Michigan, I'd be on your team any day. This contemporary novel follows Michigan Manning, a dedicated hockey player and high school junior. When the school cuts the girl's hockey team due to lack of funds, Michigan is left with only two options: give up hockey, or try out for the boy's team. There's no way she's giving up hockey.
If Michigan is anything, she is not a quitter. Even though she is a skilled player who out-skates quite a few of the guys, the coach and her teammates resent her very presence on the team. They are clearly threatened by her. Michigan does her best to put up with the hazing rituals and discrimination she faces on and off the ice at the hands of her own supposed teammates. But she's worked so hard to get there that she's not giving up no matter what they throw at her. And what they throw at her gets progressively worse. She finds some comfort in a new relationship and the admiration of her younger brother, but she is stuck in a highly toxic situation.
At what point does she have to give up her dreams in order to stay safe? What type of role model is that? How much can she stand? These are the questions Michigan asks herself over the course of the novel. Timely and thoughtful, this novel takes a hard look at toxic masculinity, sportsman(or woman!)ship, and the importance of speaking up for yourself. There are also some very exciting hockey games! I would recommend this to anyone who loves hockey or stories about young women challenging harmful stereotypes.
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