Canadian Boyfriend

Finished July 12

Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday

This contemporary romance novel is set mostly in Minnesota, with some time in Manitoba. Aurora (Rory) Lake Evans quit advanced ballet school in New York City and returned home to Minnesota several years ago. She's now teaching jazz and tap dance at her friend Gretchen's dance school. She also works as a barista at Starbucks.

Back when she was in high school she worked at a coffee store in the Mall of America, a respite from school and dance. One day she had an encounter with two Canadian hockey players who came in to buy drinks. It was positive and fun, and inspired her to create a fake boyfriend based on one of the young men, Mike Martin. She used this fake boyfriend for years as an excuse for not going to social events she didn't want to go to, to explain her lack of close relationships at school, and as a diary of sorts as she wrote letters to him talking about her life.

Now, one of her students who has been away from classes for a few months after her mother's sudden death is returning to class, this time with her father bringing her. And her father is an NHL hockey player from Canada named Mike Martin. Rory can't believe it and she wonders if it can really be the same person. As she compares her memories with the man in front of her, she suspects it is, but is embarrassed by the whole thing. She even has a panic attack, but manages to recover and welcome Olivia back to class. As she grows closer with Olivia and spends time with her outside of class, helping when her father isn't around, as well as going out after class with the two of them, she becomes more certain, but keeps her secret about the past to herself. 

Mike and Olivia are both dealing with their grief in their own ways, and both are in therapy. Mike is learning a lot about himself, about the emotional labour his wife did that he wasn't even aware of, and about how to be a supportive father. As he begins to be attracted to Rory, he also keeps his daughter's feelings in mind and this is where things get even more complicated. 

I liked the way this book dealt with a number of issues around grief and loss, and about mental health in general. Rory's mom was more focused on her success than her health, and this is something she still hasn't dealt with. Her relationship with her mother has led to a number of issues including trust and food issues. I liked the inclusion of Olivia and her reactions, but this really fell off toward the end of the novel, which was a shame.

A captivating and enjoyable read. 

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.

Isn't It Bromantic?

Finished September 23

Isn't It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams

This is the fourth book in this series and we're finally seeing more about a man who appeared in the first novel, Russian hockey player Vlad Konnikov. Then we knew him as a man with a bad gastrointestinal issue and a penchant for cheese. No one wanted to use a bathroom after him, but he was emotive and joined into book club activities with enthusiasm.  

In the third book we caught a glimpse of his beautiful wife Elena Konnikova, a journalism student at an American university and his childhood friend. 

Elena practically grew up with Vlad, after losing her mother at the age of nine and with her journalist father travelling all the time. As they came into adulthood they developed feelings for each other, but had difficulty expressing them.

When Vlad made it into the NHL, he proposed to Elena, partly to get her out of Russia, where she had recently lost her father when he disappeared working on a story about organized crime. She quickly agreed, but when she arrived in the U.S., she decided to take a degree in journalism, following in her family's footsteps, so they didn't spend much time together.

As this story begins, Elena is nearly done her degree and Vlad had just had a bad injury during a game. When his team representative contacts her to come, she goes immediately. She knows how much she owes Vlad, and wants to ensure that he has what he needs, even though the last time she saw him, six months ago, she told him she wanted to end the marriage.

As the two meet again, they are awkward with each other, working at cross purposes, neither of them communicating what is in their hearts.

Vlad, however, has the Bromance Book Club, and they pitch in to remind him of what he has learned in the club, and to help him in a surprise endeavour of his own.

Elena discovers a group of women in Vlad's neighbourhood who he has been using as a sounding board, as well as the group of wives and girlfriends of the Bromance book club, and is reminded of her own lack of close friends outside of her husband. Elena also has a secret project, one that has driven her for years and that she isn't about to let go. 

As both of their projects pull them toward and away from each other, they find themselves opening up to each other in new ways. 

This is another great read in the series, with depth as well as humour. We see familiar characters as well as some new additions and can see other relationships on the horizon. A fun read.

On the Line

Finished September 6

On the Line by Kari-Lynn Winters, illustrated by Scot Ritchie

On the surface this is a tale of a young hockey player finding his place, but it is so much more than that. The central character is Jackson Moore, a boy that lives in a small town where hockey is an important part of the community. Several members of his family have been players that have been great assets to their team, described as hockey heroes. Everyone seems to be looking for Jackson to follow in their footsteps, but he has doubts. Mostly he keeps his doubts to himself while wondering what will happen if he doesn't live up to these expectations. 

As he joins his first hockey team, the coach and the players are excited to have him on the team, but his actual performance as a hockey player underwhelms them. There is an upcoming tournament called Winterfest that they are looking forward to playing in, but one requirement is regulation equipment. Of course, though it isn't stated explicitly here, hockey equipment and its costs are one of the major barriers to children joining the game. 

As Jackson tries to make traditional game plans to stay on his feet and impress his team members, he finds the need to rethink and make a different type of game plan entirely to ensure that his team gets to play at all. This part of the story is told in pictures, not words and isn't clear until the big reveal. 

The book ends with a page on team stewardship and its importance to the overall team spirit and cohesion. 

The illustrations add important elements to the story, showing diversity in the community and on the team, and the level of ingenuity the kids and their parents had used to come up with workarounds on equipment. Without the illustrations, this book wouldn't say as much as it does. 

Roughneck

Finished April 8
Roughneck by Jeff Lemire

This graphic novel is set in a small town in northern Ontario. Derek Ouelette was a major league hockey player, of the type commonly described as a goon. He is back in his home town after causing an injury in a move driven by anger in a game. Derek drinks too much, and lives a bit rough, and doesn't have a lot of friends. He still tends to erupt in violence when he gets angry.
But when his younger sister Beth also returns to town, he must change to accommodate her needs. Beth has left an abusive boyfriend, one who is also in the drug trade.
As Beth struggles to get past her addiction and move on to a new life, Derek must also change. We learn about their parents, and the influence that those parents had on them, both good and bad. As they now realize that they don't know much about their mother's family, they are interested in discovering more about her native background, particularly Beth.
This is a story of finding the support and strength to start again, to learn from mistakes and become a better person.
Lemire's books are always drawn with skill, and this is no exception. I loved the illustrations and how they added to the characterization.

Indian Horse

Finished April 26
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

This novel follows Saul Indian Horse, a man who has hit bottom in his life, and while at a native healing centre looks back on his life to see what brought him to where he is now.
He looks back at his early life on the land with his brother, parents, grandparents, and other family members, particularly when they camp on the remote island that is special to his family.
He tells of his experience being brought to residential school, and of the priest that introduced him to hockey. Saul gradually reveals his life, those that influenced it for good and bad, those that he still feels something for, and the things that matter most to him.
Saul has natural skills for many things, and he gradually comes to accept these for what they can do for him.
This is a story of the impact of residential schools, here fictional, but real for so many. This is a story that brings some of that impact to readers in a meaningful way. This book had me laughing, crying, and touched deeply. Wagamese is a master writer, and when telling stories like this you can see that clearly. An amazing read.
A colleague urged me to take this book off my shelf where it had been lingering and once I did, I had trouble putting it down. I urge every Canadian who hasn't already read this book to do so. Besides being winning the 2013 Canada Reads People's Choice, this book was also shortlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, winner of the First Nations Community Read, and on the Globe and Mail top 100 list for 2012.