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nakbari's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
jess_mango's review
4.0
1989 in the Boston 'burb of Danvers, MA. We meet the 11 members of the Danvers High School field hockey team. This group of 10 girls and 1 boy form a strange bond centered around an Emilio Estevez notebook. They believe it works some charms to help them win games.
I really enjoyed this book. It was told from a 3rd person plural perspective of the team. I loved all of the 80's nostalgia, the local Boston North Shore references, including mentions of businesses that are long gone. The prose was a bit dense in parts but I plowed on through and enjoyed this one.
I really enjoyed this book. It was told from a 3rd person plural perspective of the team. I loved all of the 80's nostalgia, the local Boston North Shore references, including mentions of businesses that are long gone. The prose was a bit dense in parts but I plowed on through and enjoyed this one.
markcastaneda's review
5.0
such a fun book! Definitely a personal nostalgia trip for the author, and probably a little overwritten to her own interests rather than for an audience. I know very little about field hockey, but you really feel yourself pulled into the author's world. Definitely a better read if you have /some/ sort of connection to the material, mine being from MA as well, but even just understanding team sports will instill some empathy into you in order to pull you through that first little bit.
ricas_library's review
2.0
The premise of this book showed a promise of mischief and magic, but I was left waiting around every corner for something BIG to happen.
The character development also held immense potential, but the execution just wasn’t there. Maybe there were too many characters. If we got to know one or two of the girls really well, then maybe I would have been absorbed into the story more, but a whole field hockey team was a lot to keep up with.
Large portions of the book were dense, and exposition-like to the point where I was skimming quickly through so I could get to the point, or the magic. It just got to the point where I wanted to get to the end to see what happens, but then the author skipped over the “main event” and fast forwarded.
Overall, I loved the premise of the book, but the execution fell flat for me.
The character development also held immense potential, but the execution just wasn’t there. Maybe there were too many characters. If we got to know one or two of the girls really well, then maybe I would have been absorbed into the story more, but a whole field hockey team was a lot to keep up with.
Large portions of the book were dense, and exposition-like to the point where I was skimming quickly through so I could get to the point, or the magic. It just got to the point where I wanted to get to the end to see what happens, but then the author skipped over the “main event” and fast forwarded.
Overall, I loved the premise of the book, but the execution fell flat for me.
acwyland's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
yarn_chicken's review
2.0
2.5 stars for me. Really had to push through to finish this one. Not as fun as I had hoped it would be.
kellyrand's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
katieinca's review
5.0
Field hockey team in the '80s makes a deal with darkness in the form of an Emilio Estevez notebook, so yeah, I expected this to be odd. I didn't expect it to be this funny, or how occasionally S### Gets Real. I actually highlighted in this (Kindle) book because I loved the humor that much. Mostly it's hard to excerpt because it's funnier w/ setup and knowing the characters, but to give you a small taste:
"As if the thing we feared most in the whole wide world was nipping at our heels. Wolves. Spiders. Cockroaches. Snakes. Opprobrium."
"Today like a guinea pig she was happily munching away on celery, only instead of eating a few pre-cut sticks the way a normal person would, she was holding an entire bunch on her lap and ripping off the stalks, then eating them one by one including the leaves. You had to hand it to her. The amount of green fibers stuck in her teeth was impressive. The next time she went to the bathroom she could’ve probably shit a sweater."
I did *not* love the tidy sweetness and "ooh, look at all our successful careers and parenting" of the ending chapter, but I can live with it.
"As if the thing we feared most in the whole wide world was nipping at our heels. Wolves. Spiders. Cockroaches. Snakes. Opprobrium."
"Today like a guinea pig she was happily munching away on celery, only instead of eating a few pre-cut sticks the way a normal person would, she was holding an entire bunch on her lap and ripping off the stalks, then eating them one by one including the leaves. You had to hand it to her. The amount of green fibers stuck in her teeth was impressive. The next time she went to the bathroom she could’ve probably shit a sweater."
I did *not* love the tidy sweetness and "ooh, look at all our successful careers and parenting" of the ending chapter, but I can live with it.