Cracking the Ice

In 1968, at the height of the Civil Rights struggle, Jessie Stackhouse leaves home to break the color line at an elite, all-white prep school. He arrives filled with dreams of winning championships and eventually playing in the NHL, but soon finds that the coach doesn't want him there and neither do most of his teammates. They'll go to almost any extreme to make him leave. Jessie must overcome not only the team in the other locker room, but the even more dangerous one in his own.

"I started reading Cracking the Ice and could not put it down. Jessie Stackhouse's generosity, hope, and intelligence touched my heart.... Usually I go to bed early; however, I kept reading Cracking the Ice until I turned to the last page." --Joyce Carol Thomas, National Book Award and American Book Award winner.

"A compelling, civil rights tale of a young man's coming of age on the ice. Hendrickson personalizes history with unforgettable characters." --Jewell Parker Rhodes, author of Ninth Ward, a 2011 Coretta Scott King Honor book

"Cracking the Ice scores the literary equivalent of a hat-trick: funny, harrowing and finally, heartfelt. This book is a winner." --Greg Neri, author of Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty, a 2011 Coretta Scott King Honor book

"Hendrickson's debut novel paints a gripping account of a courageous young man rising above evil." -- Booklist

"A worthy, if heartwrenching read.... The best of humanity is explored -- and some of the worst, exposed. It is very readable, written with a clear and powerful voice, and is engaging from beginning to end." -- Long and Short Reviews(four stars)

"One of the most interesting books I've read this year, a one-of-a-kind book." -- Reading in Color

David H. Hendrickson's first novel, Cracking the Ice, was praised by Booklist as "a gripping account of a courageous young man rising above evil." He has since published five additional novels, including Offside, which has been adopted for high school student required reading, and most recently, Offensive Foul. His short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Heart's Kiss, Pulphouse, and numerous anthologies, including over a half dozen issues of Fiction River. His story "Death in the Serengeti" was selected for Best American Mystery Stories 2018, and also named the winner of the Derringer Award for Best Long Story. Hendrickson has published over fifteen hundred works of nonfiction, most recently his first book for writers, How to Get Your Book into Schools and Double Your Income with Volume Sales, and also Travis Roy: Quadriplegia and a Life of Purpose. He has been honored with the Joe Concannon Hockey East Media Award and the Murray Kramer Scarlet Quill Award. Visit him online at www.hendricksonwriter.com.