Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey

Was a bit too bro-y with the members of the team for my taste, just a lot of college partying etc. Having more of an interest in hockey might’ve helped. Would rec if you’re into slow burn queer hockey graphic novels.

Content Warnings

housedesignerking's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

This was a book I found while scrolling through several lgbt book lists. After reading the description, I added it to my to-read folder and eventually found myself at the public library (I can't believe it's finally open again, either) and couldn't seem to really find many books that I'm actually in the mood to read. (Sorry if you read this in my last review) Last year, I pushed myself to read more pages than I ever have within one calendar year. The good news: I succeeded. The bad news: I succumbed to the reader's fatigue and it's taken till June, really, to even feel the urge to continuously read. As a result, I'm very picky at the moment. More good news: since it is Pride month (which I have contradictory opinions about despite being bi), I finally spotted this graphic novel and snagged it (special display).

I, admittedly, am probably <i>not</i> the best person to be reviewing a book partly about hockey seeing as I don't live anywhere near a hockey rink. I'm from the Midwest. Not to be stereotypical, but I have never been too thrilled with most of the sports that my state offers (aside from perhaps basketball... maybe). Living in 'Packerland,' I have disappointed several potential friends by revealing I don't even really know the rules or how to even play football aside from what I could pick up from the couple times I managed to sit through a game on TV. If we had Hockey games here, I would be interested. Especially in the summer with this outrageous heat!

To be honest, it is not all bad. I am relatively new to graphic novels. I've only read 17. That's not a very high number with most graphic-novel-lovers; so again, I may not be the best person to be reviewing this. The storyline was interesting. Though I admit I was not personally thrilled with the alcohol, the sexual party, or the cursing (I still cannot believe that a character in this book was actually named Sh**ty; we never find out his real name). For the most part, the characters were mostly likeable, but I admit that I did not discern enough character development to really be sure about my opinion. For most of this, the story flowed well, but I did notice some parts where it seemed to either go all over the place or where it felt like pages were missing (I checked the page numbers. No pages were missing). The tweets from the main character did provide some insight into where the two parts of this story didn't seem to. The bonus sketches were somewhat interesting, and one was even informative.

My concern about the main character, Eric "Bitty" Bittle, was that he was somewhat stereotypical (not for his love of cooking. There are plenty of straight men who love to cook. They typically end up on Food Network; if that's even still a channel anymore), but more for some of his mannerisms and the way he says certain things. Not his obvious southern accent, but more with some of the things he said or how he seemed to say them (though it's sometimes impossible to fully discern how a character says anything in graphic novels).

The final thing I will say about this book is that I think it is great that Bitty became friends with his teammates... I just... Living in Wisconsin where a <i>lot</i> of people can be abrasive, rude, and sometimes, sadly, selfish, I couldn't fully connect with Bitty on how he (as I would say it) inexplicably found straight men that were fine with his sexuality and still wanted to be friends. If that truly happens in other states in the union, great! It doesn't seem to happen often in my area of this state.

So, for the most part, I did enjoy this. In my opinion, it would be a 3 star quality if it hadn't included the sex party. I will seek out the next instalment at some point after I get through my mountain of a to-read list. Hopefully, I don't succumb to the reader's fatigue again too quickly.

1 star.

Content Warnings