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Blood Sport
Jason is sure his sister, Becca, was murdered, but he's the only one who thinks so. After finding a photograph Becca kept hidden, he decides to infiltrate a boxing gym to prove that she didn't die accidentally. As a transgender kid, Jason's been fighting for as long as he can remember, and those skills are going to come in handy as he investigates. Quickly invited into the inner circle, Jason must balance newfound friendships with the burning hate that drives him. Jason soon feels torn between two worlds, determined to discover what happened to his sister but struggling with the fact that this is the first time he's ever felt like he belonged somewhere.
118 pages, Paperback
First published January 28, 2020
4 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
About the author
Tash McAdam
15 books123 followersTash is a Welsh-Canadian author, activist and educator. Their publications include The Psionics (Nine Star Press), and the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections Blood Sport and Sink or Swim (Orca Books). They are also featured in multiple anthologies. Tash is a recipient of the Shoot for the Moon fund for trans writers, and a founding mentor with the Gender Generations Project.
When they’re not writing or reading you can probably find Tash in a lake, lying on the carpet thinking about monsters, or getting a new tattoo. They enjoy regular cups of tea, existential philosophy, and sharp objects.
When they’re not writing or reading you can probably find Tash in a lake, lying on the carpet thinking about monsters, or getting a new tattoo. They enjoy regular cups of tea, existential philosophy, and sharp objects.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 9, 2023
I love seeing trans characters winning.
January 10, 2022
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC of this book.
There are AMAZING parts of this book. I am mostly going to focus on those, because they are so very, very important to me.
1. The main character, Jason, is NEVER misgendered in the book. The characters never slip-up, especially the ones that know. There is a point in the book where Jason’s birth name/dead name/”old name” comes up. Another character, not revealed who, is the one who corrects the issue.
2. Jason’s transition is only talked about when it matters. There is a scene where he talks about how being on the bus is difficult, because of the issues he used to face before he passed. There is talk about him binding and packing. There is talk about his hormones. His transition was not the point of the book. The plot was not JASON IS TRANS like so many cis authors would do.
3. The author is trans. YES! You can tell a drastic difference when a cis author and when a trans author write a trans character. It is like when a male author writes a female author and it makes you cringe. Not every cis author is terrible at it, but I have yet to read any trans character from a trans author that is as bad as a trans character from a cis author. One day, it won’t matter, but for now I am going to celebrate that more trans people are being published and it makes me feel safer reading a book. I did not expect to be triggered or anything else negative. I could focus on if I liked the book or not, instead of how terrible I was feeling.
4. There was NO and I repeat NO sexual assault or murder for the trans character. He had a hard life, but that was not because he was trans. Being trans was just one element of who he was. I am just so tired of the only plots available to trans characters being sexual assault or death.
5. Jason was Jason. He was not perfect. He skipped school. He lied occasionally. He had anger issues. He was a trans teen. He was real. He was not the stereotypical trans teen (though I have seen one other teen like him in media). He was not ideal. He also wan’t a harmful representation of trans youth. He wasn’t a bad guy. He wasn’t problematic. He was just him. He could grow up to be amazing or he could grow up to be terrible, but he was allowed to grow up.
6. The book is written in a way that I could get my kids (kids in the county jail that I teach sex ed to) to read it. They could identify with being in a group home. They could identify with the anger and the fights. They could identify with the police not being the most helpful when you need them. There is so much here that I could share with them. This would help take the pressure off of me as their, usually, only trans representation outside of a certain afternoon talk show.
I got an ARC of this book.
There are AMAZING parts of this book. I am mostly going to focus on those, because they are so very, very important to me.
1. The main character, Jason, is NEVER misgendered in the book. The characters never slip-up, especially the ones that know. There is a point in the book where Jason’s birth name/dead name/”old name” comes up. Another character, not revealed who, is the one who corrects the issue.
2. Jason’s transition is only talked about when it matters. There is a scene where he talks about how being on the bus is difficult, because of the issues he used to face before he passed. There is talk about him binding and packing. There is talk about his hormones. His transition was not the point of the book. The plot was not JASON IS TRANS like so many cis authors would do.
3. The author is trans. YES! You can tell a drastic difference when a cis author and when a trans author write a trans character. It is like when a male author writes a female author and it makes you cringe. Not every cis author is terrible at it, but I have yet to read any trans character from a trans author that is as bad as a trans character from a cis author. One day, it won’t matter, but for now I am going to celebrate that more trans people are being published and it makes me feel safer reading a book. I did not expect to be triggered or anything else negative. I could focus on if I liked the book or not, instead of how terrible I was feeling.
4. There was NO and I repeat NO sexual assault or murder for the trans character. He had a hard life, but that was not because he was trans. Being trans was just one element of who he was. I am just so tired of the only plots available to trans characters being sexual assault or death.
5. Jason was Jason. He was not perfect. He skipped school. He lied occasionally. He had anger issues. He was a trans teen. He was real. He was not the stereotypical trans teen (though I have seen one other teen like him in media). He was not ideal. He also wan’t a harmful representation of trans youth. He wasn’t a bad guy. He wasn’t problematic. He was just him. He could grow up to be amazing or he could grow up to be terrible, but he was allowed to grow up.
6. The book is written in a way that I could get my kids (kids in the county jail that I teach sex ed to) to read it. They could identify with being in a group home. They could identify with the anger and the fights. They could identify with the police not being the most helpful when you need them. There is so much here that I could share with them. This would help take the pressure off of me as their, usually, only trans representation outside of a certain afternoon talk show.
August 20, 2022
I was really, really rooting for this book. And I did like it! But it was just…not 100% there. Realistically, it’s a 3.5 for me, but I’m not marking it down to a 3 because I appreciate what it’s attempting to do and what it represents. It’s a story about a queer kid by a queer author; we need more of those.
The concept is great (infiltrate a boxing gym to find a murderer). I love that the main character is a trans boy being represented realistically. But it sort of…falls flat on the execution of that story. Mostly the book is just too short and thus rushes through everything without any of it having time to land and feel important. It means there’s not really a sense of tension or anticipation either, because everything just…happens as soon as the possibility of it happening is introduced. Will there be stakes about this character maybe finding out Jason is trans? Nope. Immediately resolved and treated as not a big deal within a couple paragraphs. Is Jason in danger now that he’s getting close to the truth? Nope, he has escaped within a few sentences. It should be such an exciting book with all this action and mystery and secret information…but it reads with the pacing of someone describing a trip to the park “this happened and then this happened and then this happened all in a row and then the trip was done”.
It doesn’t exactly help that the main character is about to turn 18 and is investigating a murder and being brutally beaten up…but the book is on about a 6th grade reading level. That’s fine and I think that a lower level book can still be a fun read for any age, but something about the juxtaposition of the content, reading level, and rushed pace just make it feel strangely jarring, like a Saturday morning cartoon adaptation of an R-rated movie.
[Spoilers Ahead] The thing that really disappointed me, though, is that it’s not even really a murder mystery. Jason doesn’t actually investigate or try to solve the murder. He does follow a photograph to one side of town, but after that everything just sort of…happens. He stumbles into a gym there, seems to forget about the murder for a while until he happens to spot a USB stick he then doesn’t have the chance to look into, keeps doing the boxing thing until someone realizes the USB is missing and confronts him, and then two chapters later the story is over. Jason literally does not figure anything out — some police come and tell him what happened after OTHER kids from the boxing gym manage to get the police to show up and investigate. The ending is so anti-climactic. And then Jason just…moves in with a trans couple he literally never met before because they were the only other queer people mentioned in the story. It’s not satisfying at all.
The concept is great (infiltrate a boxing gym to find a murderer). I love that the main character is a trans boy being represented realistically. But it sort of…falls flat on the execution of that story. Mostly the book is just too short and thus rushes through everything without any of it having time to land and feel important. It means there’s not really a sense of tension or anticipation either, because everything just…happens as soon as the possibility of it happening is introduced. Will there be stakes about this character maybe finding out Jason is trans? Nope. Immediately resolved and treated as not a big deal within a couple paragraphs. Is Jason in danger now that he’s getting close to the truth? Nope, he has escaped within a few sentences. It should be such an exciting book with all this action and mystery and secret information…but it reads with the pacing of someone describing a trip to the park “this happened and then this happened and then this happened all in a row and then the trip was done”.
It doesn’t exactly help that the main character is about to turn 18 and is investigating a murder and being brutally beaten up…but the book is on about a 6th grade reading level. That’s fine and I think that a lower level book can still be a fun read for any age, but something about the juxtaposition of the content, reading level, and rushed pace just make it feel strangely jarring, like a Saturday morning cartoon adaptation of an R-rated movie.
[Spoilers Ahead] The thing that really disappointed me, though, is that it’s not even really a murder mystery. Jason doesn’t actually investigate or try to solve the murder. He does follow a photograph to one side of town, but after that everything just sort of…happens. He stumbles into a gym there, seems to forget about the murder for a while until he happens to spot a USB stick he then doesn’t have the chance to look into, keeps doing the boxing thing until someone realizes the USB is missing and confronts him, and then two chapters later the story is over. Jason literally does not figure anything out — some police come and tell him what happened after OTHER kids from the boxing gym manage to get the police to show up and investigate. The ending is so anti-climactic. And then Jason just…moves in with a trans couple he literally never met before because they were the only other queer people mentioned in the story. It’s not satisfying at all.
September 26, 2022
I WANNA GIVE THIS BOOK 5 STARS SO BAD 😭😭
so starting off, i really liked the idea of this book. a 17 y/o trans guy decides to figure out if his sisters death was an accident or not by joining a local boxing gym and hopefully finding a lead there. IT HOOKED ME IMMEDIATELY I MUST SAY.
i just wish it had a bit more too it yk? like, i want to know more about the characters, the setting, the mystery. it just didn’t feel like there was a lot in the book. days would pass in a few sentences, maybe even weeks. boxing classes would pass in a few sentences. even if they are stereotypically “boring”, i would rather read about boxing than “the class passes quickly”. maybe it’s because of how short the book itself was, but the timing felt weird because of the time-skips. the copy i had was 105 pages and HUGE font, so it didn’t take me too long to read.
- Spoilers start here !!
Jason was really the only character we got to understand and know, as the book followed specifically him, but i wish other characters were explored. especially Becca. when i finished reading i wanted to know why she was wrapped up in the human trafficking ring, how she was killed, why she was killed, etc. i wanted to know more about her and Jason, like how had she reacted when he came out to her? she was supportive, obviously. but did she help him transition? did she help him start T? did she buy his first binder? i wish i had gotten to see more of their sibling dynamic.
ONE PART THAT ABSOLUTELY INFURIATED ME that i need to talk about was when Jason’s dead name was revealed. now i don’t know much about stuff like that, but that was horrible. it literally made me feel sick to my stomach. i get it’s part of the book, i get it’s fictional, but that part was repulsing. because under NO circumstances should you ever bring up a trans person’s dead name. if i could go back and take that part out, i would at the literal speed of light.
anyways, moving to a lighter subject, here’s a few things that i headcanon and have absolutely no reason too:
- Jason is blond
- Jason has brown eyes
- Becca had brown hair and green/blue eyes
- Preet and Jason are TOGETHER
but yeah, i think that’s the wrap up of my review. this is a little bit all over the place but that’s alright. i really hope that there will be a sequel to this book, or at least some well-needed edits. overall, i would recommend it and 3/5 stars 🫶
so starting off, i really liked the idea of this book. a 17 y/o trans guy decides to figure out if his sisters death was an accident or not by joining a local boxing gym and hopefully finding a lead there. IT HOOKED ME IMMEDIATELY I MUST SAY.
i just wish it had a bit more too it yk? like, i want to know more about the characters, the setting, the mystery. it just didn’t feel like there was a lot in the book. days would pass in a few sentences, maybe even weeks. boxing classes would pass in a few sentences. even if they are stereotypically “boring”, i would rather read about boxing than “the class passes quickly”. maybe it’s because of how short the book itself was, but the timing felt weird because of the time-skips. the copy i had was 105 pages and HUGE font, so it didn’t take me too long to read.
- Spoilers start here !!
Jason was really the only character we got to understand and know, as the book followed specifically him, but i wish other characters were explored. especially Becca. when i finished reading i wanted to know why she was wrapped up in the human trafficking ring, how she was killed, why she was killed, etc. i wanted to know more about her and Jason, like how had she reacted when he came out to her? she was supportive, obviously. but did she help him transition? did she help him start T? did she buy his first binder? i wish i had gotten to see more of their sibling dynamic.
ONE PART THAT ABSOLUTELY INFURIATED ME that i need to talk about was when Jason’s dead name was revealed. now i don’t know much about stuff like that, but that was horrible. it literally made me feel sick to my stomach. i get it’s part of the book, i get it’s fictional, but that part was repulsing. because under NO circumstances should you ever bring up a trans person’s dead name. if i could go back and take that part out, i would at the literal speed of light.
anyways, moving to a lighter subject, here’s a few things that i headcanon and have absolutely no reason too:
- Jason is blond
- Jason has brown eyes
- Becca had brown hair and green/blue eyes
- Preet and Jason are TOGETHER
but yeah, i think that’s the wrap up of my review. this is a little bit all over the place but that’s alright. i really hope that there will be a sequel to this book, or at least some well-needed edits. overall, i would recommend it and 3/5 stars 🫶
December 19, 2022
I gave this book a 3/5 starts. I liked this book enough to read it overtime, its definatly a good read if your into this kind of stuff its all here for you. I would recommend it to anyone who likes violent books or stuff like this. Great for binge reading. Recommend to anyone over 10 and under 18.
What i didnt like about it is the fact that the book isnt longer and it felt really jumbled into this small little read but it couldve been a little longer and spread out. It felt too jumbled and pretty confusing at times. Nothing specific but it just felt rushed as well. The thing about it is im pretty interested in books like longer books so thats probably why but it couldve been longer. Thats pretty much it.
The themes were pretty simple, like never give up even when your sided against. Stuff like that can really connect with the reader and help them think more. It teaches a couple lessons like dont dog on someone who can do more than you. As well as if you have more than someone else dont try to take their stuff away. That is a couple of lessons that this book teaches.
What i didnt like about it is the fact that the book isnt longer and it felt really jumbled into this small little read but it couldve been a little longer and spread out. It felt too jumbled and pretty confusing at times. Nothing specific but it just felt rushed as well. The thing about it is im pretty interested in books like longer books so thats probably why but it couldve been longer. Thats pretty much it.
The themes were pretty simple, like never give up even when your sided against. Stuff like that can really connect with the reader and help them think more. It teaches a couple lessons like dont dog on someone who can do more than you. As well as if you have more than someone else dont try to take their stuff away. That is a couple of lessons that this book teaches.
May 6, 2020
4.5 stars
This was a shorter read than I expected, and I really wish I could do half stars because it doesn't deserve to lose a full star just for that, but I also want to keep my 5 star ratings for knock out books.
Otherwise though, this was a good little story! I don't think my rating would change if I had gone into it expecting a novella, because it runs through the murder mystery SO fast that I think I still would have been a little disappointed. The MC's voice is great though, and the side characters are also cool given that the book wraps up so quickly. I definitely still recommend it as a good half hour / hour read!
This was a shorter read than I expected, and I really wish I could do half stars because it doesn't deserve to lose a full star just for that, but I also want to keep my 5 star ratings for knock out books.
Otherwise though, this was a good little story! I don't think my rating would change if I had gone into it expecting a novella, because it runs through the murder mystery SO fast that I think I still would have been a little disappointed. The MC's voice is great though, and the side characters are also cool given that the book wraps up so quickly. I definitely still recommend it as a good half hour / hour read!
March 15, 2020
So I found the plot to be kind of lacking, but I think this book is extremely important. It’s own voices about a trans teen and it seems to be very well done. There is no misgendering, the plot doesn’t revolve around the boy being trans, and there is no unnecessary violence because he is trans. While a lot of books with a trans MC use their gender as a plot device, this book definitely didn’t and I think we need more books like that.
March 23, 2022
Started reading the classroom then lost it amongst paperwork. This book was given to me by a student - “read this miss!” So I did. It’s a good story with a trans teen as the main character looking to solve his older sisters murder.
It touches on his emotions and what he needs to overcome.
I enjoyed this book and loved that one of my students asked me to read it.
It touches on his emotions and what he needs to overcome.
I enjoyed this book and loved that one of my students asked me to read it.
February 10, 2020
This is a quick read in the highly rated Hi-Lo readers series and I've rated it on that basis - yes I'm sufficiently Nerdy to have found out what they are.
Obviously I'm not part of that target readership and personally prefer the author's highly acclaimed Psionics series which I love.
Obviously I'm not part of that target readership and personally prefer the author's highly acclaimed Psionics series which I love.
August 26, 2021
Good book with an interesting story. It’s a little bit mystery and a little but finding yourself. It’s a high interest book and a quick read. The characters and well created and the plot moves along well. Good book for anyone who wants just a little taste.
September 25, 2024
This book is alright I haven't read enough of it to give a complete review. It's about this boy Jason who finds out his sister is dead but something about her death doesn't seem right. So he starts looking around for answers about his sister's death.
April 18, 2020
Short and fast-paced (High/Low), give this to reluctant readers who don't see themselves very often in books: a trans kid in foster care, who finds solace and camaraderie in the boxing ring.
July 16, 2020
Yay for well written transmasc content!
August 1, 2020
A good short story with a trans character. I enjoyed to writing style.
December 8, 2021
Good read.
Read
June 23, 2022Just randomly borrowed this from Libby and finished it in an hour ( spread over 20 days though🤣) bec it is really short
But yeah i have nothing specific t osay lol
But yeah i have nothing specific t osay lol
August 9, 2024
Very quick read. I love a story with a winning trans character.
September 11, 2024
I thought it was a really good book but I wish that there was more of a mystery and had more of a plot but I liked the writing style and the characters
October 21, 2024
If you like boxing and mystery, you'll like this book.
November 15, 2019
“Blood Sport” is a new offering in the Orca Soundings Hi-Lo reading series. Its intention is to address the need for more youth fiction for transgender or questioning teenagers. Tash McAdam, the author, identifies as queer and writes what “they” would like to have read in their teenage years.
The book is about Jason who is both transgender and a foster child who is close to aging out of the BC foster care system. The plan had been to join his older sister Becca when Jason turned eighteen. However, Becca has been mysteriously murdered, and Jason is determined to investigate her death.
Jason’s only solace in life has been in boxing. He’s feels he’s been fighting his whole life. For reasons that are not really well explained, Jason infiltrates a local boxing gym and becomes part of the inner circle in his quest to find out what happened to Becca. For the first time Jason feels at home.
“Somebody knows something.” Something about Becca’s death. This is pretty obvious, but the book is so poorly plotted that it is difficult to figure out the thread of the mystery as it is complicated page after page by Jason’s feelings and personal struggles as he faces daily life as transgender. The actual revelation of what happened to Becca almost feels like a denouement when it occurs.
A further complication is to decide whether this is a book that actually glorifies boxing and fighting. Boxing is an age-old sport which has been mythologized but now needs to be looked at more carefully in the context of what we now know about repeated head injuries. This is a judgement call, but perhaps Hi-Lo YA is not an appropriate place to exploit boxing.
The book is about Jason who is both transgender and a foster child who is close to aging out of the BC foster care system. The plan had been to join his older sister Becca when Jason turned eighteen. However, Becca has been mysteriously murdered, and Jason is determined to investigate her death.
Jason’s only solace in life has been in boxing. He’s feels he’s been fighting his whole life. For reasons that are not really well explained, Jason infiltrates a local boxing gym and becomes part of the inner circle in his quest to find out what happened to Becca. For the first time Jason feels at home.
“Somebody knows something.” Something about Becca’s death. This is pretty obvious, but the book is so poorly plotted that it is difficult to figure out the thread of the mystery as it is complicated page after page by Jason’s feelings and personal struggles as he faces daily life as transgender. The actual revelation of what happened to Becca almost feels like a denouement when it occurs.
A further complication is to decide whether this is a book that actually glorifies boxing and fighting. Boxing is an age-old sport which has been mythologized but now needs to be looked at more carefully in the context of what we now know about repeated head injuries. This is a judgement call, but perhaps Hi-Lo YA is not an appropriate place to exploit boxing.
December 26, 2019
First the positives. I love that this is a YA novella about a trans guy. I have only read trans girl stories for young people so this is a nice change. Similarly but to a lesser extent, I like that the sport of choice is boxing. Boxing is generally not written about in and of itself and there are a lot of great storytelling opportunities available with it, some of which McAdam takes advantage of. I also like the complex feelings on display about Jason's living situation. Group homes are better than nothing but that doesn't mean they always feel like home.
Now for my one concern. I really wish this was fleshed out more into a full length novel. I really wanted to see the bonds between the teens developed out more and I would have even liked Jason's relationship with X developed out a bit to make the twist at the end feel more like a betrayal.
Now for my one concern. I really wish this was fleshed out more into a full length novel. I really wanted to see the bonds between the teens developed out more and I would have even liked Jason's relationship with X developed out a bit to make the twist at the end feel more like a betrayal.
January 22, 2020
I received a copy of Blood Sport from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The premise was really promising and I was excited to read it. The writing itself is good, and it doesn’t feel awkward at all the way hi-lo books sometimes do. However, the plot and pacing of the plot were problematic for me. Everything happens very quickly and is wrapped up very quickly and there wasn’t nearly the amount of development there could have been. The mystery was solved way too easily, and without any red herrings or false leads; it was always clear what the solution was, and that made the solving of it not all that interesting.
I think I honestly would have liked this book a lot more if it had done away with the mystery plot entirely and focused just on Jason’s boxing. There was a lot that could have been expanded on in terms of Jason finding a place for himself in the gym, exploring masculinity through boxing, being trans in sport, etc.
For me, this was just okay; a lot of promise, but it didn’t really live up to it.
The premise was really promising and I was excited to read it. The writing itself is good, and it doesn’t feel awkward at all the way hi-lo books sometimes do. However, the plot and pacing of the plot were problematic for me. Everything happens very quickly and is wrapped up very quickly and there wasn’t nearly the amount of development there could have been. The mystery was solved way too easily, and without any red herrings or false leads; it was always clear what the solution was, and that made the solving of it not all that interesting.
I think I honestly would have liked this book a lot more if it had done away with the mystery plot entirely and focused just on Jason’s boxing. There was a lot that could have been expanded on in terms of Jason finding a place for himself in the gym, exploring masculinity through boxing, being trans in sport, etc.
For me, this was just okay; a lot of promise, but it didn’t really live up to it.
December 24, 2019
I was a bit disappointed with this one. I haven't found many books featuring trans-characters so when I find one, I dive right in. This was a short, quick read. The plot, was eh. I expected there to be more of a mystery aspect to this, but it kind of gets forgotten. What I did like was the fact that the author didn't shy away from the main character using a binder, navigating boxing, and coming out to friends.
If there had been more written, I think this could have been an excellent story.
If there had been more written, I think this could have been an excellent story.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews