#partly because im considering trying to cross stitch it despite being sure i dont have aida big enough for that

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

I was not expecting to cross off another square of @batmanisagatewaydrug's book bingo early, but oops I ended up spending all morning reading Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei.

I went into it knowing like, nothing at all besides there being hockey and romance, and I was not expecting to come out of it crying and yet I did.

It centers Mickey James III, a 17 year old college student and hockey player who will be drafted for the NHL within a year or so, and his rival Jaysen Caulfield, and how their rivalry develops into something romantic.

But it's also about depression and strained family relationships and what happens when a 10 year old kid has to move away from his family because of a sports opportunity and the weight of a legacy, and even though my life is nothing like Mickey's, it was hard not to see myself in him when the book delved into his depression.

I'd say it's maybe one of the better explorations of depression I've read in anything or even seen in anything. I didn't realise the target age range until the book did the equivalent of fading to black where a sex scene would be, but now knowing it targets a younger audience, I think it tackles depression and anxiety in a way that will be both relatable and digestible for teens.

Also, the friendship between Nova and Mickey was just so incredibly accurate to teenage friendship. I just need to put that somewhere because damn if it wasn't genuinely very immersive.

My only criticism would be the ending feeling a little rushed in a way where it felt like the book was speeding through to try and get to a happy ending.

But besides that, it was a really fun read. I'd totally recommend it if it sounds like your kind of book.

And since apparently I decided I wanted to end everyone of these with a quote from the book:

"Coming back from an existential bathroom crisis into a conversation about death and space corpses. Not how I expected my Thursday night to go."