What do you think?
Rate this book
Eyes on the Ice
In 1963, under the brutal Communist regime, two hockey-loving brothers must throw a game in a Soviet-Czech tournament to help their imprisoned father.
Ten-year-old Lukas and his brother Denys want nothing more than to play hockey, but it’s 1963, and they live in Czechoslovakia, where the secret police (the “Eye”) are constantly on the lookout for anyone committing crimes against the state — whether that be reading a magazine about the NHL or saying anything negative about the Communist regime. Lukas’s father works for a newspaper, and printing the truth is a dangerous activity.
The family is poor, but hockey is the one bright light for the boys. They learn to skate on a bumpy outdoor rink in a city park. And when their talent is noticed, they are encouraged to try out for a local youth league, where they are thrilled to play in a real arena for the first time.
Then the boys’ father is arrested. No one knows where he has been taken or when he might be coming home. Lukas and Denys soon realize they are being watched, too, and when the secret police promise them information about their father if they help throw a game against a visiting Soviet team, Lukas must make some difficult decisions that may endanger his family and his friends, as he faces some tough questions about what loyalty really means.
Ten-year-old Lukas and his brother Denys want nothing more than to play hockey, but it’s 1963, and they live in Czechoslovakia, where the secret police (the “Eye”) are constantly on the lookout for anyone committing crimes against the state — whether that be reading a magazine about the NHL or saying anything negative about the Communist regime. Lukas’s father works for a newspaper, and printing the truth is a dangerous activity.
The family is poor, but hockey is the one bright light for the boys. They learn to skate on a bumpy outdoor rink in a city park. And when their talent is noticed, they are encouraged to try out for a local youth league, where they are thrilled to play in a real arena for the first time.
Then the boys’ father is arrested. No one knows where he has been taken or when he might be coming home. Lukas and Denys soon realize they are being watched, too, and when the secret police promise them information about their father if they help throw a game against a visiting Soviet team, Lukas must make some difficult decisions that may endanger his family and his friends, as he faces some tough questions about what loyalty really means.
183 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 1, 2024
About the author
Anna Rosner
5 books16 followersAnna Rosner is the award-winning author of two hockey biographies for young readers, as well as short fiction, scholarly articles and essays. Her historical novel, Eyes on the Ice, was released by Groundwood Books in September of 2024. It is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, and is short-listed for the 2025 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, the 2025-26 Diamond Willow Awards, the Langley Book of the Year, the 2025-26 Red Cedar Award, the 2026-27 Louisiana Readers Choice Awards, and the 2026-27 Illinois State Bluestem Award. Anna's fourth book, Last Year with Maddy (Great Plains), was published in April of 2026, and it appears on the 2026 Forest of Reading Kids' Suggested Reading List.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
June 23, 2024
I was able to read an advanced copy of Eyes on the Ice. It’s a remarkable storyline, exceptionally well-told and well-researched. Even though it’s for kids, I found myself wondering how this family would survive their predicament. The ending, which isn’t easy to guess, packs a punch.
In addition, this work will help kids familiarize themselves with the brutality of the Cold War era. Highly recommended for all, especially kids who love sports or history.
In addition, this work will help kids familiarize themselves with the brutality of the Cold War era. Highly recommended for all, especially kids who love sports or history.
January 3, 2026
Beautifully written historical fiction about a family living in Czechoslovakia during the 1960s when the country was under the control of the Soviet Union.
June 23, 2024
An outstanding work of historical fiction with a stunning conclusion. Young readers will love this.
March 18, 2026
This was such a moving story! I read it to my son and we both were hooked! It’s emotionally gripping, touching on poverty, loss and survival.
I am not surprised it won book of the year. Well deserved!
Highly recommend!!
I am not surprised it won book of the year. Well deserved!
Highly recommend!!
July 2, 2024
A thrilling middle grade story. You will root for Lukas and Denys, fear for their family and boo the StB. Perfect both for sports and historical fiction readers.
December 31, 2024
Eyes on the Ice, by Anna Rosner is about a family living during Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Two brothers, Lukas (10) and his older brother Denys are obsessed with hockey. Their family is poor, but the boys are able to play hockey at the outdoor rink in the park with hand me down skates and sticks. One day, someone notices them and suggests they try out for the local team. Their parents and their younger brother are so proud of them when they make the team. However, one night their father is arrested. When the boys go to school they are pulled out of class and the secret police interrogate them. They are told they will be thrown off the hockey team unless they give some evidence against their father. The boys are very sad but they would never do anything to hurt their father. Then one day the secret police are back and they will let the boys play hockey again however there is a condition. The boys must decide if they are willing to take a risk to play hockey again.
But this book does not just end with hockey, it goes on to…..what is a family willing to risk to leave a communist country? What family values are you willing to compromise to gain your freedom?
I think this book will appeal to a lot of children. It has sports, adventure, mystery and action in it. It focuses on the importance of family and respect and loyalty. It is well thought out and even timely to current events.
Thank you to Hollay @hollayghadery with @river_street_writes for sending me a copy of this book to review. It is available now, wherever you like to purchase books.
But this book does not just end with hockey, it goes on to…..what is a family willing to risk to leave a communist country? What family values are you willing to compromise to gain your freedom?
I think this book will appeal to a lot of children. It has sports, adventure, mystery and action in it. It focuses on the importance of family and respect and loyalty. It is well thought out and even timely to current events.
Thank you to Hollay @hollayghadery with @river_street_writes for sending me a copy of this book to review. It is available now, wherever you like to purchase books.
January 4, 2025
I really enjoyed this one and think it will be an easy recommendation for a lot of kids. Lately I've been specifically on the lookout for recent sports books that have male protagonists and are on the shorter side. This is a great one to add to the list, and I love that it also has a lot of historical interest and some pretty intense non-sports moments. The story of two hockey loving brothers in 1960s Czechoslovakia whose father is imprisoned and they are told to throw a hockey game to learn more information about their father. There's a lot in here to ponder: What choice would you make?
I think Rosner balances giving enough information for young readers to understand what living under a Communist regime was like without getting too far into the weeds. There's a lot of action and the story moves quickly. A great recommendation for both sports and historical fiction fans, and one I will be bringing on school visits!
I think Rosner balances giving enough information for young readers to understand what living under a Communist regime was like without getting too far into the weeds. There's a lot of action and the story moves quickly. A great recommendation for both sports and historical fiction fans, and one I will be bringing on school visits!
January 17, 2026
Lukas lives in communist Czechoslovakia with his brothers and parents. They love hockey and Lukas and his brothers skate on an outdoor rink in second hand skates. They occasionally read American Hockey newspapers and magazines, which is strictly forbidden.
Readers get a glimpse into the paranoia and surveillance that permeates the communist world, especially as things escalate in his family. A good introduction for younger readers, scary but not too scary.
Readers get a glimpse into the paranoia and surveillance that permeates the communist world, especially as things escalate in his family. A good introduction for younger readers, scary but not too scary.
October 12, 2024
“I like it a lot because I like hockey and I also like going on trains. The book was mostly about life.”
I read this with my eldest and we had so many great conversations about what life was like in communist Prague and about the freedoms we have in Canada. This is middle grade book that gives us history, and big conversations about family, loyalty and making hard choices.
Thank you River street writes for the copy for us to read as a family.
I read this with my eldest and we had so many great conversations about what life was like in communist Prague and about the freedoms we have in Canada. This is middle grade book that gives us history, and big conversations about family, loyalty and making hard choices.
Thank you River street writes for the copy for us to read as a family.
November 25, 2024
A compelling quick read. Historical Fiction with sports, action, and a compassionate MC. A very strong contender for my 5-6th grade book club.
September 13, 2026
I loved this book! It was great for kids aged 11-12 who love history and hockey! There were some dark components that you might want to look into for a younger audience but overall I love this book!
August 29, 2024
EYES ON THE ICE by Anna Rosner is a moving tale about a close-knit Czech family living under Communist rule in the 1960’s. For the three boys, a passion for hockey is everything, even if they have to sneak onto an outdoor rink at night and play with second-hand skates and sticks. Their hockey dreams are shattered when their dissident father is arrested by the secret police, putting their family and close friends in jeopardy.
Rosner has created warm, strong characters whom young readers can relate to, while telling a gripping story with a thrilling conclusion. This book is a winner!
Rosner has created warm, strong characters whom young readers can relate to, while telling a gripping story with a thrilling conclusion. This book is a winner!
December 17, 2025
Great Story about a family that is living in Prague during a time that the Soviet Union was in control. Great historical fiction piece that brings in hockey and at the end made connections to the current war in Ukraine. I did not see the ending coming, and loved that it was created from an actual event that happened.
June 29, 2026
Excellent book. Very well written. A quick but enjoyable read. There is quite a bit of excitement.
December 29, 2024
Never thought how Communism looks until you read about people who lived it. The hockey aspect is interesting as well. Never take freedom for granted
November 2, 2024
Mixing passion for a sport and a chance for readers to gain historical perspective truly works in this novel. Set in 10-year-old Lukas’s first-person point of view, we establish early on that although poor, the family is loving and happy. Also, that Lukas and his two brothers (12 and 6) love nothing more than playing hockey. Until politics interfere.
The writing is captivating and puts you right in the scenes:
Outside, the temperature is dropping with the sun, and the wind quickly reddens Alexander’s cheeks… We follow my mother like ducks in a row through the narrow streets to the market square, where the line for fruit and vegetables stretches halfway down the block… We collapse onto a snowy bench in the park, our hair half sticking to our foreheads and half turning to ice.
The narrative also strongly and quickly establishes the family’s poverty and love of hockey. For instance, they have no gloves, helmets or padding:
Kids like us with no money just skate in sweaters and stuff our pant legs into thick socks.
Denys has outlined a life-sized net with tape and string on the [living room] wall. We take slapshots with brooms and a bunched-up rag that keeps unraveling.
But nothing can dim their enthusiasm:
I pull off my skates and wipe the ice from the blades. Every time my skates leave my feet, all I can think about is when I’ll be able to put them back on again .
Action scenes are sure to satisfy young hockey fans:
When I begin to shoot on the net, I know I will not miss. All those nights of shooting at the living room wall and between two shoes are paying off... I block the goalie’s sightline with my body. You can’t stop what you can’t see. The goalie slides to the right to look around me, while Denys flies to the left, taking a few long strides to dodge a defenseman. I hold my breath. Denys lifts his stick high for the slapshot, almost to his shoulders, and launches the puck into the back of the net just as the final buzzer sounds.
Readers are introduced to historical elements without it ever feeling forced:
Once a week, my brothers and I go to Young Pioneers after school, which my father criticizes under his breath when he thinks we’re not listening. Soviet propaganda, he mutters. Spare me… If we’re not good Pioneers, we won’t find jobs later on.
Then there’s confusion and despair when their father is arrested and they’re briefly robbed of hockey – until hockey becomes conditional and a moral dilemma.
I can barely remember life before my father’s arrest. I can barely remember what it is to be happy… Don’t think, I tell myself. Don’t think, just survive.
History, politics and the tug-of-war of a stark decision that must be made. That’s a heavy load for middle-graders, but completely worthy of embracing. The outstanding climax oozes jaw-clenching tension – and is modeled on a real-life escape. Unfortunately, the aftermath of their dynamic escape feels rushed, like the story is too eager to end.
Never mind, because it’s satisfying anyway, and readers will both enjoy and learn. Bravo to the author.
This review also appears at YAdudebooks.ca
The writing is captivating and puts you right in the scenes:
Outside, the temperature is dropping with the sun, and the wind quickly reddens Alexander’s cheeks… We follow my mother like ducks in a row through the narrow streets to the market square, where the line for fruit and vegetables stretches halfway down the block… We collapse onto a snowy bench in the park, our hair half sticking to our foreheads and half turning to ice.
The narrative also strongly and quickly establishes the family’s poverty and love of hockey. For instance, they have no gloves, helmets or padding:
Kids like us with no money just skate in sweaters and stuff our pant legs into thick socks.
Denys has outlined a life-sized net with tape and string on the [living room] wall. We take slapshots with brooms and a bunched-up rag that keeps unraveling.
But nothing can dim their enthusiasm:
I pull off my skates and wipe the ice from the blades. Every time my skates leave my feet, all I can think about is when I’ll be able to put them back on again .
Action scenes are sure to satisfy young hockey fans:
When I begin to shoot on the net, I know I will not miss. All those nights of shooting at the living room wall and between two shoes are paying off... I block the goalie’s sightline with my body. You can’t stop what you can’t see. The goalie slides to the right to look around me, while Denys flies to the left, taking a few long strides to dodge a defenseman. I hold my breath. Denys lifts his stick high for the slapshot, almost to his shoulders, and launches the puck into the back of the net just as the final buzzer sounds.
Readers are introduced to historical elements without it ever feeling forced:
Once a week, my brothers and I go to Young Pioneers after school, which my father criticizes under his breath when he thinks we’re not listening. Soviet propaganda, he mutters. Spare me… If we’re not good Pioneers, we won’t find jobs later on.
Then there’s confusion and despair when their father is arrested and they’re briefly robbed of hockey – until hockey becomes conditional and a moral dilemma.
I can barely remember life before my father’s arrest. I can barely remember what it is to be happy… Don’t think, I tell myself. Don’t think, just survive.
History, politics and the tug-of-war of a stark decision that must be made. That’s a heavy load for middle-graders, but completely worthy of embracing. The outstanding climax oozes jaw-clenching tension – and is modeled on a real-life escape. Unfortunately, the aftermath of their dynamic escape feels rushed, like the story is too eager to end.
Never mind, because it’s satisfying anyway, and readers will both enjoy and learn. Bravo to the author.
This review also appears at YAdudebooks.ca
August 25, 2024
Anna Rosner has created an engaging historical fiction story set in Czechoslovakia in 1963, bringing this little known time period to life through the eyes of Lukas, an NHL-obsessed hockey-playing student who has to make some difficult choices after his father is arrested by the communist regime.
Like in her book My Left Skate: The Extraordinary Story of Eliezer Sherbatov, the author manages to keep even this hockey-indifferent reader turning pages with her vivid writing, engaging characters and well-researched descriptions of the time period.
Like in her book My Left Skate: The Extraordinary Story of Eliezer Sherbatov, the author manages to keep even this hockey-indifferent reader turning pages with her vivid writing, engaging characters and well-researched descriptions of the time period.
December 16, 2024
For such a short book, it does a good job of building the tension/suspense.
December 6, 2024
This book was good because it shows a story about hockey in Czechoslovakia in the 1960's. This is a book about Soviet oppression and how the main character, Lukas, survives with his family and takes pride in playing hockey. Lukas lives with his parents, brothers and baby sister. Lukas and his brother enjoy playing hockey and have a pond that they can skate on. Their friend Andrej also likes playing hockey and plays with them. Andrej's dad is friends with Lukas's dad and they both work for the newspaper. Soon they work together to create documents that show the Soviet communists in a bad light. At the end of the book his dad is sent to prison but when he is allowed to visit the family he plans an escape from the country. Lukas's brother Pavel helps with the escape and they end up escaping via West Germany.
March 18, 2025
Quite an amazing read.
September 15, 2024
Young readers will be sure to enjoy this fast paced and suspenseful novel which doubles as a great history lesson. I'm sure for many of readers, this will be their first exposure to life behind the Iron Curtain.
November 26, 2024
Very interesting historical fiction account of one family’s experiences living in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s under Communist rule. It’s a hockey story, and a story of survival, with a thrilling ending. Kids 10+ will wholly enjoy it.
October 26, 2024
Eyes on the Ice
Anna Rosner
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was sent this ARC through @river_street_writes ! This is a middle grade novel. I am the parent of three middle grade kids, and I am giving it a 5 star review!
This novel will engage young readers and lead to educatioinal conversations about a history, in the not too distant past.
The plot moved quickly and involved a happy and close-knit family living under the oppression of communism. Life behind the Iron Curtain. I learned so much myself while reading this book. The most impressive thing about Eyes on the Ice is the writing of loving family relationships. Siblings and parents. The third act was suspenseful. A really wonderful read ! I think very important for young people today. This is an instant classic that would be great as a teachingtool in schools
Anna Rosner
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was sent this ARC through @river_street_writes ! This is a middle grade novel. I am the parent of three middle grade kids, and I am giving it a 5 star review!
This novel will engage young readers and lead to educatioinal conversations about a history, in the not too distant past.
The plot moved quickly and involved a happy and close-knit family living under the oppression of communism. Life behind the Iron Curtain. I learned so much myself while reading this book. The most impressive thing about Eyes on the Ice is the writing of loving family relationships. Siblings and parents. The third act was suspenseful. A really wonderful read ! I think very important for young people today. This is an instant classic that would be great as a teachingtool in schools
October 9, 2024
Anna Rosner had me at the intriguing cover and the subject of hockey, but this novel is so much more.
1963. Czechoslovakia. Communism. Secret police - watching, listening, asking children questions about their parents. Whom to trust? When to remain silent? How long before life as you know it will change forever - and more than once?
An absolute pageturner of a historical novel that kept me guessing until the end and taught me a lot about a period I knew very little about. Well done!
1963. Czechoslovakia. Communism. Secret police - watching, listening, asking children questions about their parents. Whom to trust? When to remain silent? How long before life as you know it will change forever - and more than once?
An absolute pageturner of a historical novel that kept me guessing until the end and taught me a lot about a period I knew very little about. Well done!
October 25, 2024
A Great Story of Courage!
This story opened my eyes to what life was like in the 1960s in Communist Czechoslovakia under the Soviet Union. The story of Lukas and his family is a gripping one that will appeal to all ages. I like how the author incorporated research and many thoughtful details into the plotting and character development. Parts of the story were inspired by true events as detailed in the author's note at the back of the book. Fascinating, chilling, but also so deeply moving.
This story opened my eyes to what life was like in the 1960s in Communist Czechoslovakia under the Soviet Union. The story of Lukas and his family is a gripping one that will appeal to all ages. I like how the author incorporated research and many thoughtful details into the plotting and character development. Parts of the story were inspired by true events as detailed in the author's note at the back of the book. Fascinating, chilling, but also so deeply moving.
October 15, 2024
She shoots, she scores! Anna Rosner delivers a thriller! The stakes are high in this one. I couldn’t take my eyes off Eyes on the Ice…until the ending, which hits like a slapshot to the heart. I wish there were books like this–historical fiction centering around hockey–when I was a kid, but I’m glad I get to follow Rosner’s gripping play-by-play now as an adult!
July 19, 2025
I loved evey moment of this book. From the family secrets and mysteries to the suspense the main characters feel. The hockey scenes were action-filled and realistic. The descriptions of life under communist rule were informative, but age appropriate for young readers to understand. My twelve-year-old son and I each loved the book, beginning to end.
December 8, 2025
A good read a like to children who enjoy Jennifer Nielsen or a Ruta Sepetys for younger readers. I think the book size and font type make it seem like it is for a younger reader, but it is pretty dark with some complex themes. I would recommend ages 10-13.
February 3, 2026
I liked some aspects of this heartfelt hockey-themed family drama set in 1960s Czechoslovakia. It will definitely appeal to fans of juvenile historical fiction, sports stories, and stories about family, particularly those about the bond between brothers.
April 21, 2025
Beautifully written. An engaging story melding hockey and history.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews