SKATING ON MARS

Mars Hart is dealing with a lot at once: burgeoning understanding of their nonbinary identity, the loss of their father to cancer a few months ago, and starting seventh grade.

Not to mention, a figure skating career that’s backed up by real talent. Passionate and driven yet insecure, Mars wants to win. But they’re not certain they want to skate in the more feminine way they have been up until now. With a new coach and a chance to compete somewhere nobody knows them, there are both advantages and costs to showing the world who they truly are. In first-person narration, Mars explains their competitive spirit, anger, and resiliency. The loss of Mars’ father is carefully handled, like Mars and their friends and family, this is depicted with honesty. A crush on a new girl at the rink, family dynamics, fraught middle school friendships, and bullying hold their weight as important issues in their own rights. The intricacies of Mars’ figure skating is a highlight, with exciting and accessible technical detail even for non-enthusiasts. Above all, Mars’ identity is examined with nuance, given depth and consideration as life on and off the ice grows both more euphoric and increasingly complicated. Most characters seem to default to White.

A strong sports story and an earnest coming-of-age tale in one.