Juice - Orca Soundings Author:Eric Walters From Booklist — Walters' small paperback in the Orca Soundings series for reluctant readers offers a simplistic glimpse into the world of high-school sports and steroids. Moose is a star defensive player in a town where football is everything. He is sorry that Coach Reeves is retiring, but thrilled that Coach Barnes appears to be backed by enough... more » money to overhaul the training program. Tony, the coach's assistant, supervises team workouts and makes power drinks full of anabolic steroids. Unlike others on the team, Moose has been told what's up, and has agreed to take pills after promises about his future career. When his personality becomes more volatile, he wonders if he should stop, but before he decides, Coach Barnes is unmasked and good old Coach Reeves returns to encourage the team to cooperate with the investigation. This is written at such a surface level, that it's hard to take seriously, though the book's simplicity will probably grab plenty of kids. The thoroughly foreshadowed ending hits readers over the head, but perhaps that's what's needed to attract attention to the problem and make it personal.« less