What do you think?
Rate this book
The Irish Skateboard Club
He’s determined to drop-in on his identity. But he just skitched straight into treachery.Michael Callahan is tired of being an outsider. Born in Bolivia and adopted into an Irish-American family, the multilingual skater hope a semester in a Dublin high school will help him find his cultural feet. But despite befriending a new crew and a feisty crush at the skate park, his future turns dark when he overhears a seedy mafia scheme…Bombing in after the crooks, Michael’s jaw drops when he uncovers the brutal business of trafficking young girls. But when the Irish and the American authorities fail to take his claims seriously, he and his team line up to stop the evil.Will they stop the whole situation, or carve full-speed into a deadly plot?The Irish Skateboard Club is a gripping YA thriller. If you like sporty protagonists, real-world dangers, and engaging self-discovery (plus romance!), then you’ll love Brinn Colenda’s four-wheeled affair.Buy The Irish Skateboard Club to kickflip out of peril today!
220 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 15, 2020
8 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Brinn Colenda
7 books15 followersI have always been in love with books. When I was a kid, I read everything I could get my hands on--mysteries, histories, biographies, thrillers, Reader's Digest, Boy's Life, it didn't matter. During the summers, I would stay up all night reading. Completely intellectually undisciplined and stuffed full of useless trivia, I read my way into the Air Force Academy by acing multiple-choice standardized tests. I quickly learned that I was not nearly as smart as I thought I was...something that has been repeatedly re-emphasized as I continue to meet amazing people on my life's path-- there are lots of intelligent, talented, and wonderful people on this planet.
I had the good fortune to spend two years working in the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, as the Chief of the Air Force Section of the U.S. Military Group-Bolivia. I checked out in the embassy Beechcraft C-12 Super King aircraft and flew all over that gorgeous country, going places that most Bolivians had never visited. Tour completed, I won a Post Graduate Fellowship at the Hoover Institution of War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University. Again, I was surrounded by people with enormous intellects-- Nobel Prize winners, former cabinet secretaries, ambassadors, tenured professors, and the like. All seemed fascinated by my stories about Bolivia. Eventually, I got the message-- if these well traveled and educated people did not have a clue about Bolivia, then non-Nobel Prize winners, non-former cabinet secretaries, non-ambassadors, non-tenured professors, etc probably wouldn't either. So, I started writing the stories down. As I am a great fan of thrillers, I decided to write a thriller located in Bolivia, based on my experiences, suitably enhanced of course (I am a pilot, after all!).
Then life intervened and my wife and I welcomed three baby boys into our lives within the space of twenty months. Yikes! So, I put the writing on hold for more than a decade. Eventually, I started working with the manuscript at night. With the help of some really good (and extra patient) writing coaches, I finally beat it into shape, even won an award. The result is a political-military thriller, The Cochabamba Conspiracy. Book two of the series, Homeland Burning, is out now as is Book Three, Chita Quest.
See the book on Amazon.com
I had the good fortune to spend two years working in the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, as the Chief of the Air Force Section of the U.S. Military Group-Bolivia. I checked out in the embassy Beechcraft C-12 Super King aircraft and flew all over that gorgeous country, going places that most Bolivians had never visited. Tour completed, I won a Post Graduate Fellowship at the Hoover Institution of War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University. Again, I was surrounded by people with enormous intellects-- Nobel Prize winners, former cabinet secretaries, ambassadors, tenured professors, and the like. All seemed fascinated by my stories about Bolivia. Eventually, I got the message-- if these well traveled and educated people did not have a clue about Bolivia, then non-Nobel Prize winners, non-former cabinet secretaries, non-ambassadors, non-tenured professors, etc probably wouldn't either. So, I started writing the stories down. As I am a great fan of thrillers, I decided to write a thriller located in Bolivia, based on my experiences, suitably enhanced of course (I am a pilot, after all!).
Then life intervened and my wife and I welcomed three baby boys into our lives within the space of twenty months. Yikes! So, I put the writing on hold for more than a decade. Eventually, I started working with the manuscript at night. With the help of some really good (and extra patient) writing coaches, I finally beat it into shape, even won an award. The result is a political-military thriller, The Cochabamba Conspiracy. Book two of the series, Homeland Burning, is out now as is Book Three, Chita Quest.
See the book on Amazon.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 9, 2020
Mikey’s Got a Girlfriend
One of the nice things about reading a series of books by the same author is to see references in newer works to characters and plot from earlier books. The title The Irish Skateboard Club does not suggest anything to do with Brinn Colenda’s previous publications: Cochabamba Conspiracy, Chita Quest, or Homeland Burning. Yet The Irish Skateboard Club is a follow-on to these other works and reflects the author’s continued growth as a communicator.
Breaking into a new genre, young adult fiction, the former fighter pilot author demonstrates his ability to reach a new audience while maintaining his ability to create new and exciting characters, in a totally new setting, and with his usual flair for a fast-moving and captivating plot. I suspect that Brinn will have hit another home run with his excellent writing. He has the latest teenage lingo down pat – I checked with my grandson to find out the current use of the phrase “sick” and learned Brinn has it right.
In full disclosure, I was provided with an advanced readers copy of The Irish Skateboard Club in order to review and post a fair and unbiased review. The book is highly recommended even for those readers who thought they had to give up YA decades ago. Read it and get an insight into how young people today think and act. And perhaps enjoy a well-crafted story that will entertain as well. And of course, to find out about Mikey’s girlfriend and how far a real friend will go to help another.
One of the nice things about reading a series of books by the same author is to see references in newer works to characters and plot from earlier books. The title The Irish Skateboard Club does not suggest anything to do with Brinn Colenda’s previous publications: Cochabamba Conspiracy, Chita Quest, or Homeland Burning. Yet The Irish Skateboard Club is a follow-on to these other works and reflects the author’s continued growth as a communicator.
Breaking into a new genre, young adult fiction, the former fighter pilot author demonstrates his ability to reach a new audience while maintaining his ability to create new and exciting characters, in a totally new setting, and with his usual flair for a fast-moving and captivating plot. I suspect that Brinn will have hit another home run with his excellent writing. He has the latest teenage lingo down pat – I checked with my grandson to find out the current use of the phrase “sick” and learned Brinn has it right.
In full disclosure, I was provided with an advanced readers copy of The Irish Skateboard Club in order to review and post a fair and unbiased review. The book is highly recommended even for those readers who thought they had to give up YA decades ago. Read it and get an insight into how young people today think and act. And perhaps enjoy a well-crafted story that will entertain as well. And of course, to find out about Mikey’s girlfriend and how far a real friend will go to help another.
Read
July 2, 2021MWSA Review
The Irish Skateboard Club is a perfectly charming coming-of-age novel that takes traditional young adult themes and reworks them to reflect the challenges of 21st century “teendom.” The hero is an undersized, adopted, extremely intelligent, well educated, multilingual skateboarder from Bolivia, who is growing up in New Mexico and finishing high school in Ireland. He meets a beautiful Irish lassie with similar interests—and the story revolves around their budding romance. There are bad guys and good guys and a mystery to solve. Of course, surly Irish boys challenge Michael to a skateboarding dual…which was pretty dad-gummed cool if you ask me. The kids go through physical, moral, intellectual, and romantic ups and downs. Given that this tale was written by experienced author and pilot, Brinn Colenda, The Irish Skateboard Club is a great read—whether you are a sulky adolescent skateboarder or septuagenarian skateboarder-wanna-be like me.
Review by Joyce K Faulkner (June 2021)
The Irish Skateboard Club is a perfectly charming coming-of-age novel that takes traditional young adult themes and reworks them to reflect the challenges of 21st century “teendom.” The hero is an undersized, adopted, extremely intelligent, well educated, multilingual skateboarder from Bolivia, who is growing up in New Mexico and finishing high school in Ireland. He meets a beautiful Irish lassie with similar interests—and the story revolves around their budding romance. There are bad guys and good guys and a mystery to solve. Of course, surly Irish boys challenge Michael to a skateboarding dual…which was pretty dad-gummed cool if you ask me. The kids go through physical, moral, intellectual, and romantic ups and downs. Given that this tale was written by experienced author and pilot, Brinn Colenda, The Irish Skateboard Club is a great read—whether you are a sulky adolescent skateboarder or septuagenarian skateboarder-wanna-be like me.
Review by Joyce K Faulkner (June 2021)
August 16, 2020
I am the author...The Irish Skateboard Club was released August 15, 2020 as a #1 New Release thriller.
Here's the Amazon sales page says:
What teenager Michael Callahan discovered in Ireland was more than he bargained for:
A skateboarding club
His first love, the feisty and fascinating Ciara
Their first encounter with human trafficking
People who want to kill them
https://tinyurl.com/y2a8g6br
Here's the Amazon sales page says:
What teenager Michael Callahan discovered in Ireland was more than he bargained for:
A skateboarding club
His first love, the feisty and fascinating Ciara
Their first encounter with human trafficking
People who want to kill them
https://tinyurl.com/y2a8g6br
September 17, 2020
A Fun Romp Through Dublin
This is a highly entertaining and charming coming-of-age story. It's a page-turner as you follow the young hero run a gauntlet of tests, from culture shock to separation from family, from budding romance to disdain from authority. The book also delivers an important message, but with a light touch. Most definitely a rewarding read.
Full disclosure: I know the author, so discretion requires that I bring my rating down to only five stars.
This is a highly entertaining and charming coming-of-age story. It's a page-turner as you follow the young hero run a gauntlet of tests, from culture shock to separation from family, from budding romance to disdain from authority. The book also delivers an important message, but with a light touch. Most definitely a rewarding read.
Full disclosure: I know the author, so discretion requires that I bring my rating down to only five stars.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews