Going Places

by Fran Hurcomb

Twelve-year-old Jess and her friends have been playing hockey with the boys in Fort Desperation, Northwest Territories, since they were six years old. They'd like to start a girls' team in their community, but is tiny Fort Desperation ready for it? Somebody is trying to scare them off through acts of vandalism. Not only do Jess and her friends have to organize a team, find a coach and learn to play together, they have to unmask the Hockey Vandal. Can they do it before the Vandal destroys their team's hopes?

122 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Fran Hurcomb is a writer/photographer living in Yellowknife, NWT, Canada.

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun, short read. Basically a female, Northern, small town version of the Screech Owls books, so right up my alley! It felt very true-to-life in its details about small town, Northern life -- I would definitely read more about the team.

[Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book but they can do better than that. I am not a really big hockey fan but it was pretty good for me.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this more than I thought I would -- while I appreciate what Orca publishing tries to do (publish short books in the hopes of luring in reluctant readers) they're still not my favourite so I wasn't expecting much here. I found myself enjoying learning about life in the Northwestern Territories though! I'm also not a hockey person, but the big game at the end of the book, while simply written, managed to convey excitement and I can see young readers (especially ones who enjoy hockey) getting caught up in it.

The weakest point of the novel would definitely be the writing; it's very simple and could have used some better editing to smooth out some clunkiness (some of the sentences were awkward, or words were repeated within the same sentence), but there was still a love for the setting that shone through despite that which I appreciated greatly. The characters weren't very well drawn either; I couldn't tell anyone apart, outside of some defining trait (Kaitlin was the main character, Alice was the goalie, there were twins who were figure skaters, etc.). This is more of a story-driven kind of story anyway, so the book concerns itself much more with presenting a simple story of girls forming a girls-only hockey team while throwing in a short (and predictable) mystery into the mix.

All in all, while this was far from perfect (weak writing and characterization being the main problems), the setting and the author's obvious love for it drew me in and helped me enjoy this a lot more than I initially thought I would. The hockey elements were good and I'm sure will entice younger readers interested in that subject, and the little mystery thrown in keep things from getting too stale and boring.

[Thebestteamever · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book Going Places is a mediocre book. Its a little boring and slow at parts but sometimes it’s okay. We think 8-11 would the age group interested in reading this novel. We don’t recommend it; It’s too short and not as descriptive as it could be.
If you are interested in hockey you might like the book because Jess, the main character, likes hockey, and the story revolves around the sport. This 12 year-old girl broke her collarbone playing boys’ hockey, and her mother suggests that she form a girls’ hockey team. Some of the boys’ hockey team members disagree with the idea, and try to sabotage the girls. Read on to find out who the hockey vandal is.
This is a short novel, you can read if you are looking for a new adventure. The author did not finish talking about the story so there should be a second (I would not read the second though). We liked the idea of forming a girls hockey team.

[C.E. G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alright for a sports story, but I was bored by the plot, characters, and writing. But I did enjoy learning more about life in the Northwest Territories - I'm sort of fascinated by rural Canada these days.