Ugly Kicks

Lorimer Sports Stories

by Kelsey Blair (Brand)

Ashley Rivera's single mom can't afford to buy her new basketball shoes -- she does't even have enough for the registration fee when Ashley makes the city basketball team. So Ashley takes on extra work to make the money she needs to play basketball. Soon Ashley's overloaded schedule makes her too tired for school and her friends, and she can't take it when the popular girl on her team suddenly starts teasing her about her ragged sneakers. Does Ashley even want to keep playing? With the help of friends old and new, and with surprising support from her brother, Ashley figures out how to afford the price of play.

Genres: Middle Grade, Sports

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2015

About the author

Kelsey Blair (B.A., University of British Columbia; M.A. University of Toronto; M.A. University of British Columbia; PhD Simon Fraser University) is a theatre, performance, and physical culture scholar, young adult fiction author, and community-engaged artist and activist. She recently completed her PhD in English with an en emphasis in Performance Studies from Simon Fraser University, where she completed a dissertation on cultural performance of sport. Building from this work, she is currently pursuing postdoctoral research on sport, circus, and musical theatre n the Department of English at McGill. In addition to her co-edited trade volume Basically Queer: An Intergenerational Introduction to LGBTQA2S+ Lives, published in 2017 by Peter Lang, her academic work has been published in several academic journals and edited collections including: The Canadian Theatre Review, Studies in Musical Theatre, Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, and The International Journal of Sport History.

She is also a young adult fiction author. Drawing from her tenure as a varsity women’s basketball player at the University of British Columbia and her experiences playing professional basketball in Sweden, Kelsey writes sports’ fiction for 10-13 year old girls. Her first book, Pick and Roll, was published by Lorimer in 2014 for their Sports’ Stories series and was named one of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Books for Kids & Teens. Her second book, Ugly Kicks, was published in 2016, and her third book, Making the Team, was commended as one of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Books for Kids & Teens. Her most recent book, Tough Call, was released in Fall 2018 and was also named as one of the anadian Children’s Book Centre Best Books for Kids & Teens.

In addition to these pursuits, Kelsey leads several scholarly, sporting, and artistic projects. Currently, she is the online curator for performance and pedagogy website, the Activist Classroom, a Director for the Centre for Spectatorship and Audience Studies Research at the University of Toronto, a Director on the Board of Directors for Basketball British Columbia, a Director for New World’s Theatre Board, a selected member of the British Columbia Basketball Official’s commission, and the women’s basketball representative for the University of British Columbia’s Alumni Council. She was also the co-lead artist for a senior’s art collective (Quirk-e), a playwright and director for several community-engaged theatre & performance projects, and the head coach of numerous girls’ and women’s basketball teams, including the Native Education College women’s team from 2010-2018.

Kelsey frequently does workshops, readings, and speaking engagements with elementary schools, high schools, and organizations such as Canada Basketball. She’s always interested in new opportunities.

You can reach her at: info@thekelseyblair.com

Reviews

[Keep Calm Novel On · Rating 5 out of 5]

NetGalley provided a copy of the ePub in exchange for an honest review.

Ugly Kicks by Kelsey Blair is a truly touching and inspiring young adult fiction.

Ashley’s journey feels real. She lives with her single mom and brother. Ashley is determined to play basketball for the city but the many fees make is almost impossible. Ashley’s determination makes her a positive role model. The author explores bullying, class differences, and team sports. The chapters are short and the story moves quickly. This feel good story does not disappoint.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Ashley who wants to play basketball, but whose single mother can't afford the fees. But working extra babysitting, and a paper route earns her enough money to just get into the league.

Any book that makes me cry should get four stars, even if the book isn't quite for me, as it wasn't intended to be. This reminds me of all the extra-curricular activities that my parents could not afford to send me to, though my richer classmates how no problem coming up with the money for. It is hard, as a kid, to have to wear old shoes (hence the "ugly kicks") and have to make do because that is the best one can do. It separates you from your classmates, and that is not fair, but life is not fair.

This is a great book for a middle-school reader who is way into sports. Often kids that are into sports can't find any books they like, because they are either not accurate, not descriptive enough, or the author doesn't know the sport. The author in this case not only knows the sport, but played professionally.

If you are not into basketball, I would not recommend this book to you, however, as you will have to skim past all the moves that the author is describing. Other than that, well written.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Rheetha Lawlor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ashley is determined to a part of the basketball team, and determined to pay for it all on her own. Her brother is depressed, her mother works two jobs, and her friends don't seem to understand Ashley's new time commitments. Yet her determination gets her on the team. And on the team she learns the meaning of team and how to prioritize her time. MIddle grade students would appreciate this book, and ESOL students may appreciate the simplicity of the book.