Stick Pick

When a car crash leaves Janine's parents hurt and cuts off feeling and movement below her waist, her whole life shifts overnight. Her closest friend, who also plays on her team, suggests she try sledge hockey. Janine waves the idea off as something meant only for people with disabilities, but she agrees to give it a go on one condition: her friend has to join her.

On the ice, the two discover a game that welcomes almost anyone and demands its own kind of power and precision. Their rivals are tough, and the sport rewards skills that Janine has never needed before. Away from the rink, she runs into obstacle after obstacle as she learns to live in a body that has changed. Those struggles push her to speak out about how often disabled people are overlooked and about the rights they are still fighting for, a campaign that eventually carries her into a professional hockey arena.

Author Steven Sandor drew on his own experience and research for this novel, which follows a young teen as she confronts the emotional and physical realities of a sudden disability.