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		Book Review - Open Ice Reprinted from March 2006 Issue -by MARSHA BATES Written by Pat Hughes, c2005, Wendy Lamb Books, Random House, NY, 271 pages. Nick Taglio is a sixteen-year-old hockey superstar, a sport he’s loved since he began skating at age five. When Nick suffers yet another severe concussion and ends up in the hospital, his doctor warns Nick’s parents that it’s too dangerous for him to play hockey any more. To Nick’s horror, his parents agree with Dr. Blakeman. Nick tries to deny how badly he’s hurt, but his recurring dizziness, headaches and inability to concentrate on his schoolwork tell another story. Soon Nick’s denial turns to self-pity and his former teammates, family and even his girlfriend, Devin, become targets for his resentment. One by one his friends drift away, alienated by Nick’s abusive anger until he’s sunk so deeply in the morass of self-pity, even his parents and brother, Brian withdraw from his volatile eruptions. One night while Nick is babysitting his baby brother, he gets drunk and makes a foolish mistake that could have had fatal consequences for baby, Rocky. Nick has reached bottom. His family is furious with him, he’s hopelessly behind in school, ditched by his shallow girlfriend and isolated from everything he once loved. Nick’s slow physical recuperation allows him to regroup and begin to make amends. He now understands why his parents want to protect him and why his former teammates worry about their own safety on the ice. He accepts the help of a tutor to get his backlog of assignments under control and tries to make peace with his former teammates and friends. Whether Nick will ever play hockey again is not revealed in the story. We only know that he still desperately misses it, but has accepted that his life might take another direction. Pat Hughes realistically portrays an athlete whose brain injury could be life altering and how a teen who’s always been at the top of his game suddenly finds himself struggling to cope with disappointment and grief for his lost abilities. This book is recommended for older teens in grades 9-12 due to some language and sexual situations. It can be found at your local library. Reviewed by Marsha Bates, employee of the Kennewick Branch of the Mid-Columbia Library System.