Breaking the Ice
By: Gail Nall
The Story
When no other club will take her, Kaitlin is left with no other choice but to join the skating club known as the “fall down club.” It is the only way she can keep skating, but the skating club isn't as bad as she thought it would be. She starts to make some new friends, and she learns how to pick herself back up.
Kaitlin has devoted all of her time to ice skating. She hopes that someday she will become an Olympic Skater. So while competing in a local skating competition, Kaitlin fully expects to win. She had perfected all of the jumps and moves, and her routine was top notch. So when the judges give her one of the worst scores for the competition, Kaitlin confronts the judges in a fit of rage. During her confrontation, she accidentally knocks over the table full of medals for the winners.
After this scene, it is no surprise that her coach refuses to work with her and Kaitlin is kicked out of her posh skating club.
When no other club will take her, Kaitlin is left with no other choice but to join the skating club known as the “fall down club.” It is the only way she can keep skating, but the skating club isn't as bad as she thought it would be. She starts to make some new friends, and she learns how to pick herself back up.
Strengths
I was fascinated by the ice skating competition world. There aren't hardly any books on ice skating or ice skaters in general. I can't wait to be able to hand this book to my tweens when they ask for a book like this. Its appeal is a huge plus for me. I do think it will mostly appeal to girls but it could appeal to some boys who like to skate as well.
The story itself was interesting. I became invested in Kaitlin and I was rooting her on. I especially liked how she learned to embrace who she was and her emotions too all the while learning about what true friendship is. So many tweens really struggle with this. So this aspect could have some appeal to readers who aren't necessarily interested in ice skating.
I was fascinated by the ice skating competition world. There aren't hardly any books on ice skating or ice skaters in general. I can't wait to be able to hand this book to my tweens when they ask for a book like this. Its appeal is a huge plus for me. I do think it will mostly appeal to girls but it could appeal to some boys who like to skate as well.
The story itself was interesting. I became invested in Kaitlin and I was rooting her on. I especially liked how she learned to embrace who she was and her emotions too all the while learning about what true friendship is. So many tweens really struggle with this. So this aspect could have some appeal to readers who aren't necessarily interested in ice skating.
Weaknesses
I felt like Kaitlin perfected her routine a little too suddenly. I think there could have been more of a progression here or an "ah ha" moment where the character learns to project her emotions into her routine. Even though the character has a moment where she accepts who she is, I think there needed to be more explanation in how she applied it to her routine.
Without this, it left me wondering how she got it all of a sudden. Since this was a big struggle in the book, I would have liked to have seen more of a resolution here.
Overall, this was a quick and fun read. It is one that I will have to keep on hand for my sports lovers.
-Pamela
I felt like Kaitlin perfected her routine a little too suddenly. I think there could have been more of a progression here or an "ah ha" moment where the character learns to project her emotions into her routine. Even though the character has a moment where she accepts who she is, I think there needed to be more explanation in how she applied it to her routine.
Without this, it left me wondering how she got it all of a sudden. Since this was a big struggle in the book, I would have liked to have seen more of a resolution here.
Overall, this was a quick and fun read. It is one that I will have to keep on hand for my sports lovers.
-Pamela
Please note: This is just my thoughts on this book. This is no way a reflection of the committee or committee discussions.
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