Breaking the Ice

I love hockey. I do. Hockey is my favorite sport, the only sport I've ever really been a fan of. And this is despite knowing that it probably the most homophobic, sexist, racist sport you're going to find. (I say probably because while I know hockey culture can be a cesspit, I don't know how truly awful the other sports are. I'm just wagering hockey is the worst.)

Anyway, I went into this book with some trepidation, because I know that Sophie could be looking at a constant uphill battle, but I didn't know if this book was going more for the depressing or the uplifting sides of the story.

Ultimately, I think it was pretty well balanced. Sophie struggles, but she also succeeds - which is nice to see, because I grew to like her very quickly. Sophie is only 18, but she carries herself with a maturity and a self possession that people two and three times her age don't have. (I know I sure don't.)

She's easy to like and also, being honest, easy to get a little frustrated with because she is so focused on being the first woman. She's always super aware of how she comes off, of how if she's not perfect in every way that she'll ruin all the other women's chances of playing. I get it, that she has to be everything to everyone to succeed, but sometimes I just wanted to see her stand up for herself, without thinking about the optics.

Finally, the only reason this did not get a five star is ...

I feel like Sophie's team is just there. There are team members that are sent up/down mid-season or traded mid-season and I really felt nothing. (With maybe the exception of their two goalies, but I think that's really just me and my predisposition to get attached to goalies.) I've read other hockey books that make me mourn trades. This one, it was just something that happened.

The only character besides Sophie that I felt much for was Ivanov - who isn't even a teammate!

This does appear to be a debut book, and very little needs to be worked on, so I do hope that the sequels flesh the other characters out a bit more.

(Side Note: This is tagged/listed as LGBT. In theory, it might be. I'm guessing Sophie is probably under the umbrella, but as of this book, it's still just vague hints.)