Avalanche Freestyle

by Scott Ciencin, Aburtov (Illustrator)

Rich kid Tony Jay is a shoe-in to win the Silver Falls snowboarding tournament, but his biggest competition, Jack Hewlitt, can't afford to enter. Tony may be spoiled, but he knows that victory means nothing if you don't beat the best. So, he agrees to hold a one-on-one freestyle run with Jack atop the Silver Falls Mountains. But just when things start to heat up, a massive avalanche threatens to put both boys on ice, turning their friendly competition into a race for their lives.

56 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

Scott Ciencin was a New York Times best-selling novelist of 90+ books. He wrote adult and children's fiction and worked in a variety of mediums including comic books. He created programs for Scholastic Books, designed trading cards, consulted on video games, directed and produced audio programs & TV commercials, and wrote in the medical field about neurosurgery and neurology. He first worked in TV production as a writer, producer and director. He lived in Sarasota, Florida with his wife (and sometimes co-author) Denise.

(Also wrote under the pseudonyms Nick Baron and L.J. Oliver)

Reviews

[Syd]

I read this with one of my 4th graders …. I’m counting it.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding illustrations by a (former?) Marvel comics illustrator. The book has been professionally drawn and styled and it shows. This is definitely a high-low reader, with a reading level of 0.9 and interest level up to 14 yo. The plot is basic in scope: rich boy & poor boy are both awesome snowboarders but poor boy can't afford to enter competition. Poor kid has aggressive attitude to rich kid. Rich kid is actually a nice dude who is impressed with the other's skills but rich kid is surrounded by "friends" who all want something from him because of his status. Danger happens and the two teens learn about true friendship and good sportsmanship to boot. How the story actually plays out in the book is very well done, and while the "lesson" is obviously there, it doesn't stick out during the reading of the book. The teens are presented very well, speaking and acting just like real-life teens (keeping in mind that Stone Arch only prints family friendly material). I recommend this book and while I still have one more book in the series to review I'll go out on a limb and say the whole series is likely to be worthy of recommendation.

[Raina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really want to hate these books - they feel super contrived to me. Catchy formula extra matter, and just kind of a slick vibe. I also feel kind of conflicted about what the plotline says about class. Although I appreciate the unpredictable storyline. The illustrations are bright, crisp, and only occasionally proportionally weird.

Meh, fine. I don't know any kids eating them up too hard, but it wouldn't take very long for them to do it if they were.

[killa · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was good

[The Styling Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific graphic novel.

[Mamatufy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent for reluctant readers/sports/graphic novel fans.

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick story about who you can trust.