HockeyKids' fiction

The Third Period Comeback

by E.K. Johnston

Hardcover

Prix habituel $17.99
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The Sports Plus take

A hockey curse and a lot of heart.

Hayley Rilko was born to play hockey and cursed to ruin every team she plays for, just like four generations of her family. With one last summer in the Ontario Northwoods, she and her cousins set out to break the curse. A funny, magical middle-grade novel from bestselling author E.K. Johnston.

Shelf

Hockey

How it reads

Grades 4-8

Best for

  • Young hockey players
  • Kids who love fantasy
  • Ages 8 to 12

About this book

Author
E.K. Johnston
Published
August 11, 2026
Format
Hardcover
Pages
176
ISBN-13
979-8217110421

Book description

New York Times bestseller E. K. Johnston's middle-grade debut is an utterly charming, witty, and gloriously inclusive magic-tinged caper in the Canadian wilderness.

Hayley Rilko was born to play hockey—and cursed to ruin whatever team she plays for. As long as she's still a kid, the curse's magic doesn't stick, but everyone knows her time is running out. The two things Hayley has on her side are her family—four generations of it, all carrying the same curse she does—and one last summer vacation in the Ontario Northwoods, where her great grandfather disappeared and the curse began.

As the clock runs down and the magical mysteries pile up, Hayley realizes that just following the evidence isn't going to be enough. She's going to have to talk to someone who has the information she needs—even if it means raising the dead. With her cousins on her team, Hayley sets out to do what no one else has been able to: find her great grandfather's body and break the curse, no matter what it takes.

About the author

E.K. JOHNSTON is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several YA novels, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist The Story of Owen and Star Wars: Ahsoka. Her novel A Thousand Nights was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award. The New York Times called The Story of Owen "a clever first step in the career of a novelist who, like her troubadour heroine, has many more songs to sing" and in its review of Exit, Pursued by a Bear, the Globe & Mail called Johnston "the Meryl Streep of YA," with "limitless range." E.K. Johnston lives in southwestern Ontario.

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