Charlotte M. Krall (Children's Literature)
Moose, a sophomore football senior team member, is thrilled to hold the game football. All the clapping of his team mates, smiles, and words from his coach make him feel honored to be MVP. But the happiness immediately is replaced by sadness as his coach announces his retirement after twenty-seven years. The new coach, in a suit like a pro football coach, arrives after school is out for the summer. He makes many promises--new lockers, new exercise room with new equipment, and new work-out clothes. He even provides them with a trainer, vitamins, and power drinks. Michael is happy to be named one of three co-captains and vows to be a good example to the team. He lives with his Mom and has a good relationship with his Dad. He was even named “Employee of the Month” at the supermarket where he works. He is talked into taking steroids under the persuasive illusion that his trainer gives him that it is best for his Mom for--college scholarships--for his future, and for his team. He says there are only minor drawbacks, not mentioning steroids are against the law. When things get bad with anger issues and body changes, Moose faces the realities of drug use. When his old coach unexpectedly returns and the new coach and trainer are arrested, Michael makes a tough choice for the team. This high school drug-related novel, part of the “Orca Sounding” series, would be a good discussion book for middle-school classrooms. It would be a good book to read to the class posing a question after each chapter. It definitely should be included as a drug prevention novel on library shelves. 2005, Orca Publishers, $9.95. Ages 12 to 18.

Jen Waters (CM Magazine, May 27, 2005 (Vol. XI, No. 19))
In a town like ours, football was everything.” So begins Juice, a new hi-lo book written by Eric Walters for the “Orca Soundings” series. Set in an unspecified town that could stand for any small town in the United States or Canada, Juice tells the story of a high school football team that is tempted by the devil of the sports world: steroids. The school’s football coach of 27 years decides to retire, and consequently a flashy new coach comes in with some big ideas, including expensive new equipment, a strength trainer, and the use of muscle building supplements. While most members of the team are seduced by Coach Barnes’s ideas with visions of winning the Division One Championship, gaining college scholarships and possibly playing professional football, it is one teenage boy, “Michael the Moose,” who is most convinced that he needs the “juice” in order to reach his goal. Although he is only a junior player on the team, Michael has recently been named one of the team’s captains, and for him, football really is everything. An only child with a single mother, Michael struggles to keep a 70 percent average in his classes so he can continue to play ball. Upon meeting Tony, the strength trainer and personal assistant to Coach Barnes, Michael is easily persuaded to do whatever it takes to become stronger, and he begins taking steroids. He is aware of some of the possible side effects of taking the “juice,” including hair loss, skin problems, kidney failure and cancer, but Tony assures him that these side effects have only occurred in lab rats who were pumped full of the stuff; “most of those studies are just garbage.” After just a short time taking the “juice,” Michael starts to notice skin problems and mood swings or “roid rage,” which results in his being suspended from work and arguing with his mother, then putting his fist through a wall at home, an incident that occurred years before with Michael’s father who has since left Michael and his mother. Very shortly after this incident, the old coach returns, bringing news that Coach Barnes and his assistant Tony are the subjects of a police investigation surrounding the illegal possession, use and sale of steroids. Michael will not be charged for using steroids, and the team will return to their original ways. Juice‘s ending is somewhat problematic; loose ends are too easily resolved, and the closure of the larger issues seems rushed. Granted, hi-lo books are known as high interest books that rarely surpass 100 pages, but the reader feels as if threads of the story have been missed or hurried through – for example, what will happen to Coach Barnes and his assistant? Will Michael suffer any health problems due to his taking of steroids? For a book in which plot plays an important role, it seems to strange that these details would be omitted. That being said, Juice is a quick read that would certainly be of interest to any athletic high school boy involved in team sports and who may have had to deal with similar issues. High school sports, as I recall from my own school, can be viciously competitive, and it is very plausible that some teens would consider taking drugs to help give themselves that extra edge. Even with its simplistic ending, Juice does bring up the important point that winning and losing are not everything; rather, it is the choices we make in life that will have a more lasting effect. Each and every one of us is bound to make mistakes, such as Michael did when he made the decision to take steroids. However, his individual strength is demonstrated not through his ability to lift weights or tackle opponents, but in his decision to come forward and admit he took steroids. Walters has become well-known for realistically depicting teenage boys in his stories, including the two other Orca Soundings hi-lo books, Grind and Overdrive, and Juice‘s Michael is no exception: he is a teenage boy who has made some bad choices, but ultimately he is able to stand up, admit failure, and continue to provide leadership for his peers on the football team. Recommended. Rating: ** ½ /4. Grades 8-12. (Orca Soundings) 2005, Orca, 101 pp., pbk., $9.95. Ages 13 to 17.

Stephanie Squicciarini (KLIATT Review, July 2005 (Vol. 39, No. 4))
Another new entry in the Orca Soundings Series for reluctant readers, Juice will be a hit with fans of sports fiction. Michael the Moose, given his nickname in grade school due to his hair that "stuck up like antlers" and his big, clumsy body, lives up to his name as the star defensive player on his school's football team. His newfound and hard-earned role on the team has transformed him, and he believes he owes everything to Coach Reeves, who announces his retirement after winning the division championship. The new coach brings with him expensive equipment, a big reputation, promises, and a team of experts. Michael the Moose is named co-captain and he takes his leadership role seriously. He begins to live and breathe the team, and all that the new coach and his team of experts throw at him. When players, including the Moose himself, begin to bulk up quickly, some question the mystery ingredients in the shakes that are served up regularly. Moods change and rage runs through the locker-room. Moose eventually learns the truth, but is afraid to betray his coach, who assures him that the rumors about steroid use are false. Michael the Moose learns what leadership is all about when the truth comes flooding out. A quick, well written and realistic read whose only flaw is that it could have been longer. (Orca Soundings) Category: Paperback Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2005, Orca, 101p., $7.95. Ages 12 to 18.

Amy Hart (Library Media Connection, February 2006)
This nicely written, fast-paced story is a good choice for reluctant teen readers with an interest in sports. It hooks readers with a fast-moving opening chapter that successfully captures the intensity of a high school championship football game from the perspective of those in the huddle. Seventeen-year-old Michael (the Moose) narrates in an authentic voice that captures the tentative indecision of adolescence with an appealing winsomeness. When long-time coach, Coach Reeves, retires, his replacement, Coach Barnes, moves the team into Division One, makes Michael a captain, and introduces daily summer training. Tony, the summer weight trainer, provides individual training and diet plans for each player. When the two ask Michael to take steroids to enhance his performance, he reluctantly agrees because they explain it will be good for the team, good for his own future, and (assuming a full scholarship) it will save his mother the expense of college tuition. The denouement of the story may seem abrupt, but it is successful precisely because it arrives before a reluctant reader has time to lose interest. A major strength of the writing is the author's ability to show the truth of a situation or the heart of a character through action rather than telling. As a result, the story avoids being preachy and pedantic. This is a slim but solid read that should appeal to its intended audience. Recommended. 2005, Orca Book Publishers, 101pp., $7.95 pbk. Ages 12 up.

Heather Empey (Resource Links, October 2005 (Vol. 11, No. 1))
Walters has done it again. He has created a world that readers will instantly recognize and become engaged in. The first chapter of the book opens in the last few seconds of a sweaty, smelly, tense football game where the only chance is a risky play that may cost the game or may take the team to glory. The main character, Moose, is a likeable fellow who may not be the smartest guy, but he tries hard and is rewarded with more responsibility in the team when the new coach makes him a captain. Everything is going great. The new coach is going to take the team to a new level. There is a refurbished weight room, new equipment, a new strength trainer, and a lot of optimism and energy. However, is this all too good to be true? Moose starts wondering about the new energy drinks that he and his defense teammates have been given. Aren’t they getting too strong, too fast? Then the strength trainer approaches him with some pills to try. Just as a trial. What should he do? This book was an engaging read, the main character is likeable and readers can relate to him. The dilemma creeps up on him very slowly and subtly and you can feel his confusion as he wrestles with it. Highly recommended. (Orca Soundings Series) Category: Fiction Grades 7-12. Thematic Links: Football; Steroids. Resource Links Rating: E (Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!), Gr. 7-12. 2005, Orca Book Publishers, 112p., Pbk. $9.95. Ages 12 to 18.

Mike Brown (VOYA, August 2005 (Vol. 28, No. 3))
At one time, Michael "Moose" Monroe was just a large child, hating the stupidity and clumsiness that his nickname implied. Now fans yell, "The Moose is loose!" as he sacks quarterback after quarterback. Dedication and desire make him MVP for his Division II championship team. Coach Reeves announces his retirement. His successor, Kevin Barnes, moves from a Division I school. He is a slick-talking, glad-handing, maxim-spouting, football-is-all coach. Immediately the locker room is remodeled, weight room updated with sound system and 42-inch plasma televisions, a whirlpool installed, and a massage therapist procured. Moose is named captain for his work ethic and leadership. That summer, Tony, Barnes's friend, arrives as the strength and conditioning coach. The players are pulled aside and asked if they are willing to do anything to reach their goal. Naturally they reply affirmatively. In Tony and Barnes' estimation, "anything" includes "juicing" or taking steroids. Zits galore populate faces and backs. Behavior changes become visible in the players. Normally mild-mannered Moose is suspended from work for losing his temper. When an NFL player, a former player of Barnes, is caught up in a steroid scandal and names Tony and Barnes as suppliers, Coach Reeves comes back from retirement and life goes on-steroid free. This Orca Soundings hi-lo offering is a fast-paced page-turner that becomes somewhat preachy in the final pages. The pressures of being an athlete, keeping up academically, and working part-time give Moose depth and sympathy. Boys or any reluctant reader will love this story. VOYA CODES: 4Q 5P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2005, Orca, 101p., $7.95 pb. Ages 11 to 18.