For Claire Boucher, life is all about skating on the frozen cow pond and in the annual Maple Show right before the big pancake breakfast on her family’s maple farm. But all that changes when Claire is offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — a scholarship to train with the elite skaters in Lake Placid. Tossed into a world of mean girls on ice, where competition is everything, Claire soon realizes that her sweet dream come true has sharper edges than she could have imagined. Can she stand up to the people who want her to fail and find the courage to decide which dream she wants to follow?

I’ve read this book so many times since I first picked it up years ago, because it’s just so cute, inspiring, and relatable.

“Claire smiled a little. “I know.” She was stronger. And she’d choose her own dreams from now on. She had a bunch of them to get started on. “Thank you for everything.”

Claire wants to do what she loves, which is ice skating, but to get there she has to push through all the pettiness and competition of teenage girls. Claire is great, loves her family, and is a loyal friend, and her best friend who loves to read paranormal YA books is pretty funny too. Oh- and just to put it out there, don’t worry if you know nothing about skating, because I love it, and I can basically guarantee that I know even less than you.

Some quotes about it:

“For fans of ice skating this book is nothing short of a dream come true. If I don’t see a copy of this book in every single ice skater’s gym bag by the end of December I will eat my proverbial hat. But there’s a lot of rich writing at work here, above and beyond the obvious plot elements. It’s got a relatable heroine, three-dimensional villains, a rags to riches element, some convincingly exhausting sequences, and an ending that will probably catch a couple folks by surprise…”

~Betsy Bird, Fuse #8 Blog at School Library Journal

“Claire’s self-doubt and inner turmoil over whether to continue with the Silver Blades after her scholarship ends is both realistic and sensitively depicted. The solidarity among some of the skaters is nicely contrasted with the mind games and meanness of others. The addition of a light romance and the satisfying conclusion will appeal to those who have skating fantasies of their own.”

~Kirkus

“One moment Claire Boucher is tapping the sap from her family’s maple trees; the next she is plucked from obscurity by a coach who sees her skate in the Maple Show and offers a scholarship in Lake Placid…. Even those who don’t know their double toe loops from their single salchows will enjoy …reading about what it takes to make it on the ice.”

~Booklist

Have a great week everyone!