Title: Fight Song
Author: Kirk Van Brunt
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Swift Water Books
Source: Author
Format: Paperback
Release Date: September 15, 2026
Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
A talented yet cynical Indigenous teen hockey player escapes a dangerous situation in the foster care system in this powerful and timely YA novel.
It’s not easy to miss Nokes Lasley, especially when she’s on the ice. Towering over the competition at over six feet tall, she routinely dominates on the right wing — and her no-nonsense approach and fiery temper have helped to solidify her reputation as a hockey superstar. Despite her tenuous situation at home, she dreams of hitting the Olympics one day and proving that she can compete in the big leagues.
But suddenly, Nokes’s life is turned upside-down when her father is arrested for murder and she’s forced to enter the foster care system. Nokes bounces from home to home, from one dangerous setting to the next . . . until she decides to escape across the border to Minnesota, where the promise of a family friend with professional hockey connections far outweighs the abuse she’s experiencing in her home province of Ontario.
Through careful lies, and with the help of Aidan, an attractive new friend, Nokes is able to start a new life in a new country — and, most importantly, keep playing hockey. But the past has a nasty way of catching up to her, and soon Nokes has to make a terrible choice: keep running or face her past head-on . . . and maybe even come to terms with her Indigenous heritage.
Review:
Fight Song is a gripping young adult novel about an Indigenous teen who won’t let anything stop her from following her dreams of playing hockey. Nokes Lasley has faced so much tragedy in her young life. She’s lost both of her parents, been abused at foster homes, and run away from home. However, she finds creative ways to play hockey and follow her dream of playing in the Olympics.
I liked how the story was told through the current timeline of Nokes playing hockey with flashbacks to slowly reveal the trauma she had experienced. This kept some of Nokes’s past a mystery until the end of the story, which made the story more intriguing.
Fight Song is a great new novel!
Thank you Kirk Van Brunt and Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a sponsored campaign!
Content warnings: racism, death of parent, abandonment, child abuse, sexual assault
Have you read Fight Song? What did you think of it?
Jill's Book Blog 