Reviews

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry

alicezehner's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the book. The plot is silly fun and the characters are lovable. It’s also quite well written. That said, the ending annoyed me. I don’t see why there needed to be a time jump, or why the author/narrator felt the need to continually defend or acknowledge the social differences of the 80s vs today. 

hhwalker425's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

jesselyn's review against another edition

dark funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

meghan's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

darkcornerofthelibrary's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

hrdc207's review against another edition

lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.0

bhnmt61's review against another edition

5.0

I will admit that this book seemed a bit overly long, but it is brilliant nonetheless (see what I did there?). In 1989, the Danvers High School field hockey team has bottomed out-- they haven't won a game in ages-- until one of them makes a pact with the darkness, written in a spiral notebook with Emilio Estevez on the cover, and the others sign on. By turns hilarious, snarky, odd, and even occasionally serious, the story of their senior season and their trip to the state championship is the most fun I've had reading in months. I got a little bogged down in the middle, but after skimming over a couple of chapters, the last two chapters are not to be missed. Loved it.

mebius's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

maggiesasha's review against another edition

5.0

I loved everything about this book.

emilyorrwhat's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Overall, it’s just fine. It was fun to get immersed in the 80s in New England and was good for a casual read, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone for the following reasons:

 I found the writing style hard to follow. I read it over the course of a few months, so it was hard to track the nuances of each character.

I also felt that the ending was a bit lazy. It felt like there a lot of build up, just for it to end the way it did.

Maybe I’m alone in this, but I also thought the representation felt a bit performative at times?

For example, Sebastian — the  stereotypical flamboyantly out kid — becomes a drag star. I did really like the storyline between Julie’s mom and Heather Houston’s mom, but other representations fell flat for me.

I also found it really strange how the end of the book tries to justify an adult/minor relationship? Maybe I’m out of pocket for taking that away from the ending, but the whole “oh Coach Mullins was only in his early 20s so it’s actually not that bad!” Tidbit at the end really threw me for a loop, especially since the rest of the book felt like it was pretty progressive?? It was giving Aria and Ezra Pretty Little Liars vibe and I was not a fan

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship