed once I started reading it. I loved the plot, the amazing story and the emphasis put on friendship. The narrative was beautifully written and the story enlightened the reader about the price of fame. A one sit read for me. I hope for more books like this from the author

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Unfortunately, I couldn’t view this book due to a glitch.

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Boring with text-only version, I imagine visuals enchance the story just slightly. Less enthralling than previous installment.

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The plot itself is interesting and every side story affects it in some way. It also mentions important topics, such as alcoholism and volunteer work.

This book also had some interesting plot twists.

The art itself is unusual, just like it was in the previous book.

The characters felt underwhelming, there was nothing special about them. The character development was interesting, however, I believe it only applied to one character.

This book continued the ritual of having song recommendations in the beginning of each chapter, which I still find a nice detail.

Even though this was a good book, I believe the first book of the trilogy was way better.

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