On the Line

Everything Jordie knows has been turned upside down.Thirteen-year-old basketball star Jordan Ryker feels like his life is falling apart.

All Jordie wanted was for his parents to stop fighting. Soon, he gets his wish. His parents separate and then his dad announces he's gay. Shocked, Jordie struggles with how to process all this. His dad taught him everything he knows about basketball, and there's an important championship game coming up.

He needs him more than ever. But Jordie feels like his dad has abandoned his family. He doesn't want anything to do with him now and he definitely doesn't want to meet his dad's new boyfriend. It takes a new girl with wicked basketball skills and a revelation from his best friend to help Jordie realize that while some things change, other things never do. (From Orca Book Publishers)

• 25Canadian middle-grade books to watch for in spring 2022

Eric Walters is one of Canada's most prolific and successful writers for young people. Inspired by reluctant readers when he was a grade five teacher, he decided to write them a story they couldn't put down. Since then, he's penned almost 100(!!) books, includingCamp X,The Power of ThreeandRun. He's reaching more readers than ever: his 2006 novelWe All Fall Downcame inat #88 on the list ofthe bestselling 150 Canadian books of the past 10 years.

Paul Coccia is a YA author from Toronto. His debut YA novelCubwas published in 2019.