Girl Athletes: Sugar and Ice by Kate Messner

Kate Messner's Sugar and Ice is due to be released in December 2010.  I had the pleasure of reading an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of S & I this past week.

From Kate's Website:

SUGAR AND ICE
Walker Books for Young Readers (December 2010)

For Claire Boucher, life is all about skating on the frozen cow pond and in the annual Maple Show right before the big pancake breakfast on her family's maple farm. But all that changes when Claire is offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity-a scholarship to train with the elite skaters in Lake Placid. Tossed into a world of mean girls on ice, where competition is everything, Claire soon realizes that her sweet dream-come-true has sharper edges than she could have imagined. Can she find the strength to stand up to the people who want her to fail and the courage to decide which dream she wants to follow?

I loved Claire--she's not the typical skating princess from the books I read as a kid.  She's down to earth, has a great family, and doesn't necessarily want to win against all odds or at the expense of everyone else. She's also a math nerd, loves Indiana Jones, helps her parents business, and is good to her two brothers.  She has to compete against the mean girls, but she has a bee-keeping best friend, a cute boy "friend" and a cousin who gives her all her hand-me-down dresses.  In the end, she finds a way to beat the mean girls at their own game.

I liked the ending - it was satisfying that Claire made a decision that wasn't necessarily the one you might guess she'd make.  

I can't wait to read more from Kate Messner -- she's a talented writer and a treasure to the middle-grade genre.  And she's contributed some strong new girl athletes to the fold.

When Sugar and Ice comes out in December, I would encourage everyone to grab a copy for their favorite girl athlete!