I have to admit, when I requested this book through the library system, it was because it came up on a subject search (skating) and my first thought was: this is a futuristic story. Sci-fi maybe. Literally about a skater on Mars, the planet. I was intrigued at the idea of such a unique concept. But nope! (silly of me to have thought that).
It’s actually very similar to the last book I read, also about a young skater who doesn’t fit gender norms. This one is about a kid who goes by Mars, a twelve-year-old figure skater who loves competing. When an older skater challenges them, Mars decides to try skating in the men’s division. They’re uncomfortable in skirts and have never liked making delicate, graceful gestures, preferring to show off their power and technical skills on the ice. So skating as a man might fit their style more. It never occurs to Mars what the repercussions could be of going against the rules. Not only lying about their name and age to enter the competition, but also their gender. Realizes that performing as a guy doesn’t really fit, either, as Mars is nonbinary. They’ve only recently started coming out to others- family members and friends- so it’s still awkward to talk about. Not only that, but Mars is also struggling with grief- having recently lost their father- trying to keep up with schoolwork when they really only care about skating (an English teacher features significantly in the story), and navigating some problems with a close friendship. It’s a lot, but all woven together seamlessly.
It was really interesting to me that while this character faced a lot of the same challenges as Ana in the previous story, they solved things in a very different way. Ana made her skating program take on both male and female roles. Mars tries to step outside the rule book and make their own rules, to fit who they feel they are. The ending felt a bit rushed, especially after so much detail for the rest of the novel, but that’s a minor complaint. I really liked this character and felt like I could start to understand what they were going through and their struggles, trying to find a place in a sport that looked at people strictly as one gender or the other. Mars didn’t really care about that, they just wanted to skate, until the binary rules got in the way. I’m glad they found a good solution that was a new path forward. And that so many people in the community got behind it and showed support, even enthusiasm. It’s very heartwarming.
Borrowed from the public library.
