What do you think?
Rate this book
The Jessie Mac Series #3
Breakaway
In her last year of high school, Jessie is finally playing AAA, the highest level of minor hockey. She's been made captain, and she's putting relationship disasters behind her by dating sensible Evan. So what if he's safely away at university where she can ignore his calls and texts? And so what if her old-news feelings about old flame Mark, and uncomfortable new feelings toward new guy Liam, refuse to be ignored? At last, Jessie really has things worked out. Even when guys and booze make an appearance at a team sleepover, Jessie does the right thing and leaves with the rookies…or tries to. A clumsy fall down stairs, though, leads the coaches to assume she's the culprit. Suddenly Jessie is fighting rumors that she was falling-down drunk at a hockey party, rumors her less-supportive teammates are happy to keep alive. Meanwhile, Jessie's eleven-year-old sister Courtney falls in with sophisticated older friends, and their parents seem oblivious to the problem. New Year approaches, bringing an important tournament, increasingly outlandish behavior from Courtney and what looks like a head-on relationship collision from three directions. It's time for Jessie to grow up, step up and fix things once and for all.
- GenresYoung AdultSports
272 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2012
36 people want to read
About the author
Maureen Ulrich
15 books31 followersHaving spent 25 years in the classroom with junior and senior high school students, I love to write for teens. I have my feet firmly planted in two worlds -- the arts and sports. When I'm not writing, there's nothing I'd rather be doing than watching football, baseball, or hockey, travelling, riding my motorcycle, or going to plays. I hope you enjoy meeting my characters as much as I've enjoyed bringing them to life.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 14, 2014
I'm a fan of local authors so this book was a treat to read as were the others in the series. Living in Estevan, most of the characters I can picture. A great series for young readers with timely topics covered.
November 17, 2012
Fun, girly hockey story for teens, with a healthy dose of high school drama. Full review to come in Quill & Quire.
December 29, 2012
Originally posted at http://canlitforlittlecanadians.blogs...
As hard as it is to believe, there are some people who have never embraced hockey as a Canadian life focus. I am one such person. My family never watched hockey when I was young. I had no brothers or cousins nearby whose hockey passions I could follow. And although I had friends who watched hockey, girls were not playing hockey when I was growing up. I never even went to my first hockey game until I was in my 20's. So reading and reviewing a book called Breakaway with a cover predicting a story suffused with hockey would not be a compelling read for me. Or so I thought.
Breakaway is far more than the hockey story suggested in the title and cover art. Breakaway tells the story of seventeen-year-old Jessie McIntyre of Estevan, Saskatchewan. Jessie and some of her former teammates have recreated themselves into a new Triple A team called the Estevan McGillicky Oilers. Being part of a new league and being a senior preparing for university, hopeful of being scouted for the university hockey team and getting a scholarship, Jessie finds herself at the crossroads of many new pathways.
She's still trying to get over a very short relationship from two years ago with Mark Taylor, now a University of Calgary hockey player, headed for the World Juniors. And she needs to decide what she wants of her friendly relationship with Evan Gedak who plays basketball at U. of C. But there's Liam McCarthur, also a senior, who is obviously taking an interest in Jessie who doesn't know how to deal with him except with animosity and embarrassment.
Her Oilers team is having to turn away some former teammates and recruit new players and coaches, and Jessie, as elected captain, has to help everyone come together as a team, even when some players make poor decisions that threaten the team's very existence. Moreover, as Jessie attempts to go forward in her new team, her circle of friends and acquaintances seems to be in more flux, with enemies becoming friends and friends becoming strangers or worse.
And at home, Jessie's eleven-year-old sister, Courtney, has decided to give up on figure skating and go out for hockey, latching onto new friends and trying on the uniform of a rebellious and temperamental teen and dragging Jessie into the midst of her drama.
As hard as it is to believe, there are some people who have never embraced hockey as a Canadian life focus. I am one such person. My family never watched hockey when I was young. I had no brothers or cousins nearby whose hockey passions I could follow. And although I had friends who watched hockey, girls were not playing hockey when I was growing up. I never even went to my first hockey game until I was in my 20's. So reading and reviewing a book called Breakaway with a cover predicting a story suffused with hockey would not be a compelling read for me. Or so I thought.
Breakaway is far more than the hockey story suggested in the title and cover art. Breakaway tells the story of seventeen-year-old Jessie McIntyre of Estevan, Saskatchewan. Jessie and some of her former teammates have recreated themselves into a new Triple A team called the Estevan McGillicky Oilers. Being part of a new league and being a senior preparing for university, hopeful of being scouted for the university hockey team and getting a scholarship, Jessie finds herself at the crossroads of many new pathways.
She's still trying to get over a very short relationship from two years ago with Mark Taylor, now a University of Calgary hockey player, headed for the World Juniors. And she needs to decide what she wants of her friendly relationship with Evan Gedak who plays basketball at U. of C. But there's Liam McCarthur, also a senior, who is obviously taking an interest in Jessie who doesn't know how to deal with him except with animosity and embarrassment.
Her Oilers team is having to turn away some former teammates and recruit new players and coaches, and Jessie, as elected captain, has to help everyone come together as a team, even when some players make poor decisions that threaten the team's very existence. Moreover, as Jessie attempts to go forward in her new team, her circle of friends and acquaintances seems to be in more flux, with enemies becoming friends and friends becoming strangers or worse.
And at home, Jessie's eleven-year-old sister, Courtney, has decided to give up on figure skating and go out for hockey, latching onto new friends and trying on the uniform of a rebellious and temperamental teen and dragging Jessie into the midst of her drama.
Read
July 9, 2013Within 10 pages this book had already brought to the surface one of my pet peeves in literature: girls who use "boy talk" to sound cool, as in "I have to take a leak." While I am not a prude, I just can't possibly imagine a high school girl that I would recommend this to. Perhaps it is the cultural differences of American vs. Canadian teens but this would be a hard sell in my suburban school library. (Disclaimer: we also don't even have a boy's hockey team at our school so an entire series on girl's hockey would be a stretch.)
I did not finish this one. It is book 3 of the Jessie Mac series.
I did not finish this one. It is book 3 of the Jessie Mac series.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews