Book picks similar to
Back on the Beam by Jake Maddox


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Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, a Life in Balance


Simone Biles - 2016
    Through years of hard work and determination, she has relied on her faith and family to stay focused and positive, while having fun competing at the highest level and doing what she loves. Here, in her own words, Simone takes you through the events, challenges, and trials that carried her from an early childhood in foster care to a coveted spot on the 2016 Olympic team.Along the way, Simone shares the details of her inspiring personal story—one filled with the kinds of daily acts of courage that led her, and can lead you, to even the most unlikely of dreams.

Anastasia


A.L. Singer - 1997
    Could it be that she is the long-lost Russian Princess Anastasia?With only a flower-shaped key bearing the mesage "Together in Paris" strung on a gold necklace and her strong spirit to guide her, the determined young Anya sets out to discover who she really is. Along the way she finds a puppy, two good-hearted con men and romance, too!All the memorable characters from 20th Century Fox's animated film are together again in this beautifully illustrated classic edition created for moviegoers of all ages.Anastasia, the first full-length feature from 20th Century Fox, was directed and produced by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman -- the creators of such film classics as "An American Tale, The Land Before Time" and "All Dogs Go to Heaven." Featuring the celebrity voices of Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Christopher Lloyd, Kelsey Grammer, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters and Hank Azaria, this majestic movie also boasts a musical score from the well-known Broadway collaborators Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.

Fierce: How Competing for Myself Changed Everything


Aly Raisman - 2017
    Aly Raisman first stepped onto a gymnastics mat as a toddler in a "mommy & me" gymnastics class. No one could have predicted then that sixteen years later, she'd be standing on an Olympic podium, having achieved her dreams. Aly's road to success was full of hard work, perseverance, and victories, but not without its hardships. Aly faced many obstacles, from naysayers who said she'd never make it in gymnastics to classmates who shamed her for her athletic body to a devastating betrayal of trust. Through it all, Aly surrounded herself with supportive family, friends, and teammates and found the inner strength to remain positive and believe in herself. Now, in her own words, Aly shows what it takes to be a champion on and off the floor, and takes readers on a behind-the-scenes journey before, during, and after her remarkable achievements in two Olympic Games--through her highest highs, lowest lows, and all the moments in between. Honest and heartfelt, frank and funny, Aly's story is enhanced with never-before-published photos, excerpts from the personal journals she's kept since childhood that chronicle memorable moments with her teammates, and hard-won advice for readers striving to rise above challenges, learn to love themselves, and make their own dreams come true.

Doctor Nine


Jonathan Maberry - 2011
    She’s surfed the net to learn everything she can about being a monster. She’s ready. She’s even practicing on her sister. Inside her fractured mind, her imaginary mentor, Doctor Nine, promises that he is coming for her. To take her with him and his strange friends; to help her become all that she can be. Is Doctor Nine only a figment of her imagination, or has her madness opened a doorway to something –else? Jonathan Maberry the New York Times bestseller and multiple Bram Stoker award-winning author of Patient Zero, the King of Plagues, and Dead of Night takes you along for a ride through the darkest landscapes of the human soul.

Pray: Notes on the 2011/2012 Football Season


Nick Hornby - 2012
    Concentrating on a number of significant games in British football during the 2011-2012 season, Hornby chronicles the emotional, political, and societal highlights and woes that played out on the field. There were alleged racist clashes, revealing the deep cultural fissures still present in British life. There was a fairy-tale return for the legendary Thierry Henry, and the terrifying collapse of Bolton's Fabrice Muamba, clinically dead for seventy-eight minutes after a heart attack. Throughout, Hornby delves into the impact of the economy on the beloved sport of Britain. As sheikhs and oligarchs buy and sell teams and players at astronomical financial levels, other teams are left behind to struggle with diminished talent. And as income inequality hits all-time highs worldwide, so it does in British football.It was a season of tumultuous incident and enormous entertainment, a season more glorious than most. By the end, in May 2012, fans of most clubs had been enthralled, appalled, depressed, elated, shocked, and enraged. Along the way, football had somehow managed to encompass politics, high finance, the law, and matters of life and death. Read all about it, and relive it, here.

Jeff Kinney Set of 2 Books


Jeff Kinney
    Titles include #2 Rodrick Rules and #3 The Last Straw.

No Coins, Please


Gordon Korman - 1984
    Dennis is in heaven - he thinks he and his friend Rob have scored the perfect summer jobs. But Rob quickly points out what Dennis never factored in - the group of boys they're now completely responsible for. That includes Artie Geller - Donald Trump in a 10-year-old's body. Artie gives his counsellors the slip whenever possible to set up new business opportunities. Dennis and Rob soon learn they can't control Artie, and that they have to hide every one of his schemes from the tour boss to protect their own skins.Visions of beautiful female counsellors are replaced by visions of bankruptcy... and the FBI.

Home Ice: Reflections on Backyard Rinks and Frozen Ponds


Jack Falla - 2000
    A bonus chapter explains how to build your own backyard rink.

SpongeBob SquarePants Mad Libs


Roger Price - 2006
    Now kids and adults alike can bring SpongeBob home and laugh their "squarepants off with Mad Libs!

Sevens Heaven: The Beautiful Chaos of Fiji’s Olympic Dream


Ben Ryan - 2018
    Ben Ryan, a red-haired, 40-something, spectacle-wearing Englishman, is given 20 minutes to decide whether he wants to coach Fiji's rugby sevens team, with the aim of taking them to the nation's first-ever Olympic medal. He has never been to Fiji. There has been no discussion of contracts or salary. But he knows that no one plays rugby like the men from these isolated Pacific islands, just as no one plays football like the kids from the Brazilian favelas, or no one runs as fast as the boys and girls from Jamaica's boondocks. He knows too that no other rugby nation has so little - no money and no resources, only basic equipment and a long, sad history of losing its most gifted players to richer, greedier nations.Ryan says yes. And with that simple word he sets in motion an extraordinary journey that will encompass witchdoctors and rugby-obsessed prime ministers, sun-smeared dawns and devastating cyclones, intense friendships and bitter rows, phone taps and wild nationwide parties. It will end in Rio with a performance that not only wins Olympic gold but reaches fresh heights for rugby union and makes Ben and his 12 players living legends back home.

Lee Child CD Collection 3: Persuader, The Enemy, One Shot


Lee Child - 2007
    without possessions... without commitments. And without fear. But some unfinished business has now found Reacher. Ten years ago, a key investigation went sour and someone got away with murder. Now a chance encounter brings it all back. Now Reacher sees his one last shot.The Enemy:Jack Reacher was one of the army’s brightest stars. But in every cop’s life there is a turning point. For Jack Reacher, this is that case... New Year’s Day, 1990. In a North Carolina “hot-sheets” motel, a two-star general is found dead. His briefcase is missing. Nobody knows what was in it. Within minutes Jack Reacher has his orders: Control the situation. But this situation can’t be controlled.One Shot:Six shots. Five dead. One heartland city thrown into a state of terror. But within hours the cops have it solved: a slam-dunk case. Except for one thing. The accused man says: You got the wrong guy. Then he says: Get Reacher for me. And sure enough, from the world he lives in - no phone, no address, no commitments – ex-military investigator Jack Reacher is coming.

Chet Gecko-Private Eye


Bruce Hale - 2001
    2.5 hours2 cassettesListen to the first two hilariously hip Chet Gecko mysteries in this one audio package!The Chameleon Wore ChartreuseShirley Chameleon's friend Billy has disappeared and it's up to Chet, super sleuth, to find him.The Mystery of Mister NiceWhat has happened to Principal Zero? All of a sudden he's nice. And one thing is certain: Principal Zero is not a nice guy. It's up to Chet to prove he's an imposter.

Me and the Table - My Autobiography


Stephen Hendry - 2018
    Hendry retired in 2012 with a record-breaking seven World Champion titles under his belt, a record that remains to this day. He's now ready to tell his life story for the first time - from a childhood spent climbing the ranks of the sport, through the highs of the '90s and lows of the 2000s, to his life now as a sports pundit and commentator.With an insight into the world of the man behind the cue, and what made him such a top-class player, this is the definitive autobiography of the legend that is Stephen Hendry.

The Wishing Spell


Chris Colfer - 2012
    Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, they leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about.But after a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting back home is going to be harder than they thought.

The 39 Clues Starter Set


Rick Riordan - 2009
    Contains Books 1-3 and Card Pack #1