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Girl Talk #2
Face-Off!
Vintage children's book
121 pages, Paperback
First published April 16, 1993
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292 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 9, 2011
I read this book when i was in middle school over 15 years ago. I remember I read it so many times the cover and the back fell off. Katie was always my favorite because she reminded me so much of myself. Oh and how can anyone forget Scottie Silver!!!
I wish I had kept these books.
I wish I had kept these books.
July 20, 2009
Ngga tau kenapa, dari keempat tokoh yang ada, gua paling suka ama si Katie ^o^
Jadi urutannya begini : Katie -> Alison -> Sabrina -> Randy.
Abis yang Randy biasanya ceritanya aneh2 seeh, huahaha :p
Tapii setelah baca2 sekian seri-nya, I had to admit kalo cerita tentang Sabrina itu yang paling beragam karena kalo si Katie ama Alison itu cenderung datar2 aja, ngga terlalu banyak pergolakan.
Sementara si Sabrina mungkin bawaan dirinya juga kali yaa yang emosional and kadang suka lebayy githu, huehehe :p
But still.. I love Katie most :D
Jadi urutannya begini : Katie -> Alison -> Sabrina -> Randy.
Abis yang Randy biasanya ceritanya aneh2 seeh, huahaha :p
Tapii setelah baca2 sekian seri-nya, I had to admit kalo cerita tentang Sabrina itu yang paling beragam karena kalo si Katie ama Alison itu cenderung datar2 aja, ngga terlalu banyak pergolakan.
Sementara si Sabrina mungkin bawaan dirinya juga kali yaa yang emosional and kadang suka lebayy githu, huehehe :p
But still.. I love Katie most :D
February 23, 2022
I was obsessed with the "Girl Talk" books in middle school, but I had forgotten all about them until I saw a random copy at a library book sale, so of course, I had to start reading the series again. I don't remember it being such simple sentences and being a little repetitive in places. With that being said, it was cute and dealt with sexism on a very age appropriate level.
April 30, 2007
aaahahaha i can't believe this is on here. I had a whole collection of these books back in junior high and I lOVED this book out of all of them just because katie and scott (or whatever their names were) hook up. HEE HEE good times.
November 2, 2009
Her name is Katie, she always wanted to be on the boys' hokey team. Altough her mother and sister didn't support her, she did it with the help of her friends and the mamorie of her dead father. I learn that believing in your self is the first step of a big dream
March 31, 2009
Love it!!!!
July 2, 2024
Face Off (Girl Talk)
Katie, Sabrina, and Allison are hanging out at the rink-snack bar. We learn that Katie loves to skate. Her dad use to be a pro-hockey player and taught Katie how to play, but after he died her mother didn’t think it was appropriate for a girl to be interested in ice hockey. We also find out when Stacey comes up to Katie and tries to get her to join her to go over to where Scottie Silver is (the cute boy she’s crushing on) that Katie use to be a part of Stacey’s crew, but Stacey switched up and doesn’t talk to her now that one of the other girls in their group left. Sabs tells Katie that Scottie was looking at her skate, but she says he was probably just looking in her direction. But to prove her wrong when she goes back to skate he takes her hat and they start chasing each other around the rink. On the way home, she thinks about Scottie and how she feels like something is about to happen.
In homeroom, Sabrina wants to know all the tea, but Katie says there really isn’t anything to tell. Then Sab tells her to call her later. She has to go practice for the Fall Festival. At lunch, Randi asks Katie to teach her how to skare since she heard she was so good at it (after they tell her how amazing she was at the rink). Katie has flag practice, but she’s distracted by thoughts of Scottie. In the lockerroom, Stacey teases her for wearing an undershirt when all the other girls are wearing bras. She turns in her uniform to her teacher and quits. Katie’s been wanting to quit since her friend Erika moved. She just hasn’t felt comfortable around the other girls but she stayed for her mom and perfect sister (Emily).
Later, Katie tells her mom and sister about dropping the flag team. Her mother isn’t happy and tells her she needs to think about it. Katie says she doesn’t need to think about it. Mom gets upset and walks out the kitchen. Emily tells her she just needs to be patient with it.
At school, Mrs. O Neal calls her into her office and asks her what went wrong. Katie just says nothing and her teacher says she hopes she’ll reconsider. She’s one of the best on the team. Katie doesn’t see why everyone's making such a big deal out of her being on the flag team. At lunch, Sam starts talking about the hockey team tryouts. Scottie starts bragging about how great he is and Randi checks him and tells Katie is a better skater than he is and to prove it she says they’ll see its true when Katie tries out for the hockey team next week. Katie is in shock and walks out. Later, they’re all having a sleepover. Katie doesn’t want to walk to the sleepover with Randy because she’s mad at her but no such luck. Randy catches up with her after school. Randy apologizes but shes she meant what she said. They can’t let boys get away with saying they’re better. Katie says she wishes she’d left her out of it.
Randy brings up Katie quitting the team and says its because she got tired of cheering for the boys. She says that if you got it you might as well flaunt it. By this point, Katie really isn’t all that mad anymore. At the mall, Katie hears Eva and some other girls talking about her.
Katie gives Randi a skating lesson. She’s a little wobbly but after a while she does ok. She suggests they practice alone for a little after some frustrating tries. Katie decides to try wearing a bra to school. Katie and Sab go to tryouts at the rink. Sam and her friends show up. The Coach refuses to let Katie try out because she’s a girl and he never has and never let a girl on his team. Allison speaks out for Katie and brings up a law that permits things like this. In the guest dressing room, Katie doesn’t know what to do with her bra. It’s Emily and it’s not the right size. So, eventually, she just takes it off. But since she can’t unhook it, it’s hanging out her pants when she comes back out. Everyone sees it and starts laughing at her. All her friends encourage her to go back out there. Katie and the rest of the guys trying out practice drills during the tryouts. Her friends tell her she was the best one out there. They all go out to Fitz’s afterward. Of course, Stacey and her friends are there (so are Scottie and his friends) and give Katie a hard time about the incident. Scottie warns Katie she’d better watch out. Today the guys were playing nice. Next time she might not be so lucky.
Emily tells her when she gets home that their mom is going to be really upset when she hears she wants to try out for the hockey team. She tells her it was stupid to try out for the team. Girls don’t play ice hockey. She’s worried about how it’ll look. Katie says just tell everyone they’re not related. When her mom gets home, she sits her down and expresses her disapproval. She tells her she will not try out for the team. Katie tries to explain but her mom doesn’t want to hear it. Katie then stands her ground and TELLS her mom she IS going to try out. It's what her dad would have wanted. She runs up to her room and slams the door. Her mom comes up to talk to her and says she’s only trying to do what’s best for her. She says she should have at least *told* her. She told her she knows how she feels but Katie should sleep on it.
Katie continues to go to tryouts. She’s eventually placed in a scrimmage group. The Coach makes her a left wing (a position no one really wants). The guys begin to play rougher than they usually do and Katie starts getting hit hard with the puck. Scottie even elbows and pushes her. The Coach does absolutely nothing. Katie realizes that the Coach is letting them either hurt her or scare her off. But Katie is determined. Katie is extremely sore! She tries not to show it, but she’s so sore she can’t even pull her jersey off. When she gets back from changing, all the spectators are gone. The Coach gives the guys a talk that even though they’re all good only a few will make the team. Katie is so sore and tired she doesn’t know how she’s going to make it home. Scott comes over and talks some crap but Katie pops off right back. Before she knows it he leans over and kisses her on the check. She thinks about it all the way home. Later on the phone, Katie tells Sabs and she goes crazy! She makes Sabs promise not to tell anyone.
The next day, Katie finds out she’s made the team. After school, Katie’s hanging out when Randi and for a hot second she thinks Scottie (whose in a car) is waving at her but it turns out he’s waving at some other guys. Randi doesn’t see what she sees in him. She tells her about the kiss. Katie asks what makes her think she likes him and Randi just says it’s REALLY obvious. When she gets home her mother tells her if she wants to play hockey its her decision and she tells her mother she made the team. Even though she’s not happy about it she’s not mad.
Scottie calls later and tells her to be at the rink at 2. Katie then calls Sab. Sab then calls Allison. Allison then calls Randi. Sab calls Katie again and tells her she thinks Scottie likes her. Sab thinks Scottie wants to ask her out after the game. The big game starts, One of the guys gets injured and Katie gets called in. With one minute left and the score tied Katie and Scottie win the game. After the game, the Coach congratulates her and tells her he knows he picked a winner (which surprises Katie). Scottie even tells Katie she was great out there. He apologizes for being obnoxious on the phone. He asks her to go to Fitz’s with him for a soda. She tells she’d love to but she’s already going with her friends. Her friends tho tell her to go with Scottie they’ll meet him there. Stacey comes up to Scottie and asks him to go with her but he says he’ll see her there.
My Thoughts:
I was very proud of Katie! I just wished that like in so many books, Katie wasn’t pushed into trying out. Just once, I’d like to see a book where the girl decides ON HER OWN that she’s going to run because it’s what SHE WANTS TO DO! At least in this one Katie DID have an interest in ice hockey. Books like this just make you feel good to be a female!
Rating: 6
Katie, Sabrina, and Allison are hanging out at the rink-snack bar. We learn that Katie loves to skate. Her dad use to be a pro-hockey player and taught Katie how to play, but after he died her mother didn’t think it was appropriate for a girl to be interested in ice hockey. We also find out when Stacey comes up to Katie and tries to get her to join her to go over to where Scottie Silver is (the cute boy she’s crushing on) that Katie use to be a part of Stacey’s crew, but Stacey switched up and doesn’t talk to her now that one of the other girls in their group left. Sabs tells Katie that Scottie was looking at her skate, but she says he was probably just looking in her direction. But to prove her wrong when she goes back to skate he takes her hat and they start chasing each other around the rink. On the way home, she thinks about Scottie and how she feels like something is about to happen.
In homeroom, Sabrina wants to know all the tea, but Katie says there really isn’t anything to tell. Then Sab tells her to call her later. She has to go practice for the Fall Festival. At lunch, Randi asks Katie to teach her how to skare since she heard she was so good at it (after they tell her how amazing she was at the rink). Katie has flag practice, but she’s distracted by thoughts of Scottie. In the lockerroom, Stacey teases her for wearing an undershirt when all the other girls are wearing bras. She turns in her uniform to her teacher and quits. Katie’s been wanting to quit since her friend Erika moved. She just hasn’t felt comfortable around the other girls but she stayed for her mom and perfect sister (Emily).
Later, Katie tells her mom and sister about dropping the flag team. Her mother isn’t happy and tells her she needs to think about it. Katie says she doesn’t need to think about it. Mom gets upset and walks out the kitchen. Emily tells her she just needs to be patient with it.
At school, Mrs. O Neal calls her into her office and asks her what went wrong. Katie just says nothing and her teacher says she hopes she’ll reconsider. She’s one of the best on the team. Katie doesn’t see why everyone's making such a big deal out of her being on the flag team. At lunch, Sam starts talking about the hockey team tryouts. Scottie starts bragging about how great he is and Randi checks him and tells Katie is a better skater than he is and to prove it she says they’ll see its true when Katie tries out for the hockey team next week. Katie is in shock and walks out. Later, they’re all having a sleepover. Katie doesn’t want to walk to the sleepover with Randy because she’s mad at her but no such luck. Randy catches up with her after school. Randy apologizes but shes she meant what she said. They can’t let boys get away with saying they’re better. Katie says she wishes she’d left her out of it.
Randy brings up Katie quitting the team and says its because she got tired of cheering for the boys. She says that if you got it you might as well flaunt it. By this point, Katie really isn’t all that mad anymore. At the mall, Katie hears Eva and some other girls talking about her.
Katie gives Randi a skating lesson. She’s a little wobbly but after a while she does ok. She suggests they practice alone for a little after some frustrating tries. Katie decides to try wearing a bra to school. Katie and Sab go to tryouts at the rink. Sam and her friends show up. The Coach refuses to let Katie try out because she’s a girl and he never has and never let a girl on his team. Allison speaks out for Katie and brings up a law that permits things like this. In the guest dressing room, Katie doesn’t know what to do with her bra. It’s Emily and it’s not the right size. So, eventually, she just takes it off. But since she can’t unhook it, it’s hanging out her pants when she comes back out. Everyone sees it and starts laughing at her. All her friends encourage her to go back out there. Katie and the rest of the guys trying out practice drills during the tryouts. Her friends tell her she was the best one out there. They all go out to Fitz’s afterward. Of course, Stacey and her friends are there (so are Scottie and his friends) and give Katie a hard time about the incident. Scottie warns Katie she’d better watch out. Today the guys were playing nice. Next time she might not be so lucky.
Emily tells her when she gets home that their mom is going to be really upset when she hears she wants to try out for the hockey team. She tells her it was stupid to try out for the team. Girls don’t play ice hockey. She’s worried about how it’ll look. Katie says just tell everyone they’re not related. When her mom gets home, she sits her down and expresses her disapproval. She tells her she will not try out for the team. Katie tries to explain but her mom doesn’t want to hear it. Katie then stands her ground and TELLS her mom she IS going to try out. It's what her dad would have wanted. She runs up to her room and slams the door. Her mom comes up to talk to her and says she’s only trying to do what’s best for her. She says she should have at least *told* her. She told her she knows how she feels but Katie should sleep on it.
Katie continues to go to tryouts. She’s eventually placed in a scrimmage group. The Coach makes her a left wing (a position no one really wants). The guys begin to play rougher than they usually do and Katie starts getting hit hard with the puck. Scottie even elbows and pushes her. The Coach does absolutely nothing. Katie realizes that the Coach is letting them either hurt her or scare her off. But Katie is determined. Katie is extremely sore! She tries not to show it, but she’s so sore she can’t even pull her jersey off. When she gets back from changing, all the spectators are gone. The Coach gives the guys a talk that even though they’re all good only a few will make the team. Katie is so sore and tired she doesn’t know how she’s going to make it home. Scott comes over and talks some crap but Katie pops off right back. Before she knows it he leans over and kisses her on the check. She thinks about it all the way home. Later on the phone, Katie tells Sabs and she goes crazy! She makes Sabs promise not to tell anyone.
The next day, Katie finds out she’s made the team. After school, Katie’s hanging out when Randi and for a hot second she thinks Scottie (whose in a car) is waving at her but it turns out he’s waving at some other guys. Randi doesn’t see what she sees in him. She tells her about the kiss. Katie asks what makes her think she likes him and Randi just says it’s REALLY obvious. When she gets home her mother tells her if she wants to play hockey its her decision and she tells her mother she made the team. Even though she’s not happy about it she’s not mad.
Scottie calls later and tells her to be at the rink at 2. Katie then calls Sab. Sab then calls Allison. Allison then calls Randi. Sab calls Katie again and tells her she thinks Scottie likes her. Sab thinks Scottie wants to ask her out after the game. The big game starts, One of the guys gets injured and Katie gets called in. With one minute left and the score tied Katie and Scottie win the game. After the game, the Coach congratulates her and tells her he knows he picked a winner (which surprises Katie). Scottie even tells Katie she was great out there. He apologizes for being obnoxious on the phone. He asks her to go to Fitz’s with him for a soda. She tells she’d love to but she’s already going with her friends. Her friends tho tell her to go with Scottie they’ll meet him there. Stacey comes up to Scottie and asks him to go with her but he says he’ll see her there.
My Thoughts:
I was very proud of Katie! I just wished that like in so many books, Katie wasn’t pushed into trying out. Just once, I’d like to see a book where the girl decides ON HER OWN that she’s going to run because it’s what SHE WANTS TO DO! At least in this one Katie DID have an interest in ice hockey. Books like this just make you feel good to be a female!
Rating: 6
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2025
Face-Off by L.E. Blair was a novella I read back in my young teens. I thought the book was bigger than it actually was. Turns out it is a quick read. I loved this story of a teenage girl dealing with teasing from popular girls on the flag squad. Her friend makes a statement to the hockey team boys that there is a better skater than their captain. When asked who the person was, the friend mentioned Katie. Katie is then drawn into joining the boys hockey team. With her amazing skating skills and courage to prove the boys and others wrong, Katie makes the team. I believe this is a wonderful romantic yet growing up novella for all teenage girls alike. The book does not promote anything sexual and shows how a girl stands up to those bullying her. Through hard work and courage, she ends up being a star.
January 16, 2018
The main character is Katie. The story was easy to read. If you pay attention to the book you can learn some lessons. The story shows you that fighting through and doing something you do not want to do is a lot harder than fighting through tough situations to do something you actually enjoy. Katie swaps one after-school activity for another. Katie had to deal with cruelty from the members of both after-school activities. Katie is able to push through embarrassment to try out for the hockey team. However, Katie cannot handle being embarrassed to stay on a team she did not want to be apart of in the first place. The book shows that people have more strength when working to reach a goal they actually want instead of a goal others want them to reach.
November 21, 2017
I loved these books in junior high and owned the whole series. I had the biggest book-crush on Scottie Silver and loved Katie's character because she reminded me a lot of myself. This series is perfect for elementary/middle school girls, and many of the books in the series center around common issues teenage girls struggle with.
November 15, 2017
This book is a must-read if you survived the Girl Talk game growing up. The highlight is when they have a sleepover and they pull out a game which is not named but which is obviously Girl Talk. Anyone who made fun of Girl Talk as a kid will love this book.
June 9, 2021
He’s Being Mean Because He Likes You: The Novel
April 14, 2023
I wanted to re-read this as an adult. It held up better than I'd expected but somehow seems more dated than similar series books from this period.
November 20, 2007
I used to read the series when I was a kid. As I re-read this particular one just recently... It is so bad, I love it. Out of the gang, I've always liked Katie better for the obvious reason. And I still remember, that I had the hugest crush on Scottie Silver when I read this. However, what I love the most is the tacky translation to Bahasa Indonesia.
The story? The epitome of typical and predictable.
But I'm not complaining. When you're in your 20s, and you feel too smart for anything that life brings, it's nice to go back to the time when you squeezed your brain off trying to figure out why that boy in your class was being a jerk--when really, the truth is, he had a crush on you.
The story? The epitome of typical and predictable.
But I'm not complaining. When you're in your 20s, and you feel too smart for anything that life brings, it's nice to go back to the time when you squeezed your brain off trying to figure out why that boy in your class was being a jerk--when really, the truth is, he had a crush on you.
Read
January 26, 2010This book is a very good book it isabout a gril who conservative katie campebell decides to quit the flag squad and
try out for the boys ice hockey team. Katies friends, sabrina,
randy,and allison, tell her to go for it.But katie mother and her sister, Emily, totally disapprove. Plus, stacy the Great, head of the in-group, and Scttie Silver, the gorgeous captain of the hockey team, are giving Katie a very hard time.
try out for the boys ice hockey team. Katies friends, sabrina,
randy,and allison, tell her to go for it.But katie mother and her sister, Emily, totally disapprove. Plus, stacy the Great, head of the in-group, and Scttie Silver, the gorgeous captain of the hockey team, are giving Katie a very hard time.
June 3, 2016
reading this because of the Bustle article, and I need to read a book from childhood for a reading challenge. it's kinda terrible with continuity errors and conflicting messages. like, girls can be as good as boys, but it's OK for a boy to beat you up as it shows that he cares? what the actual fuck. Katie's mom is stuck in the 50s, thinking cheerleading is the be all and end all. hard to believe Katherine Applegate wrote this.
April 13, 2015
Oh, wow, these books. I found one of them at the op shop today. So many memories. This one and number 10 were my favourites. Apparently there are many more after our collection ran out, which I will tragically never read.
Also the canoe race.
If these were not part of your childhood I can't in good conscience say they should be part of your future, but these books were awesome. And bad. And awesome.
Also the canoe race.
If these were not part of your childhood I can't in good conscience say they should be part of your future, but these books were awesome. And bad. And awesome.
Read
March 14, 2015MILOVALA som tuto kniznu seriu. Takmer vsetky diely mam doma a citala som ich niekolko krat, kazdu korunu som odkladala, aby som si potom mohla kupovat knizky. :) Zvlast tento diel bol moj oblubeny :). No jo.., Medzi nami dievcatami proste letelo :)
June 17, 2008
I have this entire series from when I was a kid and I can't bear to part with them. I am not going to weigh down my list with all 45 of them. They were all highly enjoyable.
June 15, 2009
Ya ampun, serial girl talk ini bacaan gw waktu SD, ceritanya abg abis, tapi lucu juga buat mengenang masa muda, hehe...
August 9, 2010
Suka banget seri yang ini. Katie and Scott. Hmm... Kenapa ya cerita remaja jaman dulu lebih menyenangkan? Nggak terlalu 'drama-queen' banget kayak cerita remaja sekarang. :p
September 16, 2011
such a great book,i love to read it ;) i spent my 2hours to read this book tho x_x haha <3
March 11, 2012
Jadi inget buku novel pertama yg gw baca.. ^^ pas baca ulang lg jd kaya nostalgia..
August 5, 2012
I thought that this was a really fun read. It was really easy to read and well written. It's perfect for lower grades girls.
July 9, 2013
these books were like reading a diary each book was different though it was like you were in school again.
January 17, 2015
loved this book series since i was a young adult.
June 24, 2016
all books from this serial were with me in my childhood and puberty-time ;) and in that time it was great. One time...I will read it with my daughters
July 17, 2020
I wrote a review on my website: monicductan.com
November 22, 2009
aaah remember the good old teen days... (or lack thereof)
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March 6, 2018My aunt bought me this book (that I picked out—why? I don't even like hockey or sports?) at Toys R Us.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews