Review: Hooked by Liz Fichera

Hooked
(Hooked, #1)
By: Liz Fichera
Publisher: Harlequin teen
Published: Jan. 29, 2013
Genre: YA
Rating:

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When Native American Fredricka ‘Fred’ Oday is invited to become the only girl on the school’s golf team, she can’t say no. This is an opportunity to shine, win a scholarship and go to university, something no one in her family has done.

But Fred’s presence on the team isn’t exactly welcome — especially not to rich golden boy Ryan Berenger, whose best friend was kicked off the team to make a spot for Fred.

But there’s no denying that things are happening between the girl with the killer swing and the boy with the killer smile…

I thought that this was a cute YA novel revolving not only around race but sports as well. I will admit that I am not a huge fan of golf. I remember watching it with my grandfather when he’d babysit me and I would always be bored out of my mind. Even though this story doesn’t get too crazy on the golfing aspect, it is consistent throughout the story, which was something that I enjoyed. The only thing I didn’t really understand though was the blatant racism towards Native Americans. I guess I just grew up in an area where we didn’t have such distaste for other ethnicities. I could understand Ryan’s best friend Seth’s hatred towards Fred since she took his spot on the team, heck maybe even Ryan’s on and off again girlfriend getting territorial but it seemed like everyone on the team were throwing around racial insults.

I really enjoyed Fred’s character. She is a hard working girl who is very passionate about golf. She spends a lot of time at the range where her father works as the grounds keeper and has learned by watching those around her, how to golf. So when the coach of the high school golf team begs her to join, it’s safe to say that she’s pretty ecstatic. Even though her teammates are less than welcoming to her, she sticks it out and puts all of her heart into the sport. Sure there were a couple of times where she was ready to throw in the towel but she stuck with it.

Ryan wasn’t my favorite character. He let peer pressure mess with his head. He went along with his friends to bully others and seemed to stick his nose up at everyone. Even after he started to befriend Fred, I still wasn’t convinced and sure enough he would let his friends get in his head and would do something stupid. It’s not that I hated the guy. He did redeem himself some at the end, but I was rooting for Sam. Sam is another kid from the Rez who always seemed to have Fred’s back. He walked with her during school and would stop by the house to hang out. He seemed like a sweet kid who had feelings for Fred but of course Fred was too wrapped up in Ryan to care.

I loved that golf played a huge part in the story and for someone who isn’t a golf fan, that’s saying a lot. I loved the closeness of everyone on the Rez. They seemed to really look out for each other and were like a huge family. I’m really excited that the next book is about Sam and Ryan’s younger sister Riley. I guess I’m just a Sam girl.

“Hold on to what is good, even is if is a handful of earth. Hold on to what you believe, even if it is a tree which stands by itself. Hold on to what you must do, even if it is a long way from here. Hold on to life, even when it is easier letting go. Hold on to my hand, even when I have gone away from you.” -Pueblo Blessing