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caomhin's review
5.0
This is an autobiography of a hockey player. A hockey player I had never heard of before. That's probably because I know next to nothing about hockey. No seriously, I'm English. That means hockey for me is a bunch of vicious schoolgirls knocking lumps out of each other in a green field. So for me, this is a book about an ice hockey player because that's what we call the sport where men skate around and have snowball fights featuring fists instead of snowballs.
And I loved reading this book!
Okay, so I admit I may not be a typical non-hockey-fan-reader. I love stories of oddballs, outcasts, and eccentrics. So when I was told there was a book about a chap who got voted into the All-Star game and they, whoever they are, tried to stop him playing, I was instantly curious. Go back a few lines, I'm English - we love an underdog.
And in those preceding paragraphs I've written you can get a little hint as to what makes this book work so well. I'm an outsider to this world and yet John Scott managed to make me feel welcome. The writing feels authentic. It's accessible. Of course, there are hockey terms and phrases but they are easy to understand. The book mentions a multitude of hockey players whom will no doubt mean more to hockey fans than they did me, but I didn't need to know career stats or anything to follow along.
Of course, a large portion of the book follows Scott's career but it has a good balance of him as a person too. And that, for me anyway, is what brings an autobiography to life. We are people, and therefore we relate to other people. If I was a puck perhaps I would want a different book, but I am a person so I enjoy reading about people. For me, that is what opens up new topics to me. I love listening to people who are passionate about something talk on their subject because I enjoy their relationship with it. I can relate it to my personal experiences and understand their affection.
That's why I enjoyed this book too. Scott comes across as a thoroughly decent bloke (as we say in these parts). He's the kind of guy I can imagine sitting and talking with over a pint of Guinness. Sure, his world is pretty alien to me, but through this book I feel I have learnt a lot about both the man and his sport. I didn't feel patronised, I feel he enjoys showing people the nuances that make his world so much fun for him. And that makes for a truly engaging autobiography.
All this superb storytelling builds up to his, apparently, famous All-Star Game. I was rooting for him. Forget that the cover tells you the outcome, I was invested. The preceding chapters showed me a likeable man and I could see why the fans were behind him. Why his fellow players welcomed him. Why he belonged at that game. I want to go back and watch those games. I wish I could have seen them live because they sound like they were worth watching.
And that's the icing on the cake for this one. Scott pulled me into his story. I was transported back to a game I never saw of a sport I barely know. Does any storyteller want anything more than that?
Maybe if I was a hockey fan I'd say it was too light, but I don't think I would. It feels like it has enough for the more informed reader too. But as a random Englishman who heard a glimpse of this bizarre story? It's a superb read. It ticks all the boxes for an autobiography, for a sports book, and for a happy ending too. It's a feel good read for everyone.
And I loved reading this book!
Okay, so I admit I may not be a typical non-hockey-fan-reader. I love stories of oddballs, outcasts, and eccentrics. So when I was told there was a book about a chap who got voted into the All-Star game and they, whoever they are, tried to stop him playing, I was instantly curious. Go back a few lines, I'm English - we love an underdog.
And in those preceding paragraphs I've written you can get a little hint as to what makes this book work so well. I'm an outsider to this world and yet John Scott managed to make me feel welcome. The writing feels authentic. It's accessible. Of course, there are hockey terms and phrases but they are easy to understand. The book mentions a multitude of hockey players whom will no doubt mean more to hockey fans than they did me, but I didn't need to know career stats or anything to follow along.
Of course, a large portion of the book follows Scott's career but it has a good balance of him as a person too. And that, for me anyway, is what brings an autobiography to life. We are people, and therefore we relate to other people. If I was a puck perhaps I would want a different book, but I am a person so I enjoy reading about people. For me, that is what opens up new topics to me. I love listening to people who are passionate about something talk on their subject because I enjoy their relationship with it. I can relate it to my personal experiences and understand their affection.
That's why I enjoyed this book too. Scott comes across as a thoroughly decent bloke (as we say in these parts). He's the kind of guy I can imagine sitting and talking with over a pint of Guinness. Sure, his world is pretty alien to me, but through this book I feel I have learnt a lot about both the man and his sport. I didn't feel patronised, I feel he enjoys showing people the nuances that make his world so much fun for him. And that makes for a truly engaging autobiography.
All this superb storytelling builds up to his, apparently, famous All-Star Game. I was rooting for him. Forget that the cover tells you the outcome, I was invested. The preceding chapters showed me a likeable man and I could see why the fans were behind him. Why his fellow players welcomed him. Why he belonged at that game. I want to go back and watch those games. I wish I could have seen them live because they sound like they were worth watching.
And that's the icing on the cake for this one. Scott pulled me into his story. I was transported back to a game I never saw of a sport I barely know. Does any storyteller want anything more than that?
Maybe if I was a hockey fan I'd say it was too light, but I don't think I would. It feels like it has enough for the more informed reader too. But as a random Englishman who heard a glimpse of this bizarre story? It's a superb read. It ticks all the boxes for an autobiography, for a sports book, and for a happy ending too. It's a feel good read for everyone.
abigailsbooks32's review
4.0
This book was so cute! I love books about hockey players and how they get their start! I love John Scott and this book only gives me more respect towards him. There's so much I didn't even know about him and I'm so glad to have read this book and learned more about him, his life, his career, and his family. It really is inspiring and just an amazing thing. I really enjoyed this book and I'm glad I finally read it! Nothing makes me happier than a good hockey related book. :)
yuzutart's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book is basically an expansion of John Scott's two pieces for The Player's Tribune. John Scott seems like a really hardworking stand up kind of guy and his story was so wholesome. Having already read his Player's Tribune articles before I wasn't expecting to get so emotional at the end, but whenever he mentions his daughters being proud of him I melt D:
dreamerf641c's review
4.0
The second half of the book was much stronger than the first half (at least in part because I knew all the players), but it was an interesting perspective on youth hockey and Canada, so I can't say I didn't like every part of this book.
It suffers from some characteristic weaknesses that are kind of specific to ghostwritten autobiographies. Since it's mostly interview to dictation it feels very up close and personal, but you also don't get a lot of stories that tie together and it's certainly not the very best writing all around.
Even with that, I absolutely cried at the end, and I found myself texting friends about little parts that I loved. Well worth reading.
It suffers from some characteristic weaknesses that are kind of specific to ghostwritten autobiographies. Since it's mostly interview to dictation it feels very up close and personal, but you also don't get a lot of stories that tie together and it's certainly not the very best writing all around.
Even with that, I absolutely cried at the end, and I found myself texting friends about little parts that I loved. Well worth reading.
pucksandpaperbacks's review
5.0
A wholesome story about a wholesome guy. John Scott was a mediocre NHL player and became MVP at the 2016 NHL All Star game. This book was a story of his life and how he got to the All Star game. Unfortuantely, the audio book is not narrated by him which would've made the story even better! But, the audio narrator told the story very well. I really admired how the story focused on being an enforcer and the importance of players who are the enforcer of the team. He gave due to some of my favorites: Zac Rinaldo and Danny "Carbomb" Carcillo and I loved that. He also talked about Ray Emery, former Flyers goalie and his first fight which was a great memory to relive! R.I.P. Ray Emery
Overall, this was an awesome story and it took a lot of turns I didn't expect! I am now a John Scott stan. Even though I did stan him in 2016 haha
also I REALLY love how he took jabs at Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel by calling Kessel a lumberjack and saying that he got some lumberjack offers HAHAH hilarious.
Overall, this was an awesome story and it took a lot of turns I didn't expect! I am now a John Scott stan. Even though I did stan him in 2016 haha
also I REALLY love how he took jabs at Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel by calling Kessel a lumberjack and saying that he got some lumberjack offers HAHAH hilarious.
aasplund's review
2.0
2.5 stars.
The overall effective of this book was great - I laughed at the ending and had fun sharing the full story with people. John Scott's story is definitely a real life Rocky Balboa scenario and I really enjoyed getting to know about it.
But there was also a lot of boring info to slog through before I got to the final couple chapters.
Overall, there wasn't exactly anything wrong with this book. It was a decent read and had some interesting information about hockey that I hadn't realized before. But so much of it was full of exactly the kind of things I hate about memoirs:
Endless namedropping is seriously one of my least favorite parts of a memoir or biography. If it's a rock 'n' roll bio, then I'll at least recognize most of the names, so it's not as bad. But here, when I know very little about hockey, it's just annoying. And fills pages with dumb information that doesn't really matter to the person's story.
Really dry and dull biographical information is another part that always sucks about memoirs. There are always pages and pages of "So I grew up in such-and-such town and my parents were this or that way and my siblings did this." There can be interesting aspects, but when most of the book is full of basic information about families that aren't that interesting, it can be a lot to read. This book was one of those. John Scott seems like a decent guy, but his upbringing was very dull to read through.
A lot of memoirs have no personality. I'm sure John Scott is a fascinating guy, but there wasn't a lot about his writing that showed any personality at all. It makes for a boring read to hear long lists of uninteresting events told in a really dull way. This was a flat read, in large part due to John Scott's lack of writing skills.
Overall, this can be a really fun book if you care about hockey. But don't expect anything wonderful or fascinating from this that you wouldn't expect from a typical memoir.
The overall effective of this book was great - I laughed at the ending and had fun sharing the full story with people. John Scott's story is definitely a real life Rocky Balboa scenario and I really enjoyed getting to know about it.
But there was also a lot of boring info to slog through before I got to the final couple chapters.
Overall, there wasn't exactly anything wrong with this book. It was a decent read and had some interesting information about hockey that I hadn't realized before. But so much of it was full of exactly the kind of things I hate about memoirs:
Endless namedropping is seriously one of my least favorite parts of a memoir or biography. If it's a rock 'n' roll bio, then I'll at least recognize most of the names, so it's not as bad. But here, when I know very little about hockey, it's just annoying. And fills pages with dumb information that doesn't really matter to the person's story.
Really dry and dull biographical information is another part that always sucks about memoirs. There are always pages and pages of "So I grew up in such-and-such town and my parents were this or that way and my siblings did this." There can be interesting aspects, but when most of the book is full of basic information about families that aren't that interesting, it can be a lot to read. This book was one of those. John Scott seems like a decent guy, but his upbringing was very dull to read through.
A lot of memoirs have no personality. I'm sure John Scott is a fascinating guy, but there wasn't a lot about his writing that showed any personality at all. It makes for a boring read to hear long lists of uninteresting events told in a really dull way. This was a flat read, in large part due to John Scott's lack of writing skills.
Overall, this can be a really fun book if you care about hockey. But don't expect anything wonderful or fascinating from this that you wouldn't expect from a typical memoir.
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