We Ride Upon Sticks

January 1, 2020
Almost 300 years after the town of Danvers, Massachusetts, hosted the infamous 1692 witch trials, a new coven rises to power. The 1989 Danvers High School girls' field hockey team (go Falcons!) is sick and tired of losing. Frustrated after yet another loss at a summer training camp, goalie Mel Boucher takes matters into her own hands by signing a "dark pledge" in a spiral notebook with a picture of Emilio Estevez printed on the cover: "Years later [Mel] would try and explain why she did it by saying that sometimes the Lord is busy and He needs us to be self starters, show a little moxie." Emilio, whom right halfback Heather Houston calls an "alternative god," shows his gratitude by improving the team's performance in their next game, and one by one the rest of the players sign their names in the book, each of them given a cut-off slice of an old sock (in Falcon blue) to tie on their arm as a symbol of their pledge. When the official season starts and the Falcons start winning games, the girls feel Emilio pushing them toward their more devilish impulses. As they cause increasing mayhem around Danvers, the team can feel Emilio demanding more from them, and they worry they won't be able to keep the magic going long enough to win the state championship. Barry (She Weeps Each Time You're Born, 2014, etc.) is deeply witty, writing the narrator as a sort of omniscient group-think, the team speaking as one wry voice. Barry spends time with each of the team members and examines their struggles with the gender norms of the late 1980s as well as with race, identity, family, and friendship. Three of the characters are women of color who have complex relationships to being surrounded mostly by white people; a few of the girls discover budding nuance in their sexuality; and they all start to wonder if witchcraft is really about taking up space in a world that wants to keep you small. As Emilio pushes them further down the path of darkness, readers will cheer them on because what they're really doing is learning to be fully and authentically themselves. Touching, hilarious, and deeply satisfying.

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January 20, 2020
Quan (She Weeps Every Time You’re Born) takes a playful, nostalgic run through 1980s suburbia in this tale of witches and field hockey. In 1989, the Danvers Falcons, a high school field hockey team, are on a losing streak. After a depressing defeat, and thinking of the women who were tried for witchcraft three centuries earlier in nearby Salem, Mass., the members pledge allegiance to the devil in exchange for victory. They write their names in a notebook bearing the likeness of Emilio Estevez and wear a raggedy blue tube sock around their arms to mark their pact to an “alternative god” (as termed by team member Heather Houston), which also includes an agreement to follow “any urges you might get all the way to the end no matter what.” As the season proceeds, with the team racking up wins at every game, the 10 girls and one boy begin to act on their desires, leading to several losses of virginity, a book burning, bouts of naked dancing in the woods, delusions of grandeur inspired by Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and Heather’s crisis of conscience. Barry handles a large cast of characters nimbly and affectionately, allowing each to take a turn or two in the spotlight. Readers with fond, or even not so fond, memories of the 1980s are bound to be entertained.

April 1, 2020

After a losing season the year before, members of the 1989 girls field hockey team from the Danvers, MA, high school decide they will do just about anything to win the state championship. As the 1692 witch trials were held in the town, it's not surprising that these remarkably diverse athletes turns to witchcraft to secure a win, signing their names in "the devil's book" and tying on pieces of old sweat socks as an emblem of their determination. Soon they start winning and seem to experience telepathy among themselves. Their research into the witch trials indicates that to keep winning they must perform acts of rebellion and outright destruction. This strategy seems to take them all the way to the state championship. But is it really the devil at work or simply learning to think like a team? Is the devil making them misbehave, or is it simple teenage hormones? VERDICT Barry (She Weeps Each Time You're Born) successfully captures the high jinks of a group of high school teens discovering themselves, learning about life, and finding out what it means to work together. Fans of coming-of-age stories will enjoy. [See Prepub Alert, 9/9/19.]--Joanna Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Libs., Providence

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 17, 2020

The Danvers High School Girls Field Hockey team's losing streak turns around after they make a dark pledge of amateur witchcraft. Using the pronoun "we," Barry tells this story from the perspective of all of the girls, making the reader feel like one of the team. VERDICT Set in the 1980s, Barry's unique historical novel is full of wit, uplifting friendships, and riveting field hockey games.-Elliot Riley, Deerfield Academy, MA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.