Maddox, Jake. Skateboard Idol. (Jake Maddox JV)

Maddox, Jake.  Skateboard Idol. (Jake Maddox JV)  Capstone/Stone Arch  2016  96p  $18.99  ISBN 978-1-4965-2631-1  elem/ms  Conflict    VG-BN

Griff and Annika are both excellent skateboarders. When a hometown hero who made it on the national skateboarding competitive circuit returns to town, they are very excited. A treasure hunt for three golden skateboards is under way, with daily clues given until all three boards are found.  When only one more board is left to be discovered, Griff and Annika read the clue together, and Annika is the one to decipher the location of the golden board, but Griff gets there first and claims it. Discord in their group of friends, who are rivals, makes Griff rethink his decision, and he admits that Annika solved the riddle and should be the one to skate with the famous hometown skater. Action on the skateboards, the intensity of the treasure hunt, and social interactions are all very well executed and will keep the reader engaged. Discussion questions, writing prompts, a glossary and skating facts complete the book.  The book is appropriate for grades 4-8, but it could also be a hi/lo book for grades 8-9, as the reading level is 3rd-4th grade.  

Summary: When skateboarders Griff and Annika find that a famed skateboarder is coming to town and will offer three winners of a treasure hunt the opportunity to skate with him, conflict arises between the friends.  Gr 4-8. Fans of Maddox’s previous shorter novels on sports will be able to continue reading his work into middle school as the new series, Jake Maddox JV, is set in middle school. The competitiveness, skills, and hard-core skateboarding action found in the earlier Tony Hawk book series continues in this series.

Skateboarding-Fiction, Competition-Fiction, Friendship-Fiction

--Lois McNicol