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

The other night, Trace Brewster, Max’s best friend and star hockey player for the Hawks, scored on his own net and put the team’s chances of qualifying for an upcoming tournament in jeopardy.

Since then Trace has gone silent and is shutting everyone out. But Max thinks there’s more going on with his friend than what happened on the ice. For one thing, there are bruises on Trace's face that he refuses to explain. Can Max find a way to get Trace to open up and help him in time for the big game?

Jean Mills
is celebrated for two previous Young Adult novels, Skating Over Thin Ice and Larkin on the Shore — which won the 2020 Whippoorwill Award honoring "young adult literature that sings the authentic stories of rural people and places."

Jean spends her winters in Guelph, Ontario and the rest of the time in Pugwash, Nova Scotia.

Jean Mills' profile page

“Mills writes with economy, strong pacing, and crisply delineated characters...A worthwhile cautionary tale, accessible and appealing to reluctant readers.”

Kirkus Reviews