From Goodreads,"Ked Eakins is about to lose everything.
He's just discovered that his dad has gambled away their rent money. They're going to get kicked out of their home.
But Ked is determined to fight back. He hatches a plan to save their apartment by rebuilding a vintage minibike in his school's maker space, which he'll sell for a profit.
Still, the plan is a gamble of his own: Going to maker space forces Ked into the path of a school bully, who torments him about his progressive spinal condition.
Can Ked -- with the help of some unlikely new friends -- find a way to fix the bike and save his family from going under before it's too late?
New York Times bestselling author Michael Northrop has written a powerful story a boy who -- against all odds -- decides to bet on himself and create something new from broken pieces."
Goodreads - On Thin Ice
This was the final book I received from Scholastic, and it was a bittersweet moment to read the note saying it was the last one. The copy I received was an uncorrected proof that won't be released in stories until July. Needless to say, I was extremely excited to be able to read this book before it even hits the shelves.
On Thin Ice is about a boy named Ked who has a back condition that makes him stand out. His mom left and his dad spends all their money gambling. Ked quickly realizes that they are behind on rent and that they are going to be evicted. He decides to make a gamble himself by using what little money they have left to purchase a Road Rokkit. He makes plans to restore it, but one problem after another keeps happening. The real question is will his gamble pay off and will they make rent.
This book started off really slow. I couldn't get into it and found myself reading and finishing another book to avoid this one. I finally sat down one evening and finished it. After reading it, I found there was a message that kept jumping out at me, and that was resolving conflicts and making amends. Ked had lost his friends and he thought it was because they didn't want to be with him because of his back. Ked soon realized that if he just approached them, that there would be the possibility of making amends. Ked approached a couple of his friends, started a conversation, and things were made better between all of them. There was also the situation with the bully Landrover. Landrover was constantly mean and aggressive toward Ked. At the end of the book Ked saves Landrover and they talk and discover they have more in common than they think. This results in them being cordial to each other instead of Landrover being mean. I can think of a ton of people who need to read this book and learn how to solve problems with someone and make amends. We are so fixated on electronics and social media that we don't know how to have a face to face conversation with someone and how to make amends. This book shows good examples on how to have a face to face conversation and how to resolve problems.
This book was an uncorrected copy and it did have some grammatical errors. There weren't many, but I did catch some. The book has a very slow start in my opinion. I don't think that it would really grab and keep the attention of young students. The book picks up as it goes, but I just don't think a fourth or fifth grader would find it engaging enough.
Overall, the book was okay. It was a little bit of a let down. I expected a lot more out of it, but it just didn't happen for me. I give this 2.5 stars.
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