Jay Versus the Saxophone of Doom

by Kara Kootstra, Bobby Orr (Afterword), Kim Smith (Illustrator)

Who knew grade six music could be so scary? For kids who love The Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Dork Diaries comes a hilarious new entry into funny middle-grade novels.


Jay Roberts loves hockey. He's good at it. He also loves his hockey hero, Bobby Orr, considered a legend by Jay's grandfather. In fact, even though they may bicker, when it comes to the Bruins, the whole family agrees that they are the team to root for.
     When it comes to hockey, Jay's a team player, but there's one person who seems determined to make life hard for his classmate and fellow team member, Mick Bartlet. It's a good thing Jay can usually stickhandle his way out of his bullying. But something else is determined to make Jay's life difficult, something far harder for Jay to the saxophone.

Sixth grade just became a whole lot more challenging ...

Genres: Middle Grade

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 3, 2017

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you love hockey, if you really love hockey, if you eat, sleep, and play hockey, then run out and get this book. This book was written for you. You will devour it. You will sing its praises to all and sundry, and you will race to the finish. You will think this is a five star rated book. And good for you.

But, if you could care less about hockey, then don't even think that this might be an ok middle-school book to read. If you think that, well, it has a saxophone in it, and I can relate to that, even if I don't like hockey, nope, you won't like this book. If you think that it is just a fun middle-school book about a kid learning to play a musical instrument, then, no, don't even bother.

The writing is done well. I will not fault the craft, but for someone who has never played hockey; who barely knows how to ice skate; who doesn't even live in an area that even has snow, this book dragged on and on and on. I kept thinking I was going to give up half way, but I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[John Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book! I have a seven year old son and we both absolutely loved reading it! Neither of us is into hockey, which didn't diminish our reading experience in the least. This book is about so much more than that - it's about the struggles of the sixth grade, of developing skills that don't come as naturally to us, the importance of hard work, dealing with bullies...and it does all this while being absolutely hilarious and totally engaging. Kootstra writes with wit and humour and charm and has put together a lovely story that young readers will love!

[Wil · Rating 4 out of 5]

i must say: this book might have been written for me. it features a kid struggling to play a musical instrument (a problem i can't really relate to) and who loves the game of hockey and whose hero is Bobby Orr (and that, friends, i can relate to). cute book, with an afterword by bobby orr himself. comes out in january,2017 and i swear i'm going to get a hockey team's worth of readers to read this, especially if they have no notion of orr or the boston bruins.

[Wyldrabbit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tackles the illusive ever scary sixth grade, bullying, and bickering. It is a very good read.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a sports fan. I may have mentioned that 1 or 200 times before. But that didn't stop me from enjoying Jay's story of his love for hockey and his complete lack of desire to play the saxophone. This is a story about a regular kid with regular kid problems to deal with. He has an older brother and sister, mom and dad, and best friend. He plays hockey, hero worships Bobby Orr, and enjoys pickup games on the lake when it freezes over. Like many kids, Jay has the bad luck to be stuck in the same homeroom as a kid who is the school bully. Although he tries to ignore his taunts, or be the bigger man and walk away, Mick gets on his nerves. For instance, when he is assigned the saxophone in music class and gets an older student to tutor him, Mick teases him that he is getting lessons on how to pucker up. Great guy, right? Jay also has the problem of a group project with two of his friends and then the teacher adds an over-achieving girl into their group. Ugh!!! Despite challenges like that, or the time his mom complimented him on "Happy Birthday" when he was actually playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," Jay manages to hang onto his sense of humor and sportsmanship.

The direct address manner in which Jay shares his story and the illustrations scattered throughout bring the book to life and make it appealing for middle grade readers who enjoy sports and school stories. The Game Tips he includes are very entertaining and give readers more insight into Jay's personality. Tip #11 - turn away from blowing out the candles on your birthday cake if you feel a sneeze coming on - hints at a past disaster in Jay's life which makes us laugh, but also sympathize with him. The note to readers from Bobby Orr is a wonderful bonus feature.

Anyone who enjoys school, sports, and friendship will find something to like in this book. And anyone who has ever faced a challenge, whether it is learning to play a musical instrument or facing down a bully, will feel a kinship with Jay as he works on conquering these obstacles.

[Wunderdrugged · Rating 3 out of 5]

This title is nominated for the 2019 Hackmatack award in the English fiction category. Our protagonist, Jay, is a student in grade six. He does ok in school, but his absolute favourite thing is ice hockey. He eats, sleeps, and breathes all things hockey and most especially anything to do with his all-time favourite player, Bobby Orr. Unfortunately for Jay, one of the requirements for his grade six music class is to learn an instrument and play it in front of the class, which is something that he absolutely dreads doing. And since his name is at the end of the class list alphabetically, he gets stuck with the saxophone. Eventually Jay realizes that playing the saxophone is a lot like playing hockey - everybody has to learn the basics before they can be proficient. With the help of his tutor, Jay grows in skill and confidence, but will he pass music class?
I would recommend this title to reluctant readers grade three and up, especially boys who play sports.

[Lana Kamennof-sine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read for sixth graders, hockey fans, parents of sixth graders, teachers...
This story tackles the reality of being unique, coping with the challenges of school, of dealing with a variety of classmates and subjects and being able to do so in a manner that is at once realistic and kind.
The Parry Sound setting is refreshing & the outdoor adventures memorable.
Bobby Orr's afterword is perfect.

[Xavier · Rating 3 out of 5]

It failed to make me laugh witch it was evidently trying to do. I found that there were two plot lines and I only wanted one. It was still good it just didn't appeal to me.

[Munro's Kids · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is your book for a young kid who is sporty and not that into reading. Or a younger intermediate reader who likes sports, whatever their reading inclination. It was fun and amusing and Canadian and very much about hockey. It also had a small smattering of drawings. The plot isn't that important - Jay gets last pick for instruments in music and is saddled with a saxophone. Unlike his confidence on the ice, he has no clue of what to do with a sax (or even how to put it together). He is terrible and very much fears making a fool of himself (with fairly good reason). He is also dealing with a school bully who also happens to be on his hockey team. The messages - stick it through, enjoy the journey, be a good sport - are all fairly strongly laid out. Nothing to offend parents here. But he has a funny, snarky voice with lots of quirky asides, so I think kids will enjoy this light read also. It's not Shakespeare, but as Kelsey - hi Kelsey! - points out, we don't always need Shakespeare.
-Kirsten

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

For Jay Roberts, hockey is life. He has a few typical sixth grade problems like homework, school bullies, nagging (but loveable!) parents and super annoying siblings. All of these things constantly plot against Jay to keep him from doing the only thing he really loves. The one thing he would do 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if he didn’t have to do things like eat.

Play hockey.

So, when he finds out that he has to actually learn how to play a musical instrument AND play it well enough to perform in front of his classmates without looking like an idiot, he is mortified. Especially when he gets stuck with THE SAXOPHONE OF DOOM. What about games? What about practice? What about skating? What about hockey all day every day?

Jay’s about to find out that the rules of hockey can be handy, both on and off the ice.