Pinned follows Ivan Korske and Bobby Zane, two high school seniors, as they embark on the most important winter of their lives in a quest for the New Jersey state high school wrestling championship.
Ivan Korske is the pride of Lennings, a rural town tucked away in the farmlands of western Jersey, and the odds-on favorite to be crowned state champion in the 129-pound weight class. For Ivan, the stakes are impossibly high. A state championship fulfills a promise he made to his mother before she passed away nine months earlier and will, perhaps, stem his father's continued withdrawal from life. But mostly, Ivan dreams of getting a scholarship to a college far from his dreary hometown. To him, anything short of the title is failure.
In Short Hills, a wealthy town on the other side of the state, Bobby Zane protects his younger brother Christopher from the fallout of their parents' impending divorce, while searching for comfort from Carmelina Carrillo, a girl from a depressed part of Newark. Despite the distractions from the intense pressures of adolescent love and the family's breakup, Bobby realizes his quest for the coveted 129-pound state title may be his only hope for salvation.
Pinned follows Ivan and Bobby's season-long efforts toward overcoming forces within and beyond their control toward a title that only one of them can capture!
· Junior Library Guild Selection
· American Library Association 'Best Books for Young Adults' nomination
· Kirkus Reviews 'Book of Special Note' Selection
Rulon Gardner, 2000 US Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling Gold Medalist
"A great show of the drive and intensity necessary to be a champion."
Gene Mills, 1980 US Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Team, 1976 NJ State Champ
"Pinned relates to the roller coaster ride of life's highs and lows. It captures the essence of setting goals and the obstacles some encounter in sport and in life. I recommend this book for any who know and appreciate the sport. Read it!"
Matt Ghaffari, 1996 US Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling Silver Medalist
"When the wrestlers embark on a quest for the New Jersey state wrestling championship, it reminded me of my high school years on the Paramus (NJ) wrestling team."
Ken Chertow, 1988 US Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Team
"Pinned is a great story. I recommend it for teenage wrestlers and anyone who enjoys an interesting storyline about life's challenges."
