by Pat Hughes

YA Contemporary, 2005 by Wendy Lamb Books, 288 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

The hockey talk is a bit too much of a play-by-play in some cases for non fans. For fans, there are inaccuracies or unrealistic plays.
Someone in the book jokes that with teenage boys it’s always hockey and sex. If that bothers you, skip this book, because there’s a lot of both here.
Content warning: sexual acts (not graphic), drinking, drugs, language, and depression.

Really the idea here is a teenage boy faced with the possibility of giving up a sport he loves. It’s emotional and powerful in the way it deals with that. A lot of contemporary YA starring a male MC avoids emotion and this confronts it in its own way. I like that.
Nick is a great character. He’s hard headed and he’s dealing with a lot. I related to him, I wanted good things for him, and I wanted to smack him when he made stupid choices.
Relatable. Who among us hasn’t been faced with losing something we love? The story is real in the way it confronts that pain.

Contemporary fans who like emotional stories that stem from small plots. You don’t need big events, you need ordinary events and big feelings. That’s this book.