Found this one mentioned in an article in my BookPages at my library, back when we could go to libraries regularly and grab magazines others had touched without much worry. Remember those days? Wow. The article pitched this one as an all-nighter adventure of a women’s high school field hockey team. I didn’t play field hockey,but I did play lacrosse. It seemed like a fun romp through memory lane. Teams love hijinks! I think on a psychological level team hijinks help us understand the strength of our group, build bonds, etc. Being on a team was great, especially because you met kids you otherwise wouldn’t have hung out with.
Siobahn Vivian’s book has that in spades. Chapters go back and forth from the point of view of several young women. The reader gets to see the same night through different perspectives in “real-time”, and therefore gets to better understand all of the women and how being together changes them (usually for the better).
What I didn’t have on my high school team the female experience (being a guy and all), so that dynamic was eye-opening to me. I never thought about things like what I wore, guys and what they thought about female athletes, how weird interacting with adult males can be, what it’s like to be constantly connected to everyone via smartphone, etc. Part of why I like YA and teen books is just so I can (sort of) understand what it’s like to be young now and to try and maintain some empathy for up and coming generations.
Save us, youths! It’s obvious we can’t do it ourselves.
3.5/5
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