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Friday, May 06, 2022
Looking for Your Next Debate-Provoking Book Club Read? You Found It!
9:44 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Twenty years ago, 42-year-old Leigh Mackenzie wanted nothing more than to play hockey in the Olympics. She trained with relentless focus, pushed herself to the brink of collapse, and visualized herself standing proud on the podium. As an added guarantee, she accepted the advances of her coach, who promised her a spot on the team in exchange for sexual favors. When Jeff Carlson failed to deliver, Leigh's dreams were crushed. Shamed and shattered, she buried their secret affair and left the sport behind, using her athletic drive to become a successful investment banker in Florida.
When a job opportunity leads Leigh back to her hockey-obsessed hometown, she returns to Minnesota with great reluctance. As much as she doesn't want to face her past, she can't deny that Liston Heights is the best place for her son—a 9-year-old hockey prodigy—to excel. Getting Gus on the right team with the right coach is essential, but it will mean plunging their little family into the cutthroat world of competitive sports on a level her husband and child have never experienced before. Not only is Jeff Carlson in the center of that universe, but so is Susy Walker, Leigh's former teammate and the only person who knows what really happened between her and Jeff two decades ago.
Leigh is dismayed to discover that despite Gus' natural skill, he's far behind the other kids in his training. When Jeff offers to help, Leigh finds herself in a delicate position once again. How far is she willing to go to get Gus where he needs to be? With rumors of a new sexual harrasment suit against Jeff in the air, she has to decide whether to keep quiet for her son's sake or reveal the explosive secret even her husband, Charlie, doesn't know in order to take an influential predator out of the game for good.
Before I start dishing about Home Or Away, Kathleen West's newest novel, I should say right up front that I don't have a competitive bone in my body. I've never been into sports and even with games I do enjoy (like, say, Scrabble), I care not at all whether I win or lose. In my (not so) humble opinion, youth sports should be a safe, supportive environment where children can learn and have fun, not a place for hyper parents to relive their own glory days or pad their egos by pressuring their kids to win, then losing their minds when the players don't triumph or perform as well as expected. Because of these pre-existing feelings, I admit I went into Home Or Away with some heavy biases that affected my reaction to and enjoyment of the story. Incidentally, I have to say that the novel did nothing to change these biases. In fact, it just reinforced them...
At any rate, you won't be suprised to learn that I had a hard time relating to the characters in this book. I simply don't understand people whose lives revolve completely around their children's sporting events. It's even tougher for me to conceive of parents who do the kinds of things Leigh, Charlie, and their friends do in the name of hockey. To me, it just seems silly to care as much as they do about the athletic career of a NINE YEAR OLD. So, while Charlie is much more likable than Leigh, I still really didn't care for either of them (if you want a more spirited and spoiler-y explanation of why, you can read my lengthy Goodreads review here). The only person in the story who mattered to me was young Gus.
All that being said, West does do a good job of bringing the whole crazy competitive hockey culture thing to life. I could really FEEL the characters' emotions, from the highs of winning to the lows of defeat. The tension in the novel, from both the high-strung parents and the too-pressured kids, is palpable. That constant conflict kept me burning through the pages. I definitely wanted to know how the story was going to play out. So, while I can't say I loved this novel (Did I even like it? I'm not sure.), it did keep me reading. In addition, the book's plot and themes provide plenty of food for thought and discussion. If you're on the hunt for a read that will provoke a lively debate at your next book club meeting, you just found it...
(Readalikes: Reminds me of You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language, sexual content/sexual innuendo, and disturbing subject matter
To the FTC, with love: I received an e-ARC of Home Or Away from the generous folks at Penguin Random House via those at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
10 comments:
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Competitive kids' sports is a crazy world! It sounds like this book nailed it, which will make people uncomfortable. That's probably a good thing.
ReplyDeleteThe book definitely brings up issues that need to be discussed. Depending on the makeup of the group, it could prompt a very heated book club discussion!
DeleteThis book does sound interesting and like it would cause a lot of discussion. And, I'm not sure I could sit through all the hockey talk. I'm not a sports fan. I'm SOOOOO glad my husband doesn't watch sports because I grew up with my dad taking over the TV almost every weekend to watch such and such ballgame and it bugged me to no end, lol.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of hockey talk, but it didn't get too tedious even though I, like you, am not a sports fan at all. My husband really isn't either. Occasionally, he'll sit down and watch a game, but it doesn't happen very often. I don't watch t.v., so I don't care if someone else monopolizes it, but I don't really enjoy sports sounds echoing through the house. Ha ha.
DeleteI have similar feelings towards competitive sports and children. But, there are so many people out there that want their children in these sports, so I can imagine that this book is a great example of why NOT to let your children get into these types of sports.
ReplyDeleteIf done right, I do think sports can teach kids great lessons about teamwork, good sportsmanship, not taking games too seriously, etc. as well as give them confidence, but too often it's not handled well by the adults. When I see the adults' temper tantrums and intensity echoed in the kids, it irks me for sure. I once pulled my daughter off a team after one game because the other parents were overly critical and took things way too seriously. It was disturbing to me and my kid.
DeletePutting pressure on nine-year-olds when it comes to any sports is ridiculous in my opinion. At that age they should just play to have fun.
ReplyDeleteRight? I was at a sporting event not too long ago watching a friend's daughter play and I was amazed by how intense it all was. I jokingly said to one of the moms, "Aren't the kids just supposed to be having fun?" In total seriousness, she said, "Oh, we left fun a long time ago." Crazy. These are children—they should be out there having a good time and learning in a non-pressured environment. I just don't get ultra-competitive sports and parents AT ALL.
DeleteI agree with you. Sports should be for fun, especially for kids. They should have to feel pressured to perform well.
ReplyDeleteI'm extremely competitive and coached soccer for years. That said while I was never one of the "as long as you have fun that's all that matters" coaches I was never big on intense pressure. This definitely sounds like a fantastic book club read though I'm not sure it is one I'd pick on my own.
ReplyDelete