In her early 20s, Leigh Mackenzie was one of the best women’s hockey players and had aspirations of playing in the Olympics. After not making the US Olympic team, she abandoned hockey, and her best friend/teammate Suzy, altogether. Twenty years later, a job opportunity sees Leigh and her family returning to Minnesota, from Florida, where she is thrust back into the world of competitive youth hockey, and reunited with Suzy and Jeff, a former coach with whom she has a history, as her son pursues the sport.

𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘖𝘳 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘺 is told in dual timelines - the slightly future present, beginning in May 2022, and the past where we learn more of the history between Leigh and Jeff and what ultimately led to her giving up the sport. The present timeline is very heavily focused on hockey – trials, practices, tournaments – and at times was a bit too much for me. Fans of hockey and those familiar with competitive sports will definitely find this book relatable. However, I was more interested in how Leigh’s history with her former coach played out and the implications it would have for both of them once revealed. Unfortunately, I feel that this part of the plot took a backseat to the hockey and was wrapped up a little too neatly.

Overall, I liked this one, but I didn’t love it.

Thank you to @berkleypub and @netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘖𝘳 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘺 for review. I look forward to reading more from Kathleen West in the future.

If you see this book and book blurb and say, "I'm not a hockey fan, its not for me" I want you to stop and think again. This book may be set in the youth hockey world and have a lot of hockey in it but it is so much more than a "hockey book". So if you enjoy books about friendships, reckoning with complex pasts, family and secrets that happen to be set in a hockey setting then pick this one up.

Leigh is a complex character who may not always be likable but you know from the jump that she has had a complicated road. Having walked away from the sport she had dedicated her life to changed her years ago. Now, returning to her hometown her past is waiting for her. After all these years is she ready to face it head on?

One person from her past that she ran from is her former teammate and best friend, Susy. Susy is a key player as a coach in the youth hockey program. Both women are uncertain how to pick up where they left off and most on from the past. Susy and other hockey parents quickly welcome Leigh's husband, Charlie and he becomes a part of the hockey community in short order. Charlie was around when Leigh left hockey but never really knew the full story.

My favorite character of the book was Leigh's son, Gus. A big part of their return to Minnesota is to provide Gus with chance to grow and develop his hockey skills in the state of hockey. He seems to be the most level-headed character that we heard from in the chapters and I found his a breathe of fresh air when the adults were making questionable decisions :)

Home or Away tells the story of Leigh who's dream to be an Olympian is stolen from her. A manipulative coach preyed on her vulnerability and destroys her love for women's hockey.

Many years later, Leigh's son adopts the game and she comes face-to-face with the "why" she walked away from her team, friends and hometown. Leigh's left with two choices, help her son and continue to hide the horrendous behavior of someone she trusted or share the truth that could destroy her family.

Home or Away is ripped from the headlines in the sports world. West has blended hockey and a family saga to deliver a powerful portrayal of being a victim of predators in the locker room.

Thank you Berkley Publishing for the complimentary copy.

Home or Away was a way for me to step out of my preferred genre box and make sure I don't succumb to thriller burnout (anything but that). Leigh has built a happy life with her husband Charlie and their son Gus in Tampa Bay. So, what would make her want to move back to her hometown, Liston Heights in Minnesota? After all, when Leigh’s hockey dreams didn't work out, she hung up her skates and never looked back. She could not have predicted that her son would be a natural on the ice. As a parent, she wants him to have every opportunity to get the best training, and Florida is not Minnesota. Of course, there was a reason Leigh’s dream of making the Olympic team didn't come true, and it made her cut ties with anyone who knew the truth. We find out what happened, how it changed her life, and if she can outrun secrets from her past.

I don't want to give too much away but Leigh made some questionable decisions when she was young. One of her coaches preyed on her emotions and trust and her involvement with him had a profound impact on her life. Now he is heavily involved with youth hockey and to Leigh, this means that he has the power to impact her son’s hopes and dreams. Does Leigh make some other questionable choices now? Yes, she does but I suppose her character like any of us makes what seems to be the best choice at the time.

A lot happens in Home or Away with Leigh facing her past, reconnecting with old friends, wanting only the best for Gus, and winding up in a place where she could lose the life she has built and loves. For me, since I've never really been a fan of the sport it was a bit heavy on hockey. Seems like a silly thing to mention considering the book description talks about hockey, but I did want to say it didn’t impact my enjoyment of discovering who these characters were and who they might become. In the end, I was hoping that everything would be resolved for Leigh, Charlie, and Gus.
I should mention that Charlie was a great father and husband, Susy was a friend I would like to have, and coach Jeff, well he could go far, far away in my opinion!

Hockey + Me Too + Non-traditional Gender Roles = Home or Away by Kathleen West

This contemporary novel centers around hockey: Minnesota hockey, high-stakes kids hockey, Olympic hockey. But readers don't have to understand (or care about) hockey to appreciate the story.

I was pulled in by the exploration of a marriage with non-traditional gender roles, a friendship between fiercely competitive women, the Midwestern setting, a smarmy Me Too offender, and the ways people define their lives by a single achievement (or lack thereof). I appreciated the writing style and the slow-but-steady climb to the plot's peak. For a time I was concerned where the story was going, but I liked the novel's ending.

After reading Leigh, Charlie, Gus, and Suzy's story, I enjoyed an interview with Ms. West which aired as the March 29, 2022 episode of the Thoughts From a Page podcast.

Thank you to Berkley Books and NetGalley for the review copy of this novel.

Normally a contemporary fiction book about hockey wouldn't be on my radar, but my local library challenge included reading a book about sports and when I saw this new novel by Kathleen West I knew it would be a good choice. I'm so glad I expanded my horizons. This book provides multiple points of view and takes place in two timelines: present day and twenty(ish) years ago. In the flashbacks we see the time period leading up to the 2001 Olympic trials which led to Leigh walking away from hockey for good. In the present timeline, Leigh and her family have moved from Florida back to her home-town in Minnesota. She's now an investment banker working long hours while her writer husband runs the household. Their son plays hockey and is thrown into the deep with Minnesota hockey culture. The characters are complex and the story had layers to it. I felt totally immersed in this world and read the last chunk of the book in one sitting.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for the electronic copy.

Thank you so Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC of this awesome Kathleen West book. I loved everything about this book. Leigh and Susy were BFFs both determined to make the 2002 Women's Hockey Olympic Team. They are determined to get there with hard work and skill until Leigh makes a decision that ends up keeping her off the roster for the Olympic games. Leigh vows to never play hockey again, while Susy goes on to medal in the 2002 Olympics.

Flashforward 20 years and Leigh's son is a rising hockey star and she's moved back to her hometown both for her career, but also for the best hockey training her son could have. As Susy as her son's coach and one of Leigh's own former coaches a big part of the league as well, Leigh feels her past coming back and everything she's spent the last 20 years buried deep inside her.

I really loved this book and would say it's been my favorite Kathleen West book yet! I had no idea how competitive the world of kid's sports was.

𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗬 may revolve around the high stakes world of youth hockey in Minnesota but it's really about the complex relationships between a husband and wife, two former best friends, parents and their kids, and athletes and their coaches.

I'm not a hockey fan and don't know much about the sport so it's a testament to Kathleen West's fantastic storytelling that I was completely sucked into this book. It's hard to give up on a dream, whether it's success in elite sports, pursuing a profession, or finding love, and 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝘆 explores the aftermath of failure, diving into the gray areas that other books make black and white like how far is too far to go to get what you want and the #MeToo movement. I appreciated that none of the characters were perfect and each one of their choices impacted the others in ways they might never know. Secrets, betrayals, competition, envy... this page-turner of a novel has it all and I'm so excited to discuss it tonight with the #BerkleyBuddyReads crew.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing for the copy to review.

I feel like watching a hockey game now! I really enjoyed this book of friendship, a big secret, ambition, broken dreams and new ones, and hockey! This was a great book that Inreally enjoyed.

As is the case with all great sports books, Home or Away is about much more than sports. Leigh, a female former ice hockey star, played for Team USA and won World Championship accolades, but just missed making the 2002 Olympic team, while her best friend (Susy) made it. When Leigh returns to her Minnesota hometown, her past awaits her amid the elite Youth hockey scene where her son will start playing. The complicated relationship dynamics are what makes this story shine and avoid warmed-over territory: the impact on a friendship when one makes the team and the other one doesn't, person who doesn't make it's recovery, and how the personality traits that make an athlete great can cause discord in relationships outside of sports. All this on top of the story of a marriage and the intensity of elite Youth sports.

As teenagers, Leigh and Susy shared the same dream- to be Olympic gold medalists in women’s hockey. Desperate to make the team, Leigh desperately enters into a relationship with her coach to ensure she’ll snag a spot. Only her plan backfires, leaving Leigh not only out of Olympic running, but out of the sport- forever.

Years later, while Susy has made a career as a successful coach, Leigh has lived life on the literal sidelines- grooming her son to fulfill the dreams she never did. So when a job opportunity opens up in her old hometown, Leigh uproots her family and moves “home” to Minnesota. Back in the ultra competitive world of hockey, Leigh’s son is no longer the big fish in a little pond. Before long, Leigh finds history repeating itself as she clamors to hold on to the dream she lost all those years ago.

Familiarity with the sport is a bonus, though not necessary, to enjoy Home or Away. In fact, any experience with overzealous parenting or poor sportsmanship might be just enough to make this story relatable. Sports knowledge and parenting skills aside, I had a hard time connecting with Leigh’s character who kept making one poor decision after another. While it was easy to write off flashback Leigh’s actions, I wanted her to be held to her grown up decisions more in the present. Without this depth, Home or Away instead ended up just skating the surface.

Synopsis: Leigh and Susy used to be friends when they were playing hockey. After not making the Olympic Hockey team, Leigh leaves hockey, and Susy behind. Now Leigh has returned to her hometown where Susy is now a hockey coach. Leigh’s son, Gus, wants to make the A team, the hockey team Susy coaches. Leigh has an old contact, Jeff Carlson, who used to be on the Olympic team coaching staff, who she meets up with to get Gus on the A team. But Jeff and Leigh have a history that threatens to repeat itself-a history that Leigh’s husband knows nothing about and one that threatens her marriage, and her friendship.
What I liked about Home or Away:
-The female encouragement: Susy wants Leigh to help her coach a girls hockey team, she seems to have moved on from twenty years ago and is trying to re-establish the friendship she and Leigh used to have.
-The role of the dad, Charlie, in this book. Leigh’s husband, Charlie, is a writer who leaves his job as an assistant manager in a bookstore in Tampa to follow Leigh to her new job in Minnesota, and he is the primary caretaker for their son, Gus.
-The friendship between Gus and Susy’s daughter, Georgie. Georgie is just a great character-she’s strong, but she’s also caring. She’s a girl in a predominantly male sport, but she fits right in.
What I didn’t like about Home or Away:
For me, there was a lot of hockey. A lot of hockey. At times it distracted me from the story because hockey overwhelmed the storyline.
The friendship between Charlie and Susy-Ms. West set these characters up multiple times to be in situations just the two of them. They met in bars to have a drink, sometimes with another dad, but occasionally by themselves. And they were running partners, which in itself is fine, if the spouse is not a runner, but Leigh was running with her friend Nicole. As a runner myself, I thought this pairing was odd and just done so that the reader would be primed for a cheating scene.
Overall, this book was good. I did enjoy learning about hockey. I have two boys myself, who didn’t play hockey, but it seems that kids sports, whatever the sport, has the same type of competitive dynamics.
Thank you to #netgalley and #berkley for the advanced copy of #homeoraway.

I received a gifted galley of HOME OR AWAY by Kathleen West for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

HOME OR AWAY is set in the world of hockey. Leigh was once a rising star and an Olympic hopeful in the sport, but she completely left it all behind when she didn’t make the roster. This meant also leaving behind her hometown and her best friend Susy who did make the team. In the present day, Leigh’s son has taken up hockey himself and she and her husband have moved back to give their son his best shot at playing in the big leagues as well. Leigh must face the demons of her past and the secrets of the present in order to make this move for her son.

This is a book for the hockey fans and those who enjoy complicated characters. I have a good friend who is a big hockey fan, so I have sat rinkside many times in the past and always keep an ear out for Kings news so it was fun to visit the world of hockey. The sport is definitely prevalent in the story, but the real drama is definitely more in between characters. I appreciated the switching POV and alternating timelines which gave a more complete picture of all that was going on.

Kathleen West is good at writing messy characters. They will frustrate you at times and they will also pull at your heart. This book tackles some serious issues in the relationship between Leigh and her coach, much like the well publicized scandals in the world of gymnastics. The aftereffects of this permeate the hockey world, the relationships Leigh has with her friends, her husband, and their family. I really wanted Leigh to open her eyes to the truth of her past a bit faster and to communicate a bit better, but I also could understand her reluctance to do so.

HOME OR AWAY came out on Tuesday, so it is available now!

Ice hockey player Leigh once had her Olympic dreams shattered, while her best friend Susy made the cut. Now Leigh, an investment banker married to writer Charlie, returns to Minnesota from Tampa so their nine-year-old son, Gus, can gain experience playing in a competitive league.
This risky decision takes Leigh back to where everything went wrong, and throws her back into the orbit of her former best friend as well as Jeff, the assistant coach who let her down.
It was easy to get invested in this story about a family’s mission to get Gus into the A-team but I couldn’t help but feel sad about how pressured the sport was for the kids, who at that age should just be out on the ice learning some skills and teamwork while having fun.

Home or Away is the story of a former star hockey player who moves her family back to Minnesota so her son can play competitive youth hockey. The stress of tryouts and playing time and the dynamics of the team parents are all so perfect. And mixed in with the snarky commentary on the nutsiness of youth sports, is an incredibly timely and raw storyline of sexual assault and the long lasting effects. The characters are all complex, honest and so well defined. The issues the characters faced are not black and white and I loved the way that it could have gone either way and the struggles of the characters are on full display, showing that nothing is easy, nothing is glossed over and nothing is perfect. Life is messy and this book is honest about that. I have loved all of Kathleen West’s books and her take on mom life and this book is no exception.

From my blog: Always With a Book

This is the first book I’ve read by Kathleen West and if all her books are as enjoyable as this one, it will most definitely not be the last. This was another early read that I got thanks to being a Patreon member of the Thoughts from a Page Podcast and even though I had to miss the book discussion and author chat due to personal reasons, I really am glad I had the opportunity to read the book.

Even though this is not the first story I’ve read about elite athletes, it still had a unique angle to it, so I didn’t feel that it was the same old story. Yes, it does tackle that taboo subject that we have all heard about time and time again, but what I loved here, and I felt is the strongest part of this story, is the complex character relationships that the author takes the time to create. That is really the driving force behind this story and what kept me flipping these pages.

I loved how the story moves back and forth in time, from the present to the past, slowly filling in the blanks as to what really happened to cause Leigh to walk away from hockey all those years ago. And yet, her son is now playing and even though she has moved back to her hometown, she is still keeping an arm’s length from the sport. Why?

I loved how this book really gave you pause here because the actions that characters took weren’t necessarily black or white. You could see how they came to their decisions and I really felt for Leigh as she struggled with the choices she made. While I might not have agreed with all her actions, I did feel this had an authentic feel to the story.

This book may be heavily concentrated on hockey, but I have to say even though I don’t know much about the sport, and I didn’t play competitive sports nor do I have kids, I still really enjoyed this book. I think it’s one that can be read by anyone and appreciated by a wide variety of readers.

Home or Away by Kathleen West is a fictional contemporary novel with a touch of drama woven into the story. The story in Home or Away is one that takes place in two timelines with a present time and going back to twenty years before and also by changing the point of view between the characters.

Leigh had once had Olympic dreams playing hockey but her dream vanished twenty years ago. Instead of competing on the Olympic team Leigh had married her boyfriend and has gone on to have twenty years of marriage together and a son they both love.

Leigh had told herself that she would not ever let her son get to know hockey or play the sport but that vow had gone out the window when a family member gave him toddler skates. Now Leigh and her husband have packed up their Florida home and moved back to Minnesota to give their son his best shot at competitive hockey but Leigh must face her past now that she’s home.

The first thing I noticed when picking up Home or Away by Kathleen West is that it was very hockey heavy which I’m not sure if readers of a contemporary family story would love. In a way this one reminded me of Mighty Ducks with the young boy trying to make the hockey team but underneath that side of the story was the main characters Leigh confronting demons from her past which did get engaging to see how it would all turn out. To me it all wrapped up rather quickly after spending so much time in the ice rink which left me rating this one at three and a half stars.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

What would you do for a chance at achieving your dream? What lengths would you go to keep your past mistakes a secret?

HOME OR AWAY centers around former best friends Susy and Leigh who once chased after their Olympic dreams. Leigh is left reeling when her dreams are cut short after she sacrificed everything for a spot on the women’s olympic hockey team. Decades later, the story follows their lives and children as they chase new dreams.

What I appreciated most about the novel was the nuance in which the #metoo movement was explored. It considered the more subtle exploitation of women by men who are in a position of power/influence. Additionally, I enjoyed the way gender roles and marital expectations were touched on.

I grew up playing competitive basketball in highschool/college and aspects of youth sports resonated deeply with me. The social commentary on the intensity and pressure placed on children at a young age was fascinating.

My appreciation for the story was deepend with an author chat with Kathleen hosted by @thoughtsfromapage podcast. Her background as a collegiate athlete and experience as a current hockey mom brought authenticity and depth to her novel.

Overall, I loved the questions raised about what constitutes a home, family, and ultimately a well-balanced life.

RATING: 4/5
PUB DATE: March 29, 2022

A big thank you to Berkley, Thoughts From a Page podcast and Kathleen West for an ARC and the author discussion in exchange for an honest review.

#HomeOrAway #KathleenWest #BerkleyBooks #ThoughtsFromAPage

Home or Away is a book about the intersection of friendship, marriage, and youth hockey. Leigh and Susy used to be best friends, until Susy made the Olympic Women’s Hockey team and Leigh did not. After that, Leigh left her hockey career behind, got married, had a child, and moved away from her home in Minnesota. But when Leigh and her family move back, she comes back into contact with a former coach, with whom she has a history. Leigh and her husband try to focus their attention on getting their son into the premier hockey league, but things are never quite as simple as they seem.

I really enjoyed the notes of women’s empowerment woven throughout the book - from both a life perspective and a sports perspective. The friendship between Leigh’s son and Susy’s daughter was heartwarming and both of them were very self-aware considering their age.

The book put a spotlight on the flaws of youth sports, in particular how competitive it is and what that does to the parents. The book also raises the question of how far will one go to further their own career, or to help their kids be successful. Many of the characters do some fairly unlikeable things all in the name of their children.

Overall I enjoyed reading this character based story, and would recommend it to those who enjoy complex friendships/marriages.

This book keeps getting better the longer I sit with it. I really liked the focus on the competitive world of women's sports and the dynamics between coaches and players, as well as tackling kids sports today and how it has changed from when the main characters (and myself) were kids. My husband played hockey growing up and this brought back memories of attending some of his games, along with the holes he left in his basement walls.

The novel centers on Leigh and Susy, who were BFFs and both trying to make the 2002 Women's Hockey Olympic team. Susy makes it, but Leigh doesn't and after these tryouts Leigh leaves the world of hockey behind. Until decades later when Leigh's own son wants to improve his hockey chances so the family moves back to Leigh's hometown in Minnesota.

I liked the mix of hockey and family along with tough choices people make, both for themselves and for their family. This story is told from multiple points of view and I think that really improved the investment and understanding I had of all of the choices each character makes. I am personally not a fan of when a big plot point is lying/omitting and hoping to not have the past resurface, especially when you move back to the town and become part of the same tight-knit community where all the events originally occurred. But it made for some good tension throughout the book.

Overall a good read about family drama and sports, and how the past can shape choices far into the future.