Sunday

Review: Any Way You Slice It by Kristine Carlson Asselin (YA)



Book Blurb


Penelope Spaulding just can't catch a break. Between long hours at the family restaurant, homework, and her parents' plans for her future, it's hard to find a spare moment to breathe. But when she laces up her skates and steps on the ice, everything slips away...

Racing around the rink allows her to blow off steam after yet another fight with her dad about going to culinary school. So when Jake Gomes, the bad boy who lives down the street, dares her to join the Rink Rats, the local misfit hockey team, she surprises herself and joins in silent defiance of her father and his expectations.

The more she plays, the easier it is to keep lying, and soon Pen finds it impossible to come clean. She’s sneaking out to practice—and loving every minute of it. It doesn’t take long for her to fall in love with hockey…and Jake’s not half bad either. But she knows it can’t last. As soon as her dad finds out, she’ll be benched. For good.

She’s absolutely not going to tell her parents until she’s sure it will be worth the inevitable fight. Not only is she skipping shifts at Slice Pizza while a foodie reality show is on the horizon, but her lies are starting to take their toll on her game. It’s only a matter of time before everything falls apart.

With the team counting on her and with her relationship with Jake on the line, will she have to sacrifice the thing she wants most for the people she loves? Or can she step up and take her best shot?


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Toot's Review by Stacy Sabala

Penelope Spaulding’s dad owns a pizzeria that he expects her to take over. In fact he wants her to go to culinary school. She doesn’t want to do either. Her favorite thing is when she is on the ice, skating as fast as she can. One day she is approached by an old estranged friend asking her if she would consider joining their hockey team. She wants to but her father refuses to let her even think about hockey. She is so tempted that she decides to do it without telling her parents. She enlists her best friend’s help to do it.

Unfortunately it is proving to be quite the challenge. The team loses their sponsor and Penelope’s family restaurant is the likely replacement choice. Things get complicated keeping her secret. She is lying to everyone including Jake, her old friend. Then when the reality show Local Flavor comes to the restaurant to tape a show, Penelope knows she has to come clean. Things unfortunately get worse before they get better.

This is a cute YA story. I love the whole storyline. Penelope has to do what her parents want but they have really taken away her life. It consists of school and the restaurant, not much social life for a fifteen year old girl. Her mother just indulges her with her skate time. You have to follow your passions to be happy and hockey makes her happy. It saddens me that her parents let their fears interfere with their daughter’s happiness.

I also like how the team reacts to a girl and have to learn to work together. They all come around which is fun to read. They end up supporting each other in the end. The game with them as the underdogs was of course a great part. The reader will like reading how Penelope fights to the end. I recommend this book to any female reader. Great strong female main character. I give it a 4 out of 5.







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