• Age: 12 to 18
• Grade: 8 to 12
• Reading age: 12 to 18

When a Division One coach comes to their smaller school to bring the football program up to contender status, Moose and the rest of the players on the team are pumped.

Coach Barnes has new ideas and a vision for the future—nothing is too good for his players. With a new training regimen, everything seems to be on a winning track. But when Moose and others are offered steroids, tempers start to fray and the teammates have to decide whose side they are on. Juice is a compelling story about the pressures and temptations that are faced by many in the competitive world of high-school athletics.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Eric Walters is the author of many acclaimed and bestselling novels for children and young adults. His novels have won numerous awards, including the Silver Birch, Blue Heron, Red Maple, Snow Willow, Ruth Schwartz, and Tiny Torgi, and have received honours from the Canadian Library Association Book Awards and UNESCO's international award for Literature in Service of Tolerance.

Eric lives in Mississauga with his wife, Anita, and three children, Christina, Nicholas, and Julia. When not writing or touring across the country speaking to school groups, Eric spends time playing or watching soccer and basketball, or playing the saxophone.

To find out more about Eric and his novels, or to arrange for him to speak at your school, visit his website at www.ericwalters.net.

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Eric Walters' profile page

• Commended, American Library Association (ALA) Popular Paperback for Young Adults
• Commended, Texas Library Association (TLA) TAYSHAS List
• Commended, Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Our Choice

"Opportunities for discussion abound...Drama and action are balanced well and the author avoids a heavy-handed moral tone."

Hip Librarians' Book Blog

"Walters has done it again. He has created a world that readers will instantly recognize and become engaged in...Highly recommended."

Resource Links

"Juice will be a hit with fans of sports fiction...A quick, well written and realistic read."

KLIATT

"Young readers will appreciate the way the narrative offers an inside look at how doping in sports actually works, even as they come to learn the lesson."

Canadian Children's Literature

"Juice is an easy read and there is a helpful downloadable teacher’s guide on the Orca website. Walters’ punchy writing style keeps the story moving along."

Quill & Quire

"Would certainly be of interest to any athletic high school boy involved in team sports and who may have had to deal with similar issues...Recommended."

CM Magazine

"A fast-paced page-turner...Boys or any reluctant reader will love this story."

VOYA

"Walters' characters have the energy and urgency of real kids with nice role-model nuances; you really care about them and their predicaments."

CD Syndicated

Juice (Orca Soundings)

“Isn’t steroids sort of like cheating?” When a new football coach comes to their school, Michael and his teammates are convinced that steroids are the way to compete.