Cheer! Series

January 4 My teeny, weenie hotel room Holiday Spirit Level: Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place A spur-of-the-moment invite had me flying on New Year’s Day with my dad and his girlfriend, Beth, to New York City! I was super excited to focus on fashion, not to mention have a real vacation. BUT that’s not possible, since, you know, DRAMA follows me everywhere. Aside from scoping out a MAJOR Katie Parker lookalike here in the Big Apple, it seems the Grizzlies might not be able to compete in the novice Get Up and Cheer! competition Jacqui and I signed us up for because Katarina is failing Social Studies. AND this little vacay with Dad and Beth? NOT a vacay. They are moving here, and asked if I’d like to come with? SERIOUSLY!? Oh, and to top it all off, why oh why am I spending so much time thinking about Evan when I’m supposed to be in major LIKE with Bevan? So much for holiday spirit. Maddy can't wait to explore the fashion and glamour of the city, and a week away from everything back home is just what she needs. What could possibly go wrong on vacay, anyway?? That is, except everything. After this vacation, Maddy's going to need a VACATION! This third installment of CHEER! Confessions of a Wannabe Cheerleader is a hilarious yet poignant story about growing up, making choices, and spreading lots and lots of holiday spirit!

Maddy’s cheerleading squad is almost ready for big competition—but first she must figure out if her new friend is really a frenemy. The Grizzlies are finally facing their first competition—Get Up and Cheer! Maddy is super excited for the competition, and the Grizzles have been training hard and look better than ever. But life’s not all pom-poms and sunshine for Maddy. For one thing, she’s got to figure out why she’s suddenly Public Enemy #1, according to mean girl Clementine Prescott. Maddy is pretty sure her budding friendship with Katie Parker (Clementine’s BFF) might have something to do with it, but given the fact that Katie still refuses to acknowledge her in public, it’s not like Maddy can count on Katie for any real support.      Once thing is for sure....If anyone can handle all this drama, it’s Maddy!

It's tryouts, take two in this new addition to a series full of fun, drama, and lots and lots of CHEER! It's springtime in Port Angeles, and that can only mean one thing: Titan Cheerleading Tryouts, take two! Will Maddy take the plunge again? Or is she just another spring chicken, like the rest of the Titan’s rejects from the fall? And if she does try out, will the Grizzlies understand—or hate her for leaving them behind after all they’ve been through? On top of tryout tension, the annual Sunshine Dance is around the corner, and while Maddy’s psyched to design a new dress, she’s not sure whose arm she wants to be on…. There are about 2.8 million cheerleaders between the ages of 6 and 17!

Sunday, September 5: Afternoon, my crib    Spirit Level: Cheered Out OK, so this was supposed to be the first day of my new, totally fantastic life as a Port Angeles School Titan Cheerleader. BUT instead, it’s the day that I, Madison Jane Hays, got rejected from the Titans and forced to join the dreaded, B-Squad Grizzly Bears. That’s right. My name was sandwiched in between Jared “Jazzhands” Handler and “Toxic” Tabitha Sue Stevens. Oh, and the girl who can’t even speak English, Katarina Tarasov. Yup, we’re one big hairy family. I went from being a god-like Titan to a lowly Grizzly in like, five seconds. My life. Is Seriously. O-V-E-R. I mean, who cheers at chess matches??!! I’m never going to make it to Nationals with a team like this. All I’ve ever wanted to do in life is cheer for the Titans. My mom (the most gorgeous, youngest ex-Titan cheerleader of ALL TIME, BTW) must be so disappointed! How she ended up with such a spastic daughter, I’ll never know. What I DO know? If I don’t whip this team into shape fast, I’ll literally DIE from embarrassment. Thank goodness I have my BFFs Lanie and Evan to keep me sane—otherwise, I might SERIOUSLY lose it.                When Maddy's triple flip becomes a major FLOP during tryouts, the whole gym echoes with the snickers from the Titan cheerleading triumvirate: Katie Parker, Clementine Prescott, and Hilary Cho. Forced to join the challenged B-Squad Grizzlies instead, Maddy realizes that to become a Titan she'll need to whip the Grizzlies into shape first. Will Maddy ever land on top of the pyramid with a squad like this? Maybe not, but when her awesome designs for new Grizzly uniforms get revealed at a big game, even the Titans are overheard whispering her name. Does this mean what she thinks it means?

Thursday, November 25:  Evening, my crib                                              Spirit Level: Cold and stuffed Okay, just when I thought things were totally perfect and Bevan and I were going to live happily ever after together (or, like, go to the movies), I remembered the Katie Parker factor!! AND Katie has been giving me the super cold shoulder, and I mean F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G cold!! She must know. As if things aren’t weird enough, Mom wants the Grizzlies to go to the state regional competition to cheer on the Titans and see a real competition. I’m psyched to watch all the cheering, especially since the Grizzlies are getting a bit restless without a big game on the horizon. But if Katie knows about me and Bevan, the temp of this super high-pressured weekend is going to get really cold—REALLY fast. And something tells me that this competition is going to have MORE than its fair share of stunts—on AND OFF the mat. Oh brother… Just when things with the Titan cheer trio are finally looking up (or at least straight across), Maddy finds herself in yet another tangled web. Her crush, Bevan—who everyone knows head Titan cheerleader Katie Parker just broke up with—asks Maddy out! Still hoping to one day make the Titan team, Maddy has to choose: Table for one, or pyramid OF one? All is definitely NOT fair in love and cheerleading. Meanwhile, without a "real" game in sight to cheer for, the Grizzlies are starting loose steam and it's up to Maddy, Jacqui, and Coach Carolyn to give them something to CHEER for. When the Titan's big cheerleading competition sectionals brings both teams to one place for one pressure-filled weekend, the stakes rise as cheerleaders start performing stunts on AND off the mat--breaking hearts, spirits, and even ankles!