e-ALC, 08:20:18
Narrated by: Meegwun Fairbrother
Release Date: June 2, 2026
Published by: HarperCollins
Read from: May 18-19, 2026
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received an ALC from Netgalley and the publisher. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Alcoholism, Death, Grief, Domestic Abuse, Terminal Illness, Death of a Parent, Bullying, Drug Use, Self Harm
For Readers of: Audio, Contemporary, Coming of Age, DEAR, Most Anticipated, Racial/Ethnic Diversity (Indigenous), Realistic Fiction, Sports (Skateboard), Stand-alone, Socioeconomic Status Diversity, YAThe American Indian Youth Literature and Morris Award-winning author of Rez Ball returns with the unforgettable story of a gifted young Ojibwe athlete learning to ride in his father’s footsteps while practicing for a skateboarding championship.
When Bryce’s mom walks out on her abusive boyfriend and back into jail for breaking her probation, he’s left facing the summer of his junior year with no parents, no phone, and only the clothes on his back.
With nowhere to call home, Bryce crashes at his grandparents’ house on Wolf Creek reservation. Wolf Creek is full of memories and old friends—including Robbie and Mikayla, who hang out at the local skate park.
Skateboarding reminds Bryce of his late dad: carefree, riding like he could fly. If Bryce could learn to ride like that, he’d take his crew to the top of the skateboarding championship at the end of the summer, and finally prove he’s not a loser, especially to the online-famous, captivating Mikayla. Summer is looking up, even as he’s falling on his face.
But when a fresh loss takes Bryce down, he’ll need to learn to lean on his Ojibwe community to get back on the board. Only then can he discover his father’s real legacy—and the true meaning of unconditional love.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I knew I was going to love this because I loved Graves’ debut. Rez Ball was one of my favorite reads the year it came out, so I knew this going to be good. AND it was another one about sports! Although this is one I haven’t done, I was still excited to read about it.
Ok so I have never in my life attempted to skateboard for real for real, so seeing that he learned and got THIS GOOD over a summer showed that genetics really did play a part in his learning. I thought that was cool because its something that the teens might not have even thought about, like skateboarding being an inherited skill. It could definitely bring up an interesting conversation. It seems to be a mix of nature and nurture, which could help them make more of a case for it while they were talking.
The writing style of Graves got me again. I was sucked into this story and watched it like I was watching a movie. I didn’t get as emotional as I did with Rez Ball tho, and that was surprising. I just got teary, I didn’t full on cry. And that surprised me because if you’ve read this, you know what happens. I think it’s because there were still some things I didn’t understand. Like I had no idea what Medicine Wheels were, and they’re not really described in the story, so I thought it was a skateboard term. Imagine my surprise when I heard the author Lexi LaFleur Brown talk about them and saw that it was actually a sacred symbol used by generations of Indigenous peoples across North America to represent health, healing, and the interconnectedness of the universe. It often appears as a circular design divided into four quadrants, guiding individuals toward physical, emotional, and spiritual. Learn something new everyday.
There is a romance in this, but it’s honestly short lived and not really the main focus of the story. It was back door enough for me to put this under the coming of age genre rather than romance. Don’t get me wrong, it was cute and I really liked the love interest, but it was more like an after-thought and not the main focus of the story.
Lastly, I loved see all the different representation in this. There was the Native or Indigenous, but it’s also the socioeconomic aspect and the family diversity as well. I’m glad that Graves showed its ok to stay with your grandparents, and if they really like you, it doesn’t matter how much you make or you have. If it’s meant for you, y’all will work it out. Definitely something I don’t think teens realize or talk about a lot nowadays.
This was so good. I didn’t want it to end. Not only did I just enjoy the writing style, but I also got to learn someting new about a culture different than my own. Definitely a book I plan to keep around for a long time.
Overall, I give this
