Forward Pass

by Lorna Schultz Nicholson

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459403727
Publisher:	James Lorimer & Company Ltd.
Publication date:	09/01/2013
Series:	Lorimer Podium Sports Academy Series
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	HL590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Lorna Schultz Nicholson has written, produced, and hosted programs for television and radio, and is well known for her print journalism. She is now a full-time fiction author who works from her home in Calgary.

Editorial Reviews

08/12/2013
Parmita Kapoor, an Olympic soccer hopeful and aspiring surgeon, stars in this volume of the Podium Sports Academy series about elite teen athletes, which is written at a third-grade reading level. Quiet and focused, Parmita juggles her studies and training as she struggles with her sexual identity and unwanted and inappropriate attention from a female coach. 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. Ages 13–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"The [series] is a great concept...Take the pressures of a regular high school experience and dial them up ten-fold...and you have the Podium Sports Academy."

Resource Links

"An essential addition to the young adult sports canon...Forward Pass paves the way for future stories of self-discovery and understanding."

CM Magazine

Parmita is a star soccer goalie at an elite sport’s high school. She desperately wants to make the Canadian National Soccer team and play in the Olympics. A good student, hard-working and dedicated, she will do whatever it takes to meet her goals. Lately, her new goalie coach is being a little too friendly. But that coach may have the most influence toward helping Parmita make the National team. Decisions loom and Parmita is torn by her own emotions. This is a quick read that is part of the “Podium Sports Academy” series. The allure of the book is the fast-pace, the contemporary issues, and the sports connection. In this instance, the jock is a girl and the reality of the situation is sensitive but resolved by the end. The book would be a natural for the GLBT community but it would also appeal to the average high school student. Books that showcase strong female athletes are not numerous and this book would be a welcome addition to sports fiction offerings in schools. Reviewer: Sandra Eichelberger; Ages 12 up.

Children's Literature - Sandra Eichelberger

12/01/2013
Gr 8 Up—Set in Calgary, Canada, this hi/lo novel focuses on soccer. Olympic hopeful Parmita Kapoor attends a high school for top student atheletes while she trains for a competeitive spot on the Nationals and studies for a career in medicine. Unwanted advances from an assistant coach create conflict and raise questions about how to deal with the harassment. Will it jeopardize her chances for the National team? The writing style makes this a quick and easy read for older teens, and the believable plot leaves readers rooting for Parmita's future. The mood is sustained throughout the story as readers see differing points of view and values, whether it's the religious family with whom Parmita lives while at school, or Jessie, with whom she trains.—Glynis Jean Wray, Ocean County Library, Toms River, NJ

School Library Journal