Vertical

Vertical

Skateboarder Josh Lowman witnesses one of the best skateboarders in town (the local bully) commit a crime. For days he agonizes over whether to tell anyone. Meanwhile, his friendships with a fellow skater, a girl in his English class, and a cool math tutor (a college student who skates) slowly steer him toward a new kind of courage.<br /><br />----------------<br /><br />“I think Vertical is awesome! It felt like I was reliving the early years where my passion for skateboarding was so new, fresh, and profound.”<br />—Danny Way, three-time X Games gold medalist<br /><br />“Berend captures perfectly the bravado and angst of teenage boys hooked on wanting to risk it all and terrified of losing something they can’t define. A tightly drawn tale of when to speak out and the cost of friendship, Vertical glides in and out of trouble as deftly as Josh Lowman’s skateboard.” <br />—Sarah Collins Honenberger, author of the bestseller Catcher, Caught<br /><br />“Vertical gives you the true feeling of what it’s like to have an obsession with skateboarding.”<br />—Mike McGill, skateboarding legend<br /><br />“I really felt a connection to this book and all of the skateboarding parts. It just feels real.”<br />—Mitchie Brusco, youngest athlete to compete in the X Games 2011 Mega Ramp, first person to land the 900 in Mega Ramp competition<br /><br />“The narrator’s voice is very authentic. Skating details are incredible. . . . The tension builds gradually and becomes a real page-turner. . . . Teens will appreciate the appeal of day-to-day skating challenges overlaid with larger life challenges. Being a teenager often does feel like being at the top of a large half pipe and what kid doesn’t want to feel that exhilaration of soaring above it all?”<br />—Laurie Stowell, Ph.D., California State University, San Marcos,<br />Literacy Education