Kirkusreviews iconKirkusreviewsSep 15, 2026 ~1 min source read

FIGHT SONG

Sixteen-year-old Nópika "Nokes" Lasley is 6 feet, 2 inches tall and aspires to play hockey in the Olympics. When her father, who struggles with alcohol abuse, is arrested for murder, Nokes is sent into the foster care system, where she learns that people aren't always what they seem.

FIGHT SONG

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Sixteen-year-old Nópika "Nokes" Lasley is 6 feet, 2 inches tall and aspires to play hockey in the Olympics.

When her father, who struggles with alcohol abuse, is arrested for murder, Nokes is sent into the foster care system, where she learns that people aren't always what they seem.

Although at times the language is clunky, and the interior monologue doesn't feel authentic to the teenage voice, the technical hockey writing is strong, and the story excels in character development.

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The useful part

Sixteen-year-old Nópika "Nokes" Lasley is 6 feet, 2 inches tall and aspires to play hockey in the Olympics. When her father, who struggles with alcohol abuse, is arrested for murder, Nokes is sent into the foster care system, where she learns that people aren't always what they seem. Although at times the language is clunky, and the interior monologue doesn't feel authentic to the teenage voice, the technical hockey writing is strong, and the story excels in character development.

Details worth keeping

Nokes runs away to the home of Luke Janner, a family friend in Minnesota who coaches a university-level women's hockey team: "I needed a savior, and he was all I had." But when things don't go as planned, she wrestles with choices about confronting her past and her mother's community.

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