Ice Hockey & Ice Skating – Sneak Peek Books

Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson

Sharon Robinson, the daughter of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, has crafted a heartwarming, true story about growing up with her father.

When Jackie Robinson retires from baseball and moves his family to Connecticut, the beautiful lake on their property is the center of everyone’s fun. The neighborhood children join the Robinson kids for swimming and boating. But oddly, Jackie never goes near the water. In a dramatic episode that first winter, the children beg to go ice skating on the lake. Jackie says they can go—but only after he tests the ice to make sure it’s safe. The children prod and push to get Jackie outside, until hesitantly, he finally goes. Like a blind man with a stick, Jackie makes sure the ice is safe to play on.

Testing the Ice is a metaphor for Jackie Robinson’s legendary breaking of the color barrier in Major League Baseball. While the book introduces Jackie by discussing his role in Major League Baseball, the story focuses on his family’s move to Connecticut and Jackie’s refusal to go into the water. While the two events show Jackie’s bravery, younger readers will need help connecting the two events and understanding the story’s deeper meaning.

Even though Testing the Ice is a picture book, the story is intended to be read aloud to a child, rather than for the child to read it for the first time independently. Unlike most picture books, Testing the Ice uses some difficult vocabulary and complex sentences that make it more appropriate for older readers. Many of the pages are text heavy and have up to 16 sentences on the page. The realistic illustrations often feature Jackie’s family as well as the neighbor’s children, which makes Jackie more relatable.

Sharon Robinson’s childhood experience will allow readers to see Jackie Robinson’s bravery through new eyes. Sharon’s love and pride in her father is evident, and readers will come to understand why Sharon believed that, “My dad is the bravest man alive.” Readers who are interested in learning more about Jackie Robinson and sports history should also read Miss Mary Reporting by Sue Macy.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

None

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

None

Check Please!

Eric Bittle may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It is nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! First of all, there’s checking (anything that hinders the player with possession of the puck, ranging from a stick check all the way to a physical sweep). And then, there is Jack—the very attractive but moody team captain.

Check Please! is told from Bittle’s point of view, which allows the reader to connect with him and the other hockey players. Bittle is an extremely likable character who unapologetically loves to bake pies, make gift bags, and vlog. Bittle’s vlog helps keep the reader up to date on the events in his life as well as his emotions. As part of the hockey team, Bittle spends a lot of time on the ice. However, the figure skating champion often faints when someone is close to knocking into him. Despite this, the other hockey players encourage Bittle and reassure him that they’ve got his back. And when Bittle makes his first goal during a game, the reader will cheer right along with the other characters.

Through Bittle’s experiences, readers will get an intimate view of a college hockey team. While there are many interesting characters, the team captain, Jack, takes center stage. As the son of a famous hockey player, Jack deals with anxiety and family expectations. When Bittle and Jack become friends, Bittle is conflicted because he has fallen for “a straight boy.” It isn’t until Bittle’s sophomore year that he tells anyone that he is gay. Even though Bittle is worried about his teammate’s reactions, they are unfazed by the revelation.

Each page of the graphic novel has two panels with quote boxes. However, on some pages, there are so many quote boxes that it is difficult to keep track of who is speaking. The illustrations often focus on the “hockey haus,” which is where the hockey team lives and throws parties with lots of alcohol. In addition to the many parties, Check Please! Also has an abundance of profanity and frequent talk of hooking up, which takes away from the reading enjoyment. The story portrays the college experience as one big party with meaningless sex.

Check Please! is an engaging graphic novel that focuses on Bittle’s unique perspective and gives readers a look into the hockey culture. The teammates’ acceptance of Bittle despite his untraditional behavior is refreshing. While the story’s fun tone will appeal to many readers, the unnecessary profanity is often overwhelming and will definitely turn away some readers. Readers looking for more sports-related books should check out Hazelwood High Trilogy by Sharon M. Draper and Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen & Faith Erin Hicks.

Sexual Content 

Two hockey players talk about a girl’s text message. One boy says, “Then it’s chill—emoticons always equal pussy.”
When Bittle goes to the hockey frat house, one of the guys says, “The decisions you will make in this house will be regretful but glorious. The alcohol you drink will be cheap, but plentiful and the loss of virginity you may experience within these walls will range from reassuring to emotionally damaging.”
Bittle goes to a frat party. While there, he asks the guys where Jack is. Someone says, “Poor guy’s probably up in his room getting sucked off by another Zimmermann puck bunny.”
Some of the guys talk about hooking up with a girl. One of the guys tells Bittle, “Holster and I are very well acquainted with Samwell’s female population, if you know what I mean. I do mean sexually.”
Jack kisses Bittle. The kiss is illustrated over three pages.

Violence 

None

Drugs and Alcohol 

When Bittle sees the frat house’s kitchen stove, he says, “I bet no one’s cooked anything but pot brownies in you.”
While at a frat party, some of the hockey team play a drinking game.
After a game, the guys go out to pizza and some of them drink beer.
As part of a hazing ritual, the new members “will crawl onto the shore of manhood naked, blindfolded, and bitch-ass shitfaced. But not alone!” The hazing is shown over two pages, and the new members are in their boxers.
The book uses a fairytale-like story to show Jack, in the past, taking too many anxiety drugs and “nearly los[ing] everything.”

Language 

Profanity is used on almost every page. Profanity includes bitch, damn, dicks, hell, motherfucker, fuck, shit, pussy, and goddammit.
One of the characters is nicknamed “Shitty.”
A fellow hockey player says, “You know what I like about you, Bittle? You’re a dude from the south and you’re not a bigoted dickfaced cockhole!”
A hockey player says that one of his teammates can “turn into a fucking hockey nazi every once in a while.”
While practicing talking tough, Bittle says, “I’m gonna fuck you up like the fucking pussy midget fucker you are.”
Jesus Christ is used as an exclamation once.

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content 

None

The Comeback: A Figure Skating Novel

Twelve-year-old Maxine Chen is just trying to nail that perfect landing: on the ice, in middle school, and at home, where her parents worry that competitive skating is too much pressure for a budding tween. Maxine isn’t concerned, however—she’s determined to glide to victory. But then a bully at school starts teasing Maxine for her Chinese heritage, leaving her stunned and speechless. And at the rink, she finds herself up against a stellar new skater named Hollie, whose grace and skill threaten to edge Maxine out of the competition. With everything she knows on uneven ice, will Maxine crash under the pressure? Or can she power her way to a comeback?

Middle-grade girls will relate to Maxine, who is a normal teenager that worries about typical middle-school problems. Maxine is focused on her dream of going to the Olympics and she looks up to several Asian skaters such as Kristine Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan. Because the story is set in Lake Placid, New York, and Maxine is the only Asian in her community, she feels insecure about her looks and at one point, secretly purchases eye tape to make herself look more like her white peers. One positive moment in the book is when an older Asian ice skater gives Maxine make-up tips that enhance her natural features.

The Comeback deals with the difficult topics of racism and microaggressions. Alex, one of Maxine’s classmates, makes racist comments to Maxine. To make matters worse, Maxine’s best friend doesn’t stand up for her. Instead of ignoring Alex’s comments, Maxine comes up with snotty comebacks to say to Alex the next time he insults her. However, making mean, hurtful comments is not a positive way to stop a bully.

Maxine’s parents are shining stars in the story. They wholeheartedly support her dream, but they also want her to have a balanced life that includes having friends and having fun. While Maxine’s parents are encouraging and caring, when Maxine is being bullied she doesn’t tell her parents or any other adults. Maxine keeps the bullying a secret because she’s afraid that her mother will go to the school, demand to see the principal and make matters worse. When Maxine finally tells her mother about Alex’s racist comments, Maxine’s mother says that some people tear others down because they “want to make you feel bad so they don’t have to think about their own problems.”

Readers who are not familiar with ice skating may find the book’s focus on the technical aspects of ice skating difficult to understand. However, all readers can relate to the book’s topics of bullying, friendship, and having a balanced life. Readers who have never experienced racism will get a bird’s eye view of how it feels to be ridiculed because of your race, which will help them become more empathetic. While The Comeback has many positive aspects, the message is heavy-handed and Maxine is self-absorbed and occasionally mean to others. Still, readers who are interested in ice skating or dance will enjoy seeing Maxine’s love of the sport. Readers who love dance and want to step into the world of an aspiring K-pop star should read Shine by Jessica Jung. Out of Step by Jake Maddox is also a good read for middle-grade readers who love dance.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

None

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

A boy at school writes “Maxine is a nerdy chink” large enough that Maxine could see it.
There is some name-calling between the kids at Maxine’s school. Later, Maxine tells someone that the boy is a jerk. Maxine’s friend says the boy is a “total blockhead.”
The kids at Maxine’s school sometimes call each other names such as jerk, blockhead, and doofus.
Maxine thinks that the other skaters think that she’s a “total loser at school.”
Maxine and her friend talk about the mean boy at school. Then they talk about things Maxine can say to him. One of the comebacks Maxine practices is, “Well, where are you from? The corner or Ugly Street and Racist Alley?”
Darn and heck are both used once.

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

Maxine sees a new girl in ballet class. Later, she sees the girl at the ice rink. Maxine prays “to the skating gods. Please, I beg them, please, please, please don’t let this girl be as good a skater as she is a ballerina.” Later Maxine thinks, “the skating gods didn’t listen to my prayers.”

Tallulah’s Ice Skates

Tallulah is an accomplished ballerina, but she also loves to skate. After all, skating’s a lot like ballet—challenging, graceful, and glamorous.

Tallulah is positive that with some hard work, she and her friend Kacie will be just as good on the ice as they are at dance. They’ll be Super Skaters! But Kacie doesn’t want to rehearse fancy moves; she just wants to have fun. So Tallulah practices by herself. That is, until an encounter with a talented boy ends with an embarrassing mishap. Then, Tallulah begins to realize that sometimes having fun is more important than being the best.

Grab a cup of hot chocolate and a blanket, and snuggle up with your young reader to enjoy Tallulah’s ice skating adventure. Readers will relate to Tallulah, who wants to spend time with her friend, even though they don’t agree on what they should do.

The story’s winter wonderland is illustrated in soft blues, while the kids’ clothing has pops of red and orange. The beautiful pictures show the snowy landscape and include individual snowflakes on almost every page. The ice skaters are shown making graceful twirls as well as falling sometimes. Even the black birds sitting in the tree branches become part of the story when Tallulah thinks that they “were laughing at her.” While there are not many characters, the characters included are diverse.

Tallulah’s Ice Skates will appeal to readers interested in dance and skating. In order to help readers distinguish the narration from Tallulah’s thoughts, her thoughts are written in large, bold letters. Since each page has two to seven sentences, parents will need to read the story to their child.

Tallulah’s Ice Skates is an engaging story with beautiful pictures that readers will enjoy. Tallulah’s experiences will encourage readers to try new activities. Even though Tallulah realizes she’s “not a Super Skater,” she still has fun doing bunny hops with her friend, hearing the “swooshy sound” her skates make, and the cool air tingle on her face. Other books that feature the fun of winter include A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson and Snowmen At Night by Caralyn Buehner.

Sexual Content

None

Violence

None

Drugs and Alcohol

None

Language

None

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

None

Every Reason We Shouldn’t

Sixteen-year-old figure skater Olivia Kennedy’s competitive dreams have ended. She’s bitter but enjoying life as a regular teenager instead of trying to live up to the expectations of having Olympians Midori Nakashima and Michael Kennedy as parents. . .until Jonah Choi starts training at her family’s struggling rink.

Jonah’s driven, talented, going for the Olympics in speed skating, completely annoying. . . and totally gorgeous.

Amid teasing Jonah, helping her best friend try out for roller derby, figuring out life as a normal teen, and keeping the family business running, Olivia’s got her hands full. But will rivalry bring her closer to Jonah, or drive them apart?

Olivia’s life is a mess. Her father is on the road working, her mother is so doped up on pain pills that she’s mostly absent from Olivia’s life, and Olivia’s best friend is dealing with her own set of troubles, including raising her daughter. Then, Jonah enters the picture. The “Ice Prince” may set Olivia on fire, but his cocky attitude puts a damper on the romance. Instead of being a sweet and sexy love interest, Olivia and Jonah sneak into storage rooms, behind counters, and even behind a dumpster to make out. The abundance of kissing makes their romance seem shallow and cheap. Instead of rooting for the two teens, readers will have a hard time believing the two are really in love.

Olivia’s parents are another negative aspect of the story. Olivia has no parental support. While Olivia’s mother’s excuse is her constant pain, her injury is never explained, which leaves the reader wondering if the pain meds are necessary or just a way for her mother to escape. To make matters worse, the book’s conclusion is unrealistic because it portrays Olivia and her parents as a cohesive group that supports each other when there is absolutely no evidence that supports this.

Unfortunately, Every Reason We Shouldn’t isn’t a fun, flirty romance that readers will enjoy. Instead, it’s full of forgettable characters that are hard to relate to. While both Jonah and Olivia hope to go to the Olympics, they spend more time kissing than they do on the ice. The story combines skating with romance and parental pressures; however, the book’s flaws will quickly damper reader’s interest. Instead of reading Every Reason We Shouldn’t, readers looking for an entertaining story that mixes sports and romance should check out the Hundred Oaks Series by Miranda Kenneally.

Sexual Content

The father of Mack’s baby asks her if she wants to go to his house. He says, “Derek will get us a six-pack or two. We’ll hang and stuff . . . My mom doesn’t’ care if you sleep over. Long as we’re quiet.”
Olivia watches Jonah skate. “Every time he stops, Jonah looks over at me and smiles. I’m melting. I fantasize about stepping up onto his bladed feet, wrapping my arms around his neck, and kissing him until we’re standing in a puddle of water in the middle of the rink.”
When Olivia asks a friend for boy advice, the friend texts, “and use protection. . . And he better not be sending you pictures of his junk.”
Olivia and Jonah lay on a couch. Olivia brings “my other hand up underneath his T-shirt until my palm rests over his heart. . . Jonah pushes me gently down on the couch until his whole body presses into mine. . . When Jonah’s lips find mine, the blanket becomes completely unnecessary.”
Olivia and Jonah go into a supply closet at the skating rink. “As soon as the door is closed, I launch myself at him, our lips connecting like I’ve wanted them to do all morning. . . Cold fingertips glide underneath the back of my T-shirt and up my spine. . . I pull the zipper of Jonah’s skinsuit down to mid-chest. . . Jonah’s breath hitches when I slide my cold hand underneath the fabric.” They part when Jonah’s father calls him.
At the skate rink, Olivia and Jonah kiss. Jonah makes a “trail of kisses from my ear to my throat.” Then Olivia pulls “Jonah down until we are both kneeling on the well-worn carpet behind the skate counter. . .” They are interrupted by Jonah’s father.
After being apart for several days, Jonah goes to the ice rink. Olivia goes to take out the trash and, “As soon as I walk out the front door, Jonah grabs the trash with one hand and my hand with the other and pulls me behind the building to the dumpster. His lips meet mine before the bag of trash even hits the bottom of the dumpster.”
Olivia and Egg (her old skate partner) go to Los Angeles for a skate audition. While driving, Egg says, “Do you know what this looks like? Human trafficking.”

Violence

Olivia’s school has a lock down because of an angry parent’s “disorderly conduct” and a “confrontation” with the school’s security officer.

Drugs and Alcohol

Olivia’s mom has an injury so she takes muscle relaxants and pain medication. Olivia says the medication makes her mom “spaced out.”
Olivia thinks that some of the high achieving kids at her school “snuck into their parents’ medicine cabinet to take a Xanax or two because their anxiety was way off the charts.”
Olivia’s classmate has a panic attack. She says, “The new medication helps. I still spent the rest of the day in bed surrounded by all my dogs and watching sea otter videos though.”

Language

Profanity is used often. Profanity includes ass, crap, damn, freaking, hell and pissed.
OMG, God, and Lord are used as exclamations occasionally.
Mack calls two boys “boneheads.”

Supernatural

None

Spiritual Content

None

Breaking the Ice

Sophie Fournier’s first love is hockey. When she’s the first woman drafted into the North American Hockey League (NAHL), she finally gets her chance to play hockey for a living. But being the first woman in the NAHL means she has to be perfect on and off the ice in order to prove that women should have a shot at being drafted. Not meeting that perfection means no playing—not just for her—but for every woman wishing to play.

Breaking the Ice is a hockey-heavy book. Sophie’s love for the sport comes up often because it’s her career, and there are many scenes depicting games and practices. The story starts with Sophie being drafted and ends with the next year’s draft, leading the reader through her first season with the Concord Condors as she battles with opponents and some teammates. Although this story and Sophie are fictitious, most of the scenes are very realistic.

Sophie is a strong protagonist. She’s extremely intelligent and understands how the press and her teammates perceive her is very important to her survival as the first and only woman in the NAHL. Because Sophie is so well-controlled in her behavior, she does occasionally come off as aloof and uptight. As the story progresses, she begins to befriend her teammates and some of her icy exterior thaws. As she allows herself to open up, she becomes friends with some of the other characters, like her opponent Dmitri and teammate Merlin.

Sophie does have issues with a couple of teammates, opponents, and the press because she is a woman and many feel that she doesn’t have a place in the NAHL. Sophie takes these confrontations with as much grace as possible, and she pushes herself to be absolutely perfect on and off the ice. As this is the first book in the series, Sophie’s need for perfection as well as her character growth will most likely continue in the next books as her team vies for the Maple Cup. Sophie wants it all, like any serious athlete, and she’s working hard while knowing that her mark can help or hinder the next woman who wishes to be drafted and taken seriously.

Breaking the Ice has a steady pace throughout as it details Sophie’s first season with the Condors. As a result, those looking for a book with a very exciting ending probably will not find it here, though there is much excitement throughout. Sophie’s story is enlightening for hockey players as well as those who don’t know anything about the sport, and her dedication is admirable. Sophie has a lot of obstacles to overcome in Breaking the Ice, but readers will see she is more than up for the challenge.

Sexual Content

Sophie has played on men’s hockey teams for a long time. Sophie mentions that “she’s had teammates hit on her before, a waste of everyone’s time, but that was in high school.”
None of Sophie’s teammates are allowed to be alone with her, even if it’s just driving to and from practice, according to the team’s PR person. Sophie says “they don’t want to give any ammunition to the inevitable rumors that she’s sleeping with one, or more, or her teammates.”
One of Sophie’s teammates offers Sophie some advice. He says, “If a boy tells you he’s too big for a condom, punch him and run.”
Sophie expresses no interest in dating men. Her reason is that “after years of guys slamming her into the boards and trying to break her wrists and listening to what they’d do to her if the officials weren’t there to stop them, she has no desire to get closer.”
Sophie has lunch with her former teammate Travis, and Travis’s current teammate. Sophie tells Travis’s teammate not to leave because she’s not allowed to be alone with anyone because of rumors that might be spread, though Sophie and Travis make it clear that they would never try anything like that. Sophie then turns to Travis’s teammate and says, “Of course, maybe Forbes likes to watch.” She says this in jest.
Sophie and her teammate Merlin joke about Sophie’s admiration for another player’s hockey abilities. Sophie makes a point to show she can like a player for hockey and not romantically. She says, “You can like someone’s hockey without wanting to see them naked.”
A fellow hockey player tells Dimitri that he only scores the pretty goals and needs to score “some dirty ones too.” Dimitri responds by saying, “I score dirty.” The other hockey player responds with, “Keep it in your pants.”

Violence

Dimitri and Sophie are sharing a piece of cake. Jokingly, Sophie “kicks his shins then steals the best bite of cake.”
There are a lot of playful slaps and hits between the hockey players on the same team. For instance, one player “slaps Matty’s [another player’s] ass on the way by then laughs all the way down the tunnel.”
Sophie has a rival teammate named Hayes with whom she fights for the same position on the ice. They also fight over who gets number 93 on their jersey, then Sophie gets the first pick. Hayes is mad, and “she’s almost to the door when Hayes catches up to her. She looks over her shoulder in time for him to shove her up against the wall . . . She knocks his hands away and shoves him back.”
Hockey is a high-contact sport where fighting and checking into the boards are commonplace. Sophie, being the only woman in the league, often gets the brunt of the hits. For instance, “[An opponent] slams her into the glass a second later. He snarls at her, and the fans pound the glass, hoping for a fight.”
One of the other incoming players physically threatens Sophie after a game one night. Sophie narrates, “He grabs her by the lapels of her suit jacket and slams her back against her car.” Soon after, he leaves.
At a hockey event, Sophie sees someone holding up a “well-drawn, and graphic, image of Sophie on the ground, her limbs bent at awkward angles as a condor picks at her intestines.”

Drugs and Alcohol

At the hockey team’s Canadian Thanksgiving party, one of the younger players drinks a beer “even though [he’s] still a few years too young.”
At a backyard party, one of Sophie’s teammates says, “Alcohol and painkillers don’t mix.” Another player responds, “I learned that one the hard way.” They don’t explain this story further.
Some of the fans show up to games already drunk. Sophie describes how at one game, “Fans, already drunk, pound the glass and shout at her when she skates her two easy laps.”

Language

Profanity is included often throughout. Profanity includes: stupid, shit, ass, bullshit, fuck, dick, bitch, and slut.
One of Sophie’s opponents makes a nasty comment towards one of her teammates that seems to be racially charged. Sophie notes, “Walker sneers something, all Sophie hears is, ‘The Rez.’ [One of Sophie’s teammates] freezes, shock and disgust on his face.”

Supernatural