Game Face

Thirteen-year-old Jonah is determined to prove that anxiety won’t stop him from succeeding as his hockey team’s goalie in this dynamic novel in verse.

What-ifs rattle around his brain at the worst times, like when he’s in the middle of a playoff game. What if he lets his teammates down? What if he can’t make it pro? And the biggest what-if of all, the one he keeps to himself — what if he’s like his dad, whose life is controlled by anxiety that has only gotten worse since Jonah’s mom died in a car crash?

To prove that he’s not like that, Jonah is determined to succeed in the high-stress role of goalie. He and his best friend Ty have big plans for their hockey futures. But when Ty suffers a medical crisis during a pivotal game, Jonah’s anxiety ramps up to new levels

It takes courage to ask for help, but Jonah starts to realize that his team goes beyond the people who lace up their skates with him every week, and maybe it’s okay to look for support on and off the ice.

From the adrenaline rush of sudden-death overtime to the weight of worrying about letting your teammates — and yourself — down, this novel in verse will hook readers from the first line.

There are many similarities between Game Face and Elliot Jelly-Legs and the Bobblehead Miracle. Both main characters are middle grade boys who have a love-hate relationship with hockey. Both have a complex relationship with their dad and struggle with anxiety. Shari Green even uses a line similar to one I used in Elliot’s story: “…travelled faster than Connor McDavid on a breakaway.” I guess it’s an obvious simile for a hockey book but still, what are the odds that two BC authors would tackle such a similar story in two completely different ways?

Because there are lots of differences. I think readers who like one will like the other–especially if they’re into hockey–but both books are about so much more than what happens on the ice. Anxiety is front and center in Game Face. Jonah really lets the reader get to know Al, the alien inside his head, as he learns how to deal with his anxiety. I like the pause button tool provided by his school counsellor. And I adored Oma and Rose for giving Jonah with a soft place to land. Without giving anything away, I cried on page 349 and was deeply touched by this passage:

There’s so much to love about Game Face. Above all, Green‘s use of prose to describe a sport like hockey is masterful.