Michigan vs. The Boys

When her hockey team is axed by the high school to save money, the only way 17-year-old Michigan Manning can keep her dream of a college hockey scholarship alive is to join the boys’ team. She knows she will have to out-play and out-skate the boys to persuade Coach Henson to give her a chance, and Michigan throws her heart into every practice to win a coveted spot on the roster.

But Michigan’s brilliant stickhandling and fast skating aren’t enough to win her acceptance from the rest of the team. She changes in a broom closet, endures sexist trash talk and isolation, and is the target of “pranks” that grow increasingly violent. Michigan sucks it up, convinced that speaking up about her treatment will prove to her teammates and her coach that she’s not tough enough for the boys’ game. But when pranks escalate to assault, Michigan has to decide whether keeping quiet is right for either her or the team.

Michigan vs the Boys is not only a fast-paced hockey story about a brave and determined girl; the novel also challenges the toxic masculinity that pervades male sports. Daniel, the captain of the team, is clearly the ringleader, but he is enabled by Coach Henson’s sexist language and the principal’s offhand dismissal of the girls’ team. Michigan is fighting not just a boy but also an entrenched pattern of sexism.

The story moves quickly, with realistic dialogue and plenty of exciting sports action along with Michigan’s personal conflicts. Family relationships are sensitively drawn, and Michigan’s intense friendships reflect adolescent complexity in their ups and downs. As a character, Michigan is an inspiring role model for girls in sport, determined, hardworking and strong both physically and mentally. Yet her tender feelings for Jack, a championship swimmer, and her longing to be part of the team reveal a touching vulnerability. She maintains her self-reliant tough-girl facade until she discovers she is not unbreakable and finally reaches out.

The support from police, the school, friends and the hockey association gives a positive message that asking for help is the right thing to do. Notably, the book doesn’t condemn hockey as a sport: the toxic culture on Michigan’s team is the result of a few individuals. Once they are dealt with, the game again becomes a positive experience for Michigan, and her teammates fall in behind her. One may question whether this might be seen as unrealistic – male locker-room conventions are widespread and can be brutal when threatened.

Yet a positive outcome for Michigan creates important expectations for girl players in boys sports, and, in all other ways, Michigan vs the Boys does not sugarcoat the experience. Michigan’s battle is universal as well as personal, and its empowering message is one that speaks to any girl trying to prove that, yes, indeed, girls can.