Althea ☾'s Reviews > We Ride Upon Sticks

— overall thoughts: DNF @40% —

This isn’t the book’s fault, I just think I’ve reached my tolerance for contemporaries for the next few weeks… or months, who knows. With that said, this book actually had supernatural elements to it, inspired by the Salem witch trials. I feel like if you enjoy those speculative fiction kind of stories, you'll probably enjoy this. Especially if you enjoy books that are centered around camaraderie and discussions on social constructs. And perhaps if you just like reading about girls getting together for hockey and friendships. I just accepted that I am in a more SFF mood.

This is essentially about a hockey team and I would say that they discovered the secret to winning... but it isn't exactly natural. It's weird and intriguing, I feel like I'd be in the mood for this in October. It's set in the 80s which WAS SO FUN! I think Quan Barry was able to bring the mood of that era into her writing style.

I love that the girls on the team were both diverse and distinct in their own ways. It honestly made me smile and appealed to my personal sense of humor so it wasn't a bad experience at all. Discussions on disparities between people of color in a white majority were present. The pacing was amazing because there was always something going on in the plot. This reminds me of Beartown but add weirdness to it (in a good way).

If Quan Barry ever comes out with a fantasy, I would be happy to try it out in the future because the idea for this novel was so intriguing. Again, it was the plot that I had a hard time getting into because I am naturally a Fantasy person at heart.

“Sometimes, good leaders follow.”

↣ For the part that I read, it was mainly light and not too heavy to read. It's just not the kind of story I'm currently looking for which is not the book's fault. I'd still recommend this if you enjoy speculative fiction weirdness with a group of female characters and friendships that you can root for. ↢