Undergrounders

Plot

The story is narrated by Jonathan, a 12-year-old boy. After his mom died from cancer, her mom's boyfriend, Ron, left Johnathon and the landlord kicked him out. He survived in the forest on berries, but soon, it became cold, and another homeless boy named Lewis took him to the "Underground", a basement of an abandoned shopping mall.

One day, while Jonathan was begging for money, he went into a hockey store. From there, he stole a pair of Grafs, a Maple Leafs jersey, a puck, an Easton hockey stick, two pairs of gloves, one pair of winter mittens and a roll of stick tape, as well as five dollars, a sandwich and a coke. After that, Jonathan went back to the rink, to practise his skills. There, he met Rasheed, Collin and Derrick. Meanwhile, Lewis tells Jonathan that he has something planned for him.

For days, Jonathan continued to practise at the hockey rink, until he is invited to join Rasheed's hockey team. While in the hockey team, he scores many of the goals. One day, after a hockey game, he accidentally overhears his teammates gossiping behind his back. This results in Jonathan leaving the hockey team.

Soon after, Lewis finds something for Jonathan, which is theft. After Jonathan steals from an electronics store, he gets mad at Lewis, which results in a broken friendship. After, when he pays his 50 cent admission to the Underground, Rigger, the collector, states that he has to pay more, as he stored his hockey equipment there. As a result, he asks Lewis for the money (which he doesn't give) and then is kicked out of the Underground.

Now as a street kid, W5 and his gang chase Jonathon. He is then saved by the caretaker at the hockey rink. Soon after, Jonathon visits a Chinese bun store. One of the Undergrounders then visit, and Jonathon punches him, resulting in him getting banned from the store. After he has no sleeping bag to sleep with, he tries to find a garage to sleep in. He then finds Rasheed's garage, and decides to camp inside. In the morning, Rasheed and her sister, Alisha find him in it. After Rasheed's family takes Jonathon in their house, Jonathon explains the whole story. Rasheed's family decide to take him in for a little while.

Jonathon rejoins the hockey team, after they lost their past two games. Jonathon starts to pass to his other team mates, but doesn't win the game. At the end, Rick talks to Jonathon about foster homes. He also mentions staying with their family for a little while, which he gladly accepts.

Themes

The major themes in this story are street life and hockey.

Critical Reception

Shaun Smith of Quill & Quire gave the book a positive review, saying "While the pat message about the value of sports is a touch overplayed here, the novel’s real strength comes from Mouse’s experience of the world as a fearful and dangerous place. Also, though Skuy ultimately offers up a storybook ending, the grittier aspects of Undergrounders may well give young readers pause to consider what life must be like for the innumerable homeless children of the world." As of April 27th, 2016, the book currently has a 4.07/5 rating, based on 161 reviews, on Goodreads.

Awards

The book has won the 2012 Silver Birch awards. The book has been shortlisted for the 2012 Snow Willow awards and the 2013 Rocky Mountain Book Award. It has also been a runner-up for the Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award.