Crossovers by LeAnne Hardy

Thirteen year old Ben Bradley loves to be on the ice. His whole family plays hockey – even his older sister and mom. He's a good hockey player too.

But what Ben really wants to do is learn to jump and spin. He's been going to the ice arena early in the morning watching Shannon and taking lessons from Mr. B. Ben is careful to be finished by eight when the hockey practice starts. If the guys saw him figure skating, well, they'd make fun of him.

As if life wasn't complicated enough for Ben, his sister wants to go to hockey camp. Hockey camp -with the guys! And she wants to try out for the varsity hockey team. The guys will never let him live that down.

And his parents. How will he ever tell his hockey playing parents he wants to dance on the ice?

Hardy has crafted a youth novel dealing with many of the issues facing young people today. Ben wants to be accepted by the guys but is it worth it to not follow his heart?

Ben's sister wants to be on the hockey team. Should she try for it even though she is convinced she would have to be twice as good as a guy? Ben wants to support his sister but does that mean fighting the bullies who make fun of her?

When Ben's bicycle is trashed, has his best friend betrayed him?

Should Ben be nice to Norman Skagway? Skag is a nice kid but the guys call him a name that rhymes with his nickname. What will the guys think if Ben is seen with Skag?

Is Ben lying to his parents when he does not tell them about his dreams or his early morning practices at the arena? Is lying just with words or do you do it with your actions too?

This is a great novel for kids 10 to 13 years old. A good Discussion Guide helps readers discuss fears, peer pressure, lying, the roles girls and boys are expected to follow, being true to your faith and being accepted by your peers, and more.

This would be a good novel for parents too. You will get a pretty good idea of what your kids are going through in middle school and early high school.

LeAnn Hardy has degrees in philosophy and library and information science. Her love has always been children's literature but she did not begin to write until she was well into her forties. She and her husband of thirty-eight years have lived in Ethiopia, Brazil, Mozambique, South Africa, England, and finally in Wisconsin. When she is not writing, she is probably at the ice rink figure skating. You can find out more about her and the books she has written at her web site.  You can follow her blog here. Go to her author page on Facebook here.

Watch a video of LeAnne figure skating and explaining Crossovers here.

Buy the book from Amazon here.

The Kindle edition of the book is on sale for $0.99 this week.

BookSurge, 136 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author for the purpose of this review.