Middle Grade book review: Sugar and Ice by Kate Messner
Reading level: Ages 9-12 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers (December 7, 2010) Summary: For Claire Boucher, life is all about skating on the frozen cow pond and in the annual Maple Show right before the big pancake breakfast on her family's farm. But all that changes when Russian skating coach Andrei Grosheva offers Claire a scholarship to train with the elite in Lake Placid. Tossed into a world of mean girls on ice, where competition is everything, Claire realizes that her sweet dream come true has sharper edges than she could have imagined. Can she find the strength to stand up to the people who want to see her fail and the courage to decide which dream she wants to follow? Our review: The protagonist in Sugar and Ice is Claire Boucher, 13, has a passion for ice skating, but also a love for her family and their maple syrup farm. She is afraid of skating in front of judges so her skating is more of a beloved hobby she does on a frozen pond. U