Skating Books

Eislauffan

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4,503
After seeing the thread for a book that will come out in 2022 I thought I start a thread to discuss new skating books. :)

I had the pleasure to be an advance reader and give some comments on the new skating novel "The Girl Without a Face". I found the concept very intriguing. Figure skating is associated with beauty more than any other sport, but there is a talented skater that is so disfigured that she wears a mask ... You find a review and an interview with authors Randall and Hailey Hicks on our homepage:
 

Sylvia

TBD
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80,298
Maia and Alex Shibutani's first middle grade mystery series ("Kudo Kids") book currently is scheduled to be published by Penguin Young Readers on September 8, 2020:
 

Eislauffan

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Maia and Alex Shibutani's first middle grade mystery series ("Kudo Kids") book currently is scheduled to be published by Penguin Young Readers on September 8, 2020:

Interesting, I didn't know that. Funny that it's about the Summer Olympic Games. And the publisher didn't update it at as the Games are not happening in 2020...
 

gkelly

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I saw a short article about this book, about a 12-year-old competitive skater discovering a nonbinary identity, in the October issue of Skating magazine. I ordered a copy and have just finished reading it.

The author is a skater and gets the skating details right throughout the book, albeit very specific to summer 2019 in terms of the US qualifying system.
Not to mention drawing on personal experience for the gender identity issues as well.
 
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Sylvia

TBD
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Another figure skating-themed book featured & reviewed in the December 2020 issue of SKATING magazine (includes an excerpt):

E. L. Shen's The Comeback is a heartfelt, #OwnVoices middle-grade debut about a young girl trying to be a champ—in figure skating and in life.

Twelve-year-old Maxine Chen is just trying to nail that perfect landing: on the ice, in middle school, and at home, where her parents worry that competitive skating is too much pressure for a budding tween. Maxine isn’t concerned, however—she’s determined to glide to victory. But then a bully at school starts teasing Maxine for her Chinese heritage, leaving her stunned and speechless. And at the rink, she finds herself up against a stellar new skater named Hollie, whose grace and skill threaten to edge Maxine out of the competition. With everything she knows on uneven ice, will Maxine crash under the pressure? Or can she power her way to a comeback?

Set in Lake Placid, New York, this is a spunky yet stirring middle-grade story that examines racism, female rivalry and friendship, and the enduring and universal necessity of love and support.


The author tweeted this TikTok video clip :): https://twitter.com/ELShenWrites/status/1341021722204663814
 

Foolhardy Ham Lint

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Karina and Joe stole the show both at Skate America and US Nationals.

I bet her memoir will be as awesome as their performances!
 

Sylvia

TBD
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80,298
The Shibutanis' second book in their "Kudo Kids" series will be published on May 4, 2021:

Just remembered this other GSD thread, ICYMI:
 

Sylvia

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In the "new books for younger readers written by skaters" category (refer to the Shibutani's latest book above)... Meryl Davis announced the publication of her first book last night: https://twitter.com/Meryl_Davis/status/1389376345201942528
Meryl's Instagram post shares more details :): https://www.instagram.com/p/CObgSyEB-K5/

Guillaume Cizeron's Ma plus belle victoire was published in France on April 29 and will be available in Québec on June 4:
There are links to articles & interviews with Cizeron about his book in P/C's fan thread.
 
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rebootmt

New Member
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There are a couple of new figure skating fiction books coming in June and July, 2021!
The first, set to be released on June 5th, is On Thin Ice, for ages young adult and up.
It is about a figure skater from Montana who is determined to become a senior level skater, by her senior year in high school. Her skating future was bright until an injury left her wondering if it was over. P.R.’s road to recovery takes the skater down an unusual healing path. Unconventional methods of treating her injury inspire an unlikely meeting with Anjel Mairee, a Native American woman, who becomes a guiding force in Paisley’s uncertain future.
Check it out here:

The second skating fiction book is set to be released July 15th, and is called Paisley's Skating Adventures. This book is the first in a series of children’s books for ages 4 - 10, and takes place on a farm in Montana. Paisley’s love of figure skating inspires her to teach her farm animals how to skate.
Check it out here:
 

dramagrrl

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I read about a Young Adult novel that was released last week that is about an ice dancer who is from a family full of figure skating champions and wants to win a medal at the World Junior Championships:

Finding Her Edge by Jennifer Iacopelli
 

TanithandBenFan

Author of the Ice and Edge Series
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I read about a Young Adult novel that was released last week that is about an ice dancer who is from a family full of figure skating champions and wants to win a medal at the World Junior Championships:

Finding Her Edge by Jennifer Iacopelli
It won’t be released until February 2022. Perfect timing with the Olympics. 😉 The cover pose reminds me of my last book! And the lead guy has the same name with a different spelling.
 

Foolhardy Ham Lint

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It won’t be released until February 2022. Perfect timing with the Olympics. 😉 The cover pose reminds me of my last book! And the lead guy has the same name with a different spelling.
I realise that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But they could have at least not so blatantly ripped off all your hard work.

(Makes me wonder if that's really the author's actual first name, too!)
 

TanithandBenFan

Author of the Ice and Edge Series
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I realise that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But they could have at least not so blatantly ripped off all your hard work.

(Makes me wonder if that's really the author's actual first name, too!)
I've worked with the author on a promotional event in the past so that is her real name :) I've read her tennis books and enjoyed them so I'm looking forward to this. It's just a little disturbing to see some of the similarities!
 

Sylvia

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Karina Manta's memoir has a cover reveal and pre-order pages now.
...
Publisher page with additional links: https://www.getunderlined.com/books...id=randohouseinc25378-20&linkid=PRHB99E145167
Karina (her book's publication date is October 19, 2021) is featured in an article on USFS' website: https://www.usfigureskating.org/news/article/changing-lanes
“I’ve always loved writing, and for a long time, I saw it as an interest of mine that was separate from skating,” she said. “I imagined myself writing coming-of-age stories. However, the more I wrote, the more I realized that almost everything in my life traced back to skating one way or another.”
The book, which is available for pre-order wherever books are sold, tackles issues that many young adults face.
“I want people who read the book to recognize that there are a lot of ways that the skating world and the regular world can be isolating for people who are seen as different, but I also hope readers walk away feeling hopeful about our capacity to change for the better,” Manta said.
 

Yuri

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Alexander Zhulin's autobiography is one step closer to publication later this year. He's now asking his Instagram followers to vote on one of eight photos for the cover!


 

Miezekatze

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Karina Mantas book sounds very interesting, I might give this a go!

Does anyone know if and when the book about Mishin will be translated into English?
 

jenniferlyon

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I've worked with the author on a promotional event in the past so that is her real name :) I've read her tennis books and enjoyed them so I'm looking forward to this. It's just a little disturbing to see some of the similarities!
There are A LOT of Jennifers. That's why I use "Jens Lyon" as my pen name; my real name was already "taken."

Character names, on the other hand...
 

Stacy

Theatre Junkie
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142
Hey everybody! I just read this new two-book series and thought some of you might like it too.

It's a (fictional) story of an ice dance team that splits up (I can't say why without giving too much away!) and four years later they run into each other again. Drama and romance ensue.

The author's obviously a skating fan, there were some good details in it and it's a fun and not-too-heavy read. Gets a little unrealistic towards the end, but it is fiction after all. :)

For anyone else who wants a summer skating fix! Here's the link to Amazon, it's available in Kindle and paperback, and free on Kindle Unlimited:

 

Sylvia

TBD
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80,298
Karina Manta's memoir has a cover reveal and pre-order pages now.
...
Publisher page with additional links: https://www.getunderlined.com/books...id=randohouseinc25378-20&linkid=PRHB99E145167
Karina (her book's publication date is October 19, 2021) is featured in an article on USFS' website: https://www.usfigureskating.org/news/article/changing-lanes
Karina's post today about recording her audiobook :D: https://www.instagram.com/p/CRCY9pFriY6/
Have you ever wanted to listen to approximately seven hours of my seductive vocal fry? Did you sign up for the Calm app last summer solely for those Harry Styles bedtime stories? Do you need something in your life that’s sort of like a very, very off-brand version of those? Maybe you just want to hear my voice crack while I recount harrowing tales from high school?

Well good news!

I finished recording my audiobook! So on October 19, you can read AND listen to my little odes to friendship, and heartbreak, and bodies, and queerness, and figure skating, and that emo-adjacent boy from my art class who really shaped my music tastes for a while.

Plus, I heard a rumor that all hot people love the book.🤷🏼‍♀️
 

alexikeguchi

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I love Scandinavian noir, and I have a book called "Death Spiral" in my Amazon save for later basket. It's set in Espoo and centers on the murder of an up and coming female pairs skater with her own skates. I love this brief passage from the Look Inside feature: "I've always liked the way figure skating balances right on the knife edge between good melodrama and utter tastelessness. Grand emotions evoked to the accompaniment of tired musical cliches." I've gone through most of the Swedish and Icelandic series already, so I think I will take the plunge and try out Finland.
 

Eislauffan

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Karina Mantas book sounds very interesting, I might give this a go!

Does anyone know if and when the book about Mishin will be translated into English?

It took a bit longer than expected to finalize everything for the English version of Alexei Mishin's memoir, but we're now very close to the finishing line and the E-Book should be available in a few days. I'll let you know.
 

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