Sugar and Ice by Kate Messner follows thirteen year old Claire as she receives a scholarship to work with a prestigious figure skating coach. Claire, thrust into this high stress environment has to learn to deal with a crew of backstabbing girls and trying to figure out a way to balance her new schedule with the rest of her life.
Messner does a fantastic job with creating a world that readers can get lost in. Claire's love of skating and her fight for confidence makes her a character that girls can relate to. She has a great relationship with her parents and is understanding of their needs. It is refreshing to see an author paint a young character that has such a healthy understanding of their parents financial and time constraints.
Appropriateness: This book has no objectionable content. The book was much more complex than I would expect for the recommended age. The main character is thirteen and her story is not simple and silly. While I think nine and ten year olds would enjoy this book I think it would be more appreciated by a middle school aged audience of 11-14 than the 9-12 that the publisher recommends.
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