NICKY TAG! NICKY TAG!All his life, crowds have been cheering for Nick Taglio.He' s been skating since he could walk, scoring goals since he picked up a hockey stick. He' s only a sophomore but he rules the ice, because Nicky Tag' s a fighter. Which means you have to take some hits; concussions come with the territory. When he gets another head injury, his doctor, his parents, and his coach tell him he can never play again. Too dangerous, they say. He can' t risk his future. But they don' t understand that without hockey, Nick has no future. It' s not a game, it' s his life. And nobody can stop him from playing. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 9 Up Hockey is more than Nick's favorite sport it has become the very framework of his life. His friends are all players, his hot new girlfriend's a huge fan, and his hopes for college hang on securing an athletic scholarship. So when his physician, coach, and family all agree, following his fourth concussion, that the 16-year-old star should stop playing the game, it means major upheaval in his life. Hughes's attention to detail in terms of both head injuries and the sport adds lots of pith and interest to this story, and her accurate portrayal of middle-class teen life (which includes sex, obscenities, and pot smoking) should keep reluctant readers turning pages. The central question shifts from the prospect of whether Nick can return to the rink to the more important matter of whether he can regain control of his roiling emotions. Jeffrey Hastings, Highlander Way Middle School, Howell, MI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 9--12. In the dream, there's always open ice, but in real life, high-school hockey player Nick Taglio has a knack for getting blindsided, and he has the concussions to prove it. His latest bell-ringer has left him with a bad case of post-concussion syndrome, prompting his doctor to forbid him from playing hockey, possibly forever. It only gets worse, as Nick lapses into emotional free-fall, blowing off school, fighting with his parents, getting dumped by his girlfriend (who is only interested in healthy hockey stars), and even endangering his baby brother. Yes, this sounds like readers of Hughes' first YA novel are in danger themselves--of getting their bells rung by coming-of-age overload--but every time we think we see an oppressive author's message on the horizon, Hughes feints left and skates right, confounding our expectations with a subtle twist of character that draws us deeper into the story. Nick does plenty of soul-searching, but it happens around the edges of his bitter, knifing wit. His relationships with his friends and family, too, are always multidimensional, and while there is plenty of sex in the story, it proves as confusing for Nick and his peers as it does exhilarating. Best of all, though, is the hockey: sure, the open ice thing is a metaphor--the virus of sports novels--but thankfully, it never overwhelms the taut physicality of the game itself. By being true to the sport, Hughes unlocks the truth in her characters. BillOtt. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.