Thunderbird Spirit

Lightning on Ice #4

by Sigmund Brouwer

Dakota Smith is in trouble.But Mike "Crazy" Keats, with a troubled background himself, doesn't care. He's new to the Seattle Thunderbirds, and Dakota seems like a good guy to have for a friend. Unfortunately, not everyone accepts Dakota's Indian heritage so easily. Spin-off racial hatred takes Keats and Dakota into a web of violence and deceit that makes winning this year's league title the least of their concerns.

Genres: Sports, Fiction

118 pages, Paperback

First published January 9, 1996

About the author

Sigmund loves going to schools to get kids excited about reading, reaching roughly 80,000 students a year through his Rock&Roll Literacy Show.

Reviews

[Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

because i wanted to read about hockey.iwas fiction the seeting of the book took place in seattle high school mike made new friends and jonted the hockey team and met dakota smith.it was about mike and his friend jonted the team and won alot of games.dikota was taked away druing the games.some of his frends found him in a treehouse. i thought it was good because i learned a lot about hockey and his friends.

[Hayden Dube · Rating 4 out of 5]

The realistic fiction story, ThunderBird Spirit, written by Sigmund Brouwer is about racial equality in sports. This story is great for sports fans. It deserves 4 out 5 stars for what the story is about and how it is written. This was rated 4 out of 5 stars because it hooked me in the beginning but towards the end got confusing. It starts off with a hockey player, Keats, who has anger problems. He is a hockey player in the WHL playing for the Seattle Thunderbirds. He just left his former team, the Saskatoon Blades on bad terms, so he was new to the team, which he was used to since he was frequently on a new team due to his attitude toward the front office and opposing players and fans. The main character, Keats, and his buddy, Dakota, are caught in a web of racial violence (while sitting in the penalty box) by a fan of the opposing team. A fight breaks out between Keats and the fan who was being racist towards his friend Dakota. The front management knows that this fight and controversy on their team now will make it more difficult to win a championship, since this will distract many players and the next game was a "do or die" game. The management calls in Keats telling him what he did was stupid. At first, Keats tried, to act stupid to get away with his actions, but it did not trick the management and, instead makes them angrier. There is tension in the room between the two, which makes Keats realize he needs to act more mature if he wants to make it to the NHL level. In the championship game a player on the opposing team picks a fight with Keats. The opposing player throws a punch one, two, three times. Keats knows to make the management happier he isn't going to lash back. He takes all three punches with a grin on his face the whole time. This makes the opposing player even angrier. He throws his arm back ready to punch Keats a fourth time, but the ref tackles him to the ice. This leaves Seattle with a powerplay and a goal lead to hopefully close out the game.

[Christine J · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book tries to be too many things. It’s about hockey, and racism, and indigenous people, and action and adventure, and family troubles. It’s too short to achieve anything that works. It starts well, but then takes an unrealistic turn nearer the end. Indigenous people are referred to as Native American, but Dakota was born in British Columbia and spends time with his family there, so would naturally take on their Canadian Indigenous culture, but there are no specific references to that culture. Also, “the bad guys” are stereotypical idiots, and they even wear lumberjack shirts, because, of course, they’re Canadian bad guys. Oy! There is more, but I can’t go on. It’s an easy read, and the descriptions of hockey are good, but the rest is just too implausible to work.

[Lane J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the book. I liked the book because it had mystery and sports, but I feel the main character was a little over the top. The main character tries his best to control his anger but sometimes it gets out of hand which leads him to either hit things or something else.
The story starts in the penalty box and Keats (the main character) is being yelled at by a fan. When the game is over we find out that Keats has a friend named Dakota who's native looks mean but nice. Then they head outside and they find Dakota's car. They are standing by Dakotas car and a truck is driving by and they hear a rifle shot go off and Keats looks at Dakotas car and it has been shot. Dakota tells Keats that he doesn't want him to tell anyone so he doesn't.

[Adrianna C]

I’ve decided to re-read this series since the first time I did in 2005/2006. I thoroughly enjoyed these books growing up because they were all about hockey—something I was (and still am) obsessed with.

Book #3 in the Lightning on Ice series didn’t disappoint. Of all of the books in the series, I didn’t immediately remember the plot, so I enjoyed the read more. This one was a little scattered but I enjoyed it. Not too preachy either, some Brouwer books are a little more on-the-nose when it comes to the message.

[Mike Broderick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I like the hockey connection for my students. I like that it delved into the treatment of Indigenous Peoples. I actually would have preferred that the author spent a bit more time on Indigenous relations, but it is a good introduction for young adults.

[Garrett Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sigmund Brouwer’s novel Thunderbird Spirit is a book that caught my eye right away. I could read this book over and over.

The main character, Mike, a strong willed person, finds himself in trouble with questions he has a hard time to figure out. It is much more than just a hockey game. It is life and death with his best friend, Dakota. As you read, you’ll find things to unleash and match things to stuff you wouldn’t think of. Brouwer does a good job keeping you into the book and leaving you with mysteries.

I found myself locked into the book picturing events and how Mike can escape from trouble. This book shows the difference between people and the reason why it’s okay to be different from others.
With the author being a semi-pro hockey player, he puts a lot of detail into his writing. It’s a great book for anyone who loves the feeling of what’s going to happen next.

[Riley B · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book 'Thunderbird Spirit' by Sigmund Brouwer Mike Keats is living the dream of a hockey player on the way to the NHL. He has just been traded from Saskatoon to Seattle. Mike becomes good friends with a Cree indian named Dakota. Mike and Dakota get tied up in trouble and violence witch makes thinking about hockey almost impossible.
Dakota and Mike are in a life threatening situation would they make it out. Mike is new to Seattle and is trying to fit in with the right crowd. The first guy he meets is Dakota and they become good friends. Well they are there for hockey the get caught up in racial issues and violence. I would recomend this book to people who like sports and drama.

[Jacob Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought the book was very exciting. There is a great message within the book about racial equality. I would recommend this book to fans of exciting sports stories and fans of the amazing sport of ice hockey. It has a very adventurous storyline and many different characters have problems that they need to solve. To do this they have to reach deep inside themselves. I think a lot of teenagers could relate to at least one character in this book. It was a very well written book and an amazing read.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

My dauther brought this book from from school.

[Alexis]

Read for research purposes

[Aaron]

easy read

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read. Short, sharp and enough to keep you interested.

[Efren Betancourt]

great read