Welcome to Litsy!

A novel taking us back to 1989 and the Danvers MA field hockey team. The area was famous for the Salem Witch Trials and hangings. The girls feeling a bit of the long lasting effects of black-magic, they have decided to try magic themselves to see if it will help them win games. They have a great season. The girls head back years later to attend a wedding and have quite the reunion. This was a fun read with lots nostalgia for me. 4.75/5

I loved the nostalgia (1989), the camaraderie of the girls field hockey team, and the fact that they all believed that Emilio Estevez could bring them luck 😄

The setting is Danvers High School in Massachusetts - not too far from Salem and the witch trials of the past. The girls tap into something powerful and discover themselves.

Thank you @WildAlaskaBibliophile for sending this to me as the winner of your very first Litsy giveaway!

This is a weird little book. It is reminiscent of 80‘s/90‘s teen comedies mixed with The Craft but written by a 21st Century author. It reads a little YA, but plays with the tropes in an entertaining way. I enjoyed it! 4.5⭐️
A good Pride month read too.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this one. It definitely has the feel of a novel written by an insider of the place where it's set, pointing out the town's shortcomings but in a way that makes it clear they also love the place. I enjoyed the little New England Easter eggs (Dunkin Donuts, poking fun at Unitarians) and the portrayal of the team experience. It loses momentum and becomes a little cliched at the end, but otherwise I liked it quite a bit.

"She was currently taking Sex-Ed at the Unitarian church her family attended. Basically, it was a way for upper-middle-class parents to outsource The Talk to professionals."

Based on the timing of this book, this character likely took AYS, the curriculum that predated the current and somewhat toned-down Our Whole Lives (OWL) program that my kids took at our UU congregation, but this novel pretty accurately represents the program. It is...frank.

Thank you to @WildAlaskaBibliophile 😊

This is the first Litsy giveaway I have ever won! You made my day 💕

Imagine you have a girls field hockey team in 1989 that will do anything to win. I mean anything. Considering they are just outside of Salem, Massachusetts, maybe it isn‘t a stretch they they‘d turn to witchcraft and a deal with the devil (in the form of a notebook emblazoned with Emilio Estevez). Hilarious shenanigans ensue; I loved the classic 80s references and the girl power vibe. Delightful and perfect for the season!

#TBRTarot

Took a bit to find a book but landed on this one. Also a witchy tale for #Scarathlon.

#currentlisten

Ok, here is my October 2023 #bookspin #bookspinbingo list! It feels like a good mix of books I own and library borrows as well as print and audio. I can‘t do all one genre at a time, so I‘m not planning for more spooky reads than usual.

Of course, October is my busiest work month so a lot of “free” time will be eaten up by that. But let‘s see how many books I can do…

This window in Salem of a chocolate shop. 🍫 Finished North-Shore-centric WE RIDE UPON STICKS and wow, wow wow wow. Epic. Disorienting. Insightful. Glorious. Hilarious. Bittersweet. Never underestimate the power of teenage girls.

This was a delightfully wild and weird novel about the 1989 Danvers girls field hockey team's rise to the State Championship after collectively pledging their souls to the power of Emilio Estevez. It is teen girl solidarity at its finest, brimming with enough 80s fashion and pop culture references to make me go look for my old swatch. Loved it.

#2022Book129
I didn‘t know I needed a modern version of The Crucible centered around a 1980‘s girls‘ field hockey team, but it turns out I did. This book is funny, disturbing, thought-provoking, and has all the 80‘s music references anyone could want.

Trying to get another seasonal book in before Halloween while the hubby watches wall to wall football.

This was pretty fun, and not too culturally out-of-reach for a non-American ‘90s kid with no field hockey experience!

October TBR! Trying to stay on theme for spooky season with my reading this month.

I'm slowly but surely building a collection of books that are MADE by their final chapters. For all that the pace seemed to drag towards the latter half, the time the author took to wrap things up made all the difference. I honestly thought this would be darker, but I love where it ended up. I think if I was a teenager, or felt that sisterhood in my identity I would resonate more strongly, but it was still a fun time with good discussions.

When chewed cantankerously just doesn't get the job done.

Today's favourite word:

"mandibularly"

Form of mandibular, relating to the lower jaw.

This book was alright, it was pretty slow but had some good moments! If you like field hockey you'll probably like this one 🏑🥅

This was also a #lmpbc pick 🥰

Some immersive music for reading #lmpbc @DinoMom ‘s pick

Hit the earth three times with your stick. Lift your eyes to the hole in the night. Remember that darkness simply requires another way of seeing. Be your own light. And just like that, you‘ll find yourself everywhere instantly. Field field field, one of us thinks. Hockey hockey hockey, we reply. There are so many things to say in the language of our kind, but really, nothing more needs to be said.

Life isn‘t about the spells we cast, but the friends we made along the way.

Catching up on a few reviews starting with this #NYWD22 title which I finished last night.

I enjoyed the 80s references, the big hair with a mind of its own, the teenage girls finding out who they are, all intermixed with a little dabbling in witchcraft. I liked it, but didn‘t fall in love. I read a few pages here and there, but never got fully engrossed in the story. What I did really love was the ending — it was worth it for that ending. ⬇️

This book was so much fun!

On my tbr since it came out (because witches!), but I finally got to it thanks to the #NYWD22 list of @Amandajoy

Cleverly written (love the use of first person plural here), laugh out loud funny, and OMG the 80s culture. I‘m 5 years younger than the Lady Falcons and I could relate! 😂 Definitely put me in mind of Hendrix‘s My Best Friend‘s Exorcism, but with a feminist tilt and WITCHES. 🙌🏼

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘ve picked 4 books off of @mklong ‘s fantastic #newyearwhodis list! So many interesting books to choose from!

I doubt I‘ll be able to read all of these in January, but if I read 2 on audio, I may be able to do it!

As with my last post, I‘m sharing a collection of my favourite books of 2021 so far. Each month I chose a favourite cover of all the books I read in that month.

I was interested to see them all together to see if there‘s anything similar in them, as I almost always choose my books based on the covers or spines. I hardly ever read the description before buying. Looks like I have a thing for BOLD fonts.

I wanted to like this more than I did. I liked the sports season framework and felt we got to know the characters. The plot was clever but didn‘t entirely work for me. Loved the 80s cultural references. This isn‘t a book you can skim and is very dense.Might have been the wrong book for right now for me.

Thank you so much for the incredibly thoughtful, fun, and generous #HHS box, @Nessavamusic !!! The books are perfection: the one that I wished for, a favorite author TBR title, and another that‘s new to me but sounds fascinating! And so many fun treats - the BEST book sleeve 🧙‍♀️💜; cutest socks, stickers, card, and coasters (how did you know I love coasters but didn‘t have Halloween ones??); the queen of all 🎃🍫; and ⬇️

How isn‘t this book more popular?! Combining witches, 80s culture, and field hockey, We Ride Upon Sticks is the coming of age story of eleven friends during the summer and fall of 89‘. After varsity goalie, Mel, convinces her teammates to bind their soul to the devil in order to make it to State, mischief ensues. Funny, with a well written cast of characters, We Ride Upon Sticks is a witchy take on John Hughes high school movies.

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView
Very late! But here goes
1. Both are fine!!
2. Tagged book, absolutely loved it. It's....witchy but not in the way you think! My review here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3522711778

Starting this book. Should be a good October spooky read 👻

I finished this early this week, and I loved it! It‘s perfect for this season, with some witchcraft/ possible demonology dabbling and a few creepy elements. But mostly this book is wonderful and funny and a pretty true to life look at the late 80‘s into the early 90‘s. I‘m just a little younger than these kids would be now, but every bit of pop culture rang my memory bell. This is the first book in a while that made me laugh on every page! 👍👍

Could not stand this one. Truly didn‘t understand the point even at the end, only finished because it was a book club book, but it was brutal. Had to skim. Tough to read writing style, didn‘t care about the characters.

Here‘s some more book covers that I‘m considering making into press on nail sets for the Etsy shop. I‘m hoping to have some a less hectic work schedule in the next few month, so I‘ll be able to focus on this a little more.

I‘m open to suggestions, if you guys would like to see sets done with any specific book cover or bookish photo! 🤍

Current location ☀️📖
I was a teenager of the 80s so all the references to that time are a lot of fun for me. 😊

#summerreading

1. Tagged. Set in 1989, when I was in middle school & my sister was in high school.
2. I like both settings. There‘s a lot to learn about different states, but I also love European settings. As long as it‘s a good story. #two4tuesday @TheSpineView

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

At first, I was all wrapped up in the story and its delightful quirkiness, but I felt it was too long and became a bit repetitive towards the end. Had it not been for that this would have been a pick.

I loved the characters and how each chapter focused on someone different. Overall, the story is fun and Barry has a lot of various messages cleverly hidden in the writing.

I really thought this was gonna be a cute YA book about a high school field hockey team using a little witchcraft to win. Nope! I would not call this YA at all, I wouldn't give this to a youth either! It was a much darker story, so much darker. Like, sign your name in the devil's book, DARK. Luckily, I happen to be cool with dark books. The writing is so clever! You have to pay attention, Quan Barry does not spell things out for you. ⬇️

I haven't been able to move since around 11:30 pm thanks this dude, Dresden, who is determined to not let me do anything but read. I can't even fall asleep, though, to be fair, the book is too good to go to sleep now anyway. #Readathon

Pizza seems like the perfect food to go with this book. If only I had a can of Mountain Dew to go with it 😂 #Readathon

"You can't have one without the other," she reasoned.

"Like chocolate and peanut butter," Julie said.

I'm looking forward to eating the chocolate peanut butter cups I got specifically for #readathon

This book was not for me, and what's funny, is it's about my era growing up. Certain “characters“ that develop in the book really threw me off and made me really dislike the book. Nothing really happens, and yes, it's a coming of age story, it's a slog. Many references were beyond me though I'm unsure why and the whole thing was just ridiculous. It's billed a comedy but I didn't crack a smile or laugh once.

As I played field hockey (albeit poorly) and was in the graduating class of 1990 I knew I just had to read this book. The Danvers, MA field hockey team tries to make it to the Regional Championship with a little hocus pocus while discovering their innate powers as individuals and as a team. The 80s references were fun and brought back many cringe worthy high school memories. Barry ties in the Salem Witch Trials as well. A definite pick from me.

Just finished my April #bookspin 😃

I needed to warm up to this one. At first I was burdened by the sports aspect of this but when I got into it I found the tone of the writing to be so funny and nostalgic.

You all know I‘m a sucker for all things Salem,MA, so I was in. After reading through some reviews I totally agree this has Now and Then vibes.

My attention span stopped me from picking up on the circular narration style which I regret

I love this book, it‘s set in Danvers, Massachusetts in the 80‘s following a girls‘ high school field hockey team and their run for State. It has everything the 80‘s embraced, big hair, music, tv, movies. Key characters are descendants of 1692 Salem witch trials and connections are made between teen girls then and now. It‘s funny and beautiful as these bold, fierce girls come of age and embrace their true selves ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Happy Long Weekend Littens ❤️ I need to get off my phone ( except my audio book) and read. I hope everyone who celebrates has a Happy Easter, we all deserve some rebirth and renewal after the last year 😘stay safe and be well and eat chocolate, there are better days ahead

Here‘s my April bookspin bingo board!

My #bookspin is We Ride Upon Sticks
My #doublespin is The Family Upstairs

Ready to get reading!