EYES ON THE ICE

A 2024 JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD GOLD STANDARD SELECTION!

“READERS WILL CHEER FOR LUKAS AND DENYS, FEAR FOR THEIR SAFETY, AND REJOICE WHEN THE SIBLINGS GET TO PLAY HOCKEY. A BOOK SURE TO DELIGHT SPORTS AND HISTORICAL FICTION FANS.” – School Library Journal

“A WELL-WRITTEN AND ENGAGING HOCKEY NOVEL” – Marsha Skrypuch – award-winning author of Winterkill.

“ENGAGING HISTORICAL FICTION. [EYES ON THE ICE] WILL KEEP READERS TURNING THE PAGE AND CHEERING FOR BROTHERS LUKAS AND DENYS AND THEIR FAMILY” – FRIEDA WISHINSKY, award-winning author of over 80 books for children.

“EYES ON THE ICE IS A BEAUTIFUL STORY OF FAMILY LOYALTY. […] THIS IS A BOOK THAT SHOULD BE IN EVERY PUBLIC AND SCHOOL LIBRARY” – Lorna Schultz Nicholson, award-winning author of over 55 books for children.

Ten-year-old Lukas and his brother Denys want nothing more than to play hockey, but it’s 1963, and they live in Czechoslovakia, where the secret police (the “Eye”) are constantly on the lookout for anyone committing crimes against the state — whether that be reading a magazine about the NHL or saying anything negative about the Communist regime. Lukas’s father works for a newspaper, and printing the truth is a dangerous activity.

The family is poor, but hockey is the one bright light for the boys. They learn to skate on a bumpy outdoor rink in a city park. And when their talent is noticed, they are encouraged to try out for a local youth league, where they are thrilled to play in a real arena for the first time.

Then the boys’ father is arrested. No one knows where he has been taken or when he might be coming home. Lukas and Denys soon realize they are being watched, too, and when the secret police promise them information about their father if they help throw a game against a visiting Soviet team, Lukas must make some difficult decisions that may endanger his family and his friends, as he faces some tough questions about what loyalty really means.