Synopsis:
Get Hooked on a Girl Named Fred...
HE said: Fred Oday is a girl? Puh-leeze. Why is a girl taking my best friend’s spot on the boys’ varsity golf team?
SHE said: Can I seriously do this? Can I join the boys’ team? Everyone will hate me—especially Ryan Berenger.
HE
said: Coach expects me to partner with Fred on the green? That is crazy
bad. Fred’s got to go—especially now that I can’t get her out of my
head. So not happening.
SHE
said: Ryan can be nice, when he’s not being a jerk. Like the time he
carried my golf bag. But the girl from the rez and the spoiled rich boy
from the suburbs? So not happening.
But there’s no denying that things are happening as the girl with the killer swing takes on the boy with the killer smile....
4 out of 5 Stars
There
were so many things I liked about this debut novel from Liz Fichera. It
really tackles some heavy themes of prejudice, bullying, racism, and
peer pressure to name a few, and the book handles these with equal
measure of horror and hope.
Fred
Oday is a young Native American woman with athletic prowess. She’s
honed her golf skills for most of her life, and when she is offered a
spot on the boys high school golf team, she decides to take it. She
struggles a bit with her decision, knowing it won’t be easy, but she
doesn’t let her fear defeat her, even though the rest of the team is
upper crust and seemingly perfect. You can’t help but cheer for her as
she drags around her old, second hand, ugly golf bag and plays without a
decent pair of golf shoes. She loves the game, and that’s what matters.
Ryan
Berenger is one of the rich white boys on the team. When his best
friend loses his spot on the team to Fred, he’s caught in a situation
that has him questioning his own behavior. Should he be loyal to his
friend and give Fred a hard time, or does he act on the feelings he
starts to develop for this talented athlete from outside of his circle?
When Ryan makes his choice, he starts a series of situations that will
challenge them both.
And
then there is Seth, Ryan’s best friend. When his jealousy, anger a over
losing his spot on the team gets the best of him, his racism and hate
brings about some very serious and deadly consequences for Ryan and
Fred. I can’t tell you when I disliked a character more and yet I also
know that there are many people just like Seth in this world and the
high school environment.
I
loved the Native American aspects in this book and that Fred honored
her heritage in many ways, especially as a coping mechanism when things
got rough. I loved that she felt self-empowered to join this golf team,
in spite of how difficult she knew it would be. I loved that she saw her
skills as a means of being the first on the reservation to go to
college. I really loved Fred. She wasn’t perfect, but she acted with
integrity.
Ryan
was a little more complicated. It takes him some time to get things
sorted out, and I thought that was very authentic. His path to
self-discovery was much more difficult than Fred’s, and by the end of
the book I still wasn't convinced he had it together.
The
romantic part of the story was believable and engaging. One of my
favorite scenes in the book occurs the Monday after Fred and Ryan have
their first date. She’s unsure, wondering how what transpired between
them would change her life. I don’t want to say how it all turns out,
but I thought this scene really captured the high school experience.
It’s touching, sweet and very poignant.
So
why isn’t this a 5 star review? I did have a problem with the ending.
At close to the end of the book, a crisis with Fred’s father sets up
some situations that provides convenient means for Fred and Ryan to get
over their relationship issues. Ryan’s involvement seems very contrived
to me, especially since I don’t recall the contributing details
mentioned earlier in the book. Everything gets wrapped up after that
point and it just seems abrupt and it took me out of the moment. I would
have liked to have more discussion regarding both Seth and Ryan's
behavior in regard to bullying and racism. This ending seemed like an
easy way around those hard topics.
So overall, I did enjoy the story, apart from the way it ended.
Contains: violence, alcohol use, kissing.
Thank you Netgalley and Harlequinn Teen for a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.
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