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A review by theresidentbookworm
Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu
5.0
I will admit that I was initially reluctant to read Check, Please! despite all the praise and hype I’ve heard about it for one simple reason: I hate hockey, and so I thought I’d hate this.
Let me give you a little background. I grew up in metro-Detroit where hockey is King. All four of my older brothers played, and much of my childhood was spent as a hockey sister. Frankly, I hated the confusing sport that kept me trapped in cold ice arenas all the time (and even on my birthday!). But my family? Oh, they love hockey, and they lived for the Red Wings. My dad and uncle has season tickets when I was a kid, and my parents never missed a chance to attend a playoff game. The second picture contains only a fraction of the Red Wings memorabilia in our basement (yes, those are signed hockey sticks; my dad is very proud of them).
That being said, Check Please! Books 1 & 2 almost did the impossible: making me like hockey. I say almost because my decades long dislike of the sport is still present, but I absolutely love all these dumb hockey boys. They are all my children now, and I want them to win championships and Stanley Cups (which, full disclosure, I have touched three times) if that’s what makes them happy. Check, Please! at the very least helped me to understand why this sport consumes my whole family.
To quote my best friend Grace who I borrowed these from and whom I was texting about them last night, “Check, Please! is just so terribly wholesome. It’s like the embodiment of a warm blanket and hot cocoa.” She was absolutely right. Check, Please! is exactly the kind of charming, queer story I want to be reading right now. I love all of the characters: Bitty, Jack, Shitty, Lardo, Holster, Ransom, Dex, Nursey, Chowder, Tater, Marty, Thirdy... Though the story is Bitty’s journey and does a pretty good job at centering his growth, I love seeing little moments of character development from everyone else. I just enjoyed this world. It feel real but also better than what imagine hockey culture usually is.
Honestly, everything about Check, Please is perfect! I will eagerly read whatever it is is Ngozi Ukazu does next!
Let me give you a little background. I grew up in metro-Detroit where hockey is King. All four of my older brothers played, and much of my childhood was spent as a hockey sister. Frankly, I hated the confusing sport that kept me trapped in cold ice arenas all the time (and even on my birthday!). But my family? Oh, they love hockey, and they lived for the Red Wings. My dad and uncle has season tickets when I was a kid, and my parents never missed a chance to attend a playoff game. The second picture contains only a fraction of the Red Wings memorabilia in our basement (yes, those are signed hockey sticks; my dad is very proud of them).
That being said, Check Please! Books 1 & 2 almost did the impossible: making me like hockey. I say almost because my decades long dislike of the sport is still present, but I absolutely love all these dumb hockey boys. They are all my children now, and I want them to win championships and Stanley Cups (which, full disclosure, I have touched three times) if that’s what makes them happy. Check, Please! at the very least helped me to understand why this sport consumes my whole family.
To quote my best friend Grace who I borrowed these from and whom I was texting about them last night, “Check, Please! is just so terribly wholesome. It’s like the embodiment of a warm blanket and hot cocoa.” She was absolutely right. Check, Please! is exactly the kind of charming, queer story I want to be reading right now. I love all of the characters: Bitty, Jack, Shitty, Lardo, Holster, Ransom, Dex, Nursey, Chowder, Tater, Marty, Thirdy... Though the story is Bitty’s journey and does a pretty good job at centering his growth, I love seeing little moments of character development from everyone else. I just enjoyed this world. It feel real but also better than what imagine hockey culture usually is.
Honestly, everything about Check, Please is perfect! I will eagerly read whatever it is is Ngozi Ukazu does next!