Blind Squirrel

Finished March 8

Blind Squirrel by Dave Mishkin

This novel tells an interesting story. The main character, Noah Nicholson is a minor league hockey player. He has excellent hand-eye coordination, which makes up for his slower skating. The story is told mainly in the present, but also jumps back to Noah's childhood. 

Noah has been on the team in Hershey, Pennsylvania for years, and is the captain of the team. He is also the guy that sets the tone, and guides new players through the team dynamic and what is expected of them. As the book begins, we see him go through this with two younger players. One is a young married player whose wife has recently had a baby, and the sleep deprivation has been causing him to be late often, and not play up to expectations. Despite not having a family of his own, we see how he reminds the young man of the expectations on him, and guides him to resources. The other player is a young Russian player who played in the Canadian minor league the year before, and went briefly to the NHL team affiliated with the Hershey team, but is spending the rest of the season in the minors. Noah guides him to better choices in nutrition than the fast food he's been living on, and gets him into a routine that will serve him to hone his skills and help him mature as a player. 

Noah, despite being admired and liked, has a secret that he has been dealing with for years, since the death of his parents in an accident when he was only twelve. It has him shying away from serious relationships, and living a lonely life. 

In his childhood, raised by two loving parents, both teachers, one of whom was headed towards pro sports before an injury, he had a great life. His parents were supportive, but also instilled a strong ethical core in him. They were active, running and biking. They read a lot, with his mother in particular sharing a love of books with him through a habit of bedtime reading that lasted long past when most kids stop. They didn't just read, they also talked about the books, about the ideas represented and what they meant. He also started young with a passion for baseball with his hand-eye coordination leading to not only playing on teams young, but also practicing regularly with his parents as support. He was an excellent hitter .and catcher, with his best friend as an excellent pitcher. They lived in California, but had a strong community that they were involved in. 

After his parents' death, he moved back east to live with his paternal grandmother and they had a good relationship. It was based on similar expectations to the ones his father had grown up with: a strong work ethic, good academics, and involvement in a sport. Noah couldn't face baseball without his parents, but he took advantage of the great private school his parents had planned for him in this eventuality and access to an ice rink, and taught himself how to skate so he could join the school hockey team. 

We see how he came to be where he is, and when he unexpectedly is injured in a game, ending his career, we see his depression and the actions that led him out of it. Once again, he becomes connected to his community, makes new friends, and might even have a chance of a romance and a new career. But only if he deals with his past trauma. 

I found the main character to have a lot of depth, and his story is told with empathy and sensitivity. We gradually learn the details of his trauma and how he has coped. I genuinely cared about him. 

The author brings his sports experience to this book. He began sports broadcasting in college, and now works for the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL team. He does mainly radio broadcasting but launched into television this year. Because of his experience telling fans about the sports he watches, he makes both baseball and hockey come alive for the reader, which means that the sports details here are never boring. This is his first book, and I definitely would be interested in reading more by him.

Breakaway

Finished January 27

Breakaway by Catherine Gayle

This is the first book in a series around a hockey team based in Portland Oregon, called the Portland Storm. The male central character here is Eric "Zee" Zellinger, and he is the captain of the team. One of his lifelong best friends, Brenden, is on the development team in the AHL affiliated with the Portland Storm. He's had a few injuries that set him back, but is hoping to get moved up to the NHL team. Brenden's little sister Dana is also a strong hockey player, but back when she was playing for her college team she was attacked after a game and gang raped. 

Dana has been undergoing therapy for a few years, but still has issues with men and physical contact. She is beginning to lose hope for a normal future relationship, but when her therapist suggests a sex therapist, she gets an idea. She can't handle a stranger for this, but she thinks of Eric, someone she's always trusted and decides to show up in person and ask him to do this for her. 

The idea is to gradually increase physical contact, moving towards intimacy. Eric is shocked but he's also a person who's cared deeply for Dana for years, and wants to help her. He also finds himself attracted to the woman she is now. 

Due to the storyline, you can see the tropes here: slow burn, friends to lovers, and brother's best friend.

The book steps away from the classic romance to deal with trauma, PTSD, and panic attacks, all of which it portrays well. As a Canadian, I grew up knowing hockey, and I enjoyed that aspect of the book as well. 

The only factual critique I have is the scene on the ice with the Zamboni. I KNOW that for safety reasons, when a Zamboni is on the ice, no people are on the ice. So that bothered me a little. 

Otherwise, an interesting read, and satisfying romance. 

The Mistletoe Motive

Finished December 19

The Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Liese

This Christmas romance takes place at a bookstore. The store is not doing as well financially since a chain opened a location nearby. It is down to only two staff: Gabriella (Gabby) Di Natale and Jonathan Frost, who are co-managers. Gabby was promoted to manager when the owners stepped back from being in the store, but she found it a lot to juggle and they noticed. They hired Jonathan who is more focused on the financial side of things, and Gabby has not been as aware of that since. 

When they realize that unless they manage a Christmas sales period miracle, one of them will likely be gone come January, Gabby suggest the decision of who gets to stay should be based on sales. Jonathan reluctantly agrees. 

Gabby is very good at sales and marketing and she has a lot of ideas to increase sales. She also is very good at customer relationships and creating a welcoming atmosphere. Jonathan has his own passions regarding books, but he doesn't give off a welcoming vibe. 

Gabby struggles with anxiety, but tries to hide it. She is autistic and is also very sensitive to sounds and smells and uses a variety of tools and actions to control that, including wearing noise-cancelling headphones when out in public (although not in the store). 

Jonathan is aware of some of her sensitivities since he is very observant, but hasn't made all the connections yet. This means that he tries to protect her from some things, but not always to good effect. He also has some personal secrets, which gradually come to light through the novel. 

She has a strong family connection, with her parents particularly. Her father is a famous ice hockey player, but she doesn't advertise her connection with him. It does mean that she knows a lot about hockey though. 

She has two roommates, and spends a lot of time with them. She also has a friend she's made online and has an ongoing conversation in the late evenings with him, talking about books and literature. 

I found the characters interesting, particularly Gabby, who see most of here. I enjoyed learning about her coping mechanisms and how I might interpret others I see in public differently based on learning about her sensitivities. This is an Own Voices novel, since the author is autistic as well. 

The book also includes a playlist, with a different song for each chapter. The playlist is also available on Spotify, so that's an interesting added element. Especially since music is very important to Gabby. 

A very enjoyable holiday read. 

Starvation Lake

Finished January 16

Starvation Lake by Bryan Cruley

This debut novel from a WSJ journalist is engrossing. The main character, Gus Carpenter is also a journalist. He'd been working in Detroit on a story exposing a car manufacturer and hoping to be nominated for a Pulitzer when he got pushed to do something he didn't want to do. He lost his job and retreated to his hometown, where he went to work for the town paper, hired by the same guy he started his career in journalism with. He's now in charge there, but on probation, so he's still careful about the stories he includes. It's a small staff, him and Joanie, another reporter, and a receptionist who puts her hand in when needed. The other reporter is young and ambitious, and Tillie, the receptionist is a former starlet who also returned to her hometown. 

Gus plays hockey with most of the same guys he played with as a kid, and lives in a small apartment above the newspaper offices. Gus's dad died of cancer when he was a kid, and his mom still lives in town and he sees her regularly. She is very active in the community. Shortly after high school, when Gus had left town, his hockey coach, Blackburn disappeared into a nearby lake while snowmobiling with a buddy. His body and machine weren't found, but the lake wasn't dredged at the time, the lake bottom is very soft, and there have long been rumours about tunnels between lakes. 

So when an old snowmobile surfaces in Starvation Lake, questions begin to arise about what happened ten years ago, and Joanie starts digging into the past. But there seem to be quite a few people who don't want the past brought to light, including Gus's own mom, and he begins to reflect on his own memories and what they mean. 

The situation in Detroit is also coming to a head, with potentially bad outcomes for Gus if he doesn't give in to the pressure from his old paper. 

I liked Gus, and Joanie, and felt compassion for some of the other characters, including Gus's old girlfriend who is now on the police force in Starvation Lake. I also liked to various layers of the plot and how they came together in intriguing ways. 

There are a couple of other books in this series that I may have to hunt out.

Beartown

Finished December 16
Beartown by Frederik Backman, translated by Neil Smith

I read this for my December bookclub meeting. I really enjoyed it, but it took me a while to get into it. I like hockey and live in a country where it is very popular, but it was the characters and the relationship dynamics that really made this book for me.
The story takes place in a small remote town in Sweden, Beartown. The town has been gradually declining, with businesses closing and people moving away. One hope for revitalization is to be the location for a new hockey school being built. The decision on where to build it will take place soon.
The town is split geographically by class and wealth. The richest people live in the Heights, a part of town uphill from the center. The poorest live in the Hollow, downhill from the center.
Peter Andersson is a hometown boy made good. He had a short NHL career and then came back to be the hockey club general manager in town. His wife Kira, is a successful lawyer, and works in another town nearby. They have two kids, Maya who is fifteen, plays guitar, and Leo, twelve. Maya's best friend Ana often stays at their house as well.
Sune is the coach for the A-team, and the one who convinced Peter to return to town. David is coach of the junior team and has a very different style from Sune. The two have grown apart, partly due to pressure from the club board and from David to move the star player from the junior team, Kevin Erdahl, up to the A team. Sune doesn't think he has the maturity.
Fatima is the cleaner at the club, a single mother, whose son Amat has been allowed to practice on the ice early in the morning in exchange for helping the caretaker. He is a good and fast player, although not that big, and currently plays on the team below the juniors, as he is only fifteen. Amat's best friends are Lifa and Zacharias, boys who, like Amat weren't like everyone else. Lars is the coach of the boys' team that Amat plays on.
Other players on the junior team are also important to the plot. One is Benji, Kevin's best friend, a good player himself, more mature than normal for his age. He grounds Kevin to a certain extent, but he also has his own secrets. Another is Bobo, a bully who throws his weight around, but also has a moral centre. William Lyt lives next door to Kevin and wants to be his best friend, but stands no chance with Benji around.
Other people in town that play important roles are Robbie Holts, a middle aged man who was once a hockey star, but wasn't mature enough to take the bad times with the good in stride, and is now down on his luck. Ramona owns the local pub, the Bearskin, just like her mother and her grandfather. She went to every game until her partner Holger died eleven years ago. Now she never leaves the pub. Her "boys" bring her what she needs.
As the author says, "hockey tells stories" and it definitely does here.
As the team works up for their big game, and then for the game after that, we see the various characters interact, make good choices and bad choices, and see lives get changed.
This is a book about hockey, about small towns, about families and friendships. about sexism and class. It is a microcosm of life.