Slalom

When avid skier Sandro Birch's real father--an Italian-born Olympic hopeful--returns to his mother after seventeen years, Sandro believes this is finally his chance at the ski team, a girlfriend, and a real family, if he can just get over the anger of his father's abandonment.

Grade 7 Up–Fate plays a quirky hand in this novel set in a Colorado resort town. Sandro Birch, 17, has grown up listening to his mother Tiffany tell of her whirlwind romance long ago with a handsome, mysterious Italian skier, a tryst that led to her son's conception. Scorning this sappy story, Sandro is angry that he and his mother have been stuck in Borealis, working low-paying jobs and banking on the dream that her soul mate would eventually return. Then, Alessandro reappears, and Tiffany surrenders her heart and home to a mystery man whom Sandro is expected to obey and call Dad. With urging from the coach, the teen joins the high school ski team, competes with his top rival, and begins to enjoy the status that victory brings. Sandro's love of skiing is evident in his brisk, evocative descriptions of the sport. Through it, he even begins to gain respect for his newfound father, although that gain is tested when Alessandro vanishes again, leaving hefty credit card charges, and Sandro must play parent to weepy and indecisive Tiffany. Alessandro finally returns for good, offering a rather lame explanation for his absence. The novel misses its potential as a sports story by focusing so heavily on the tiresome and implausible adult relationship that has essentially been on hold for 17 years. Chris Crutcher's Whale Talk (Greenwillow, 2001) is a better choice for a sports story with attitude.–Susan W. Hunter, Riverside Middle School, Springfield, VT
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Gr. 6-8. Even before the snow flies, teen skiers can enjoy this fast-paced story, which takes place in a fictional mountain town, perhaps modeled on Vail or Aspen. Sandro, who works at a ski shop to help his single mom make ends meet, must come to terms with the sudden appearance of his father, a glamorous Italian ski racer who left Sandro's mom without ever knowing she was pregnant. At the same time, Sandro is having his own girl problems and feeling pressured to join the ski team, even though he can't afford to. The resolution is a bit too neat to be satisfying, but passages conveying both the excitement of ski racing and the pleasure of cruising the trails will appeal to skiing fans, and the jam-packed story line will keep the interest of kids who prefer to read by the fire. REVWR
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