Review by Booklist Review
Charlie Porter has just royally screwed up her junior year. After a tense hockey game against her private school's fierce rivals, Charlie accidentally starts a brawl that results in a six-month suspension from school and the need to pay back $10,000 of damage. Transferring to the town's public school, coincidentally the very rivals she brawled with at the start of the year, is tough. Tougher still? The deal she strikes to help Alexa Goldstein, a talented figure skater with Olympic dreams: train for the three months Alexa's competition partner is out of commission. Charlie and Alexa are fire and ice; Charlie's hotheaded, impulsive nature crashes hard against Alexa's cool exterior. But as they find rhythm together on and off the ice, that collision leads to sparks. Corson skillfully keeps stakes high throughout this debut. The sapphic romance between Charlie and Alexa is easy to root for, while Charlie's friends and family keep her grounded in a healthy manner. Charlie's emotional journey reaches a strong conclusion that will satisfy readers. A truly delightful entry into the oeuvre of sporty YA romances.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Subtle romance blossoms between a hockey player and a figure skater in this frothy debut sports rom-com. High school junior Charlie Porter is suspended from her Vermont private school and benched from her hockey team following her involvement in a brawl with a rival player. While working at the rink to pay off the damage she caused, she's coerced into helping figure skater Alexa Goldstein practice her pairs routines while Alexa's partner recovers from a broken ankle. Alexa's intense, Olympic bronze medal--winning mother promises she can use her connections to ensure that Charlie gets seen by college hockey scouts. Charlie assumes the gig will be a breeze until she learns that figure skating is more physically demanding than she anticipated. Once she gets the hang of it, however, her and Alexa's natural chemistry on the ice heightens their mutual attraction and blossoming feelings. Then a serious misstep at a competition makes Charlie retreat. The white-cued girls' lighthearted romance feels rote and somewhat rushed. Via Charlie and Alexa's struggles with and dedication to their individual passions, Corson nails the tension and pressure of sports competition. Alexa is Jewish. Ages 13--up. Agent: Claire Friedman, InkWell Management. (Jan.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A hockey player falls for a figure skater when they unexpectedly become skating partners. Charlie Porter is a high school junior and star player on her school's coed hockey team in Winthrop, Vermont. After starting a fight with a misogynistic bully from a rival team, Charlie loses her athletic scholarship and is suspended from her private school for six months, putting her chances of impressing college scouts in jeopardy. She finds herself not only a public school student, but also the stand-in partner for prissy pairs figure skater Alexa Goldstein, whose partner was injured in the melee Charlie caused. This lighthearted teen romance hits in all the right ways; it's well plotted and well written, is easy and fun to read, and will make readers squeal over Charlie and Alexa's budding relationship right up to the triumphant ending. Genre fans may appreciate how the two--who start off at odds with one another--are thrown together in improbable yet amorous situations. Some suspension of disbelief is required (Charlie executes a flawless triple lutz only a few months after taking up figure skating), and a significant obstacle (a ban on same-sex skating pairs) is hand-waved away in a single paragraph. These elements are balanced by an unusual and refreshing willingness for characters to--mostly--address issues head-on. Charlie is white, and Alexa is white and Jewish. A treat for lovers of fluffy lesbian romance.(Romance. 13-17) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
