Graphic Novel Review – #Hockey (Check, Please!, Vol 1) by Ngozi Ukazu (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Graphic Novel/Contemporary Fiction
Length: 288 pages
Publisher: First Second
Release Date: September 18, 2018
ISBN-13: 978-1250177957
Stand Alone or Series: 1st vol in the Check, Please! series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Eric Bittle may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It is nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! First of all? There’s checking (anything that hinders the player with possession of the puck, ranging from a stick check all the way to a physical sweep). And then, there is Jack―his very attractive but moody captain.”

This is the first book in the Check, Please! Series. It’s about a small town hockey player who goes to a bigger college and starts playing on the team there. It was a fun and touching read, but much more adult than I expected. It was well done and sweet. There is a lot of hockey, baking, and a bit of romance in here.

I gave this to my 11 year old son to read before I read it; I wouldn’t recommend doing that. This was quite a bit more adult than I thought it was going to be. It’s filed under middle grade in my library but is actually in a college setting. There’s a ton of swearing, some graphic sex talk, lots of drinking, some drugs, themes around overdose, and GLBTQ themes as well. I would recommend for older young adults. However, my son didn’t understand half of what was going on….he just mentioned how much swearing there was and how it was a bit weird that guys were kissing…so I guess no harm done.

This is very well done, very well drawn and fun to read. Despite everyone in my family playing hockey, I am not a huge hockey fan…so I probably won’t continue this. This is book goes into depth about the pressures of hockey and the team camaraderie but talked very little about how to balance that with other aspects of life…like school.

Overall very well done graphic novel about hockey, college, and growing up. I would recommend for older young adults or adults only; there is some pretty mature material in here. I wish there had been a bit more talk about how Eric balanced school with all his hockey commitments. I probably won’t continue the series because I am not a huge hockey fan and picked this up mainly for my son, who was a bit too young for this.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– New Release Reading Challenge
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge