Reviews

Kind of like watching a train head toward a broken bridge. You can see the crash coming, but there's nothing you can do to stop it. The book is terribly sad and made me rethink my own enthusiasm for hockey fights.

sherwood's review against another edition

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3.0

The lasting impact of this story was squashed into an epilogue

cruelsummers's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.75

must read for everyone who loves the sport; about a man who lived and died for the sport. very well written, devastating and eye opening. with the contribution of derek’s family. my heart hurts for them, and for derek. may he rest in peace.

abbyhays's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.5

Content Warnings

lilymaxine's review against another edition

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5.0

this book broke my heart. sweet derek, who loved kids and interacting with his community. big lovable derek, who had to have extra strips of fabric sewn on to his jerseys because they were too small for his 6’8 frame. a kind, shy, polite boy who didn’t deserve what life gave him. his story is horrible, but knowing he was such an endearing person makes it that much worse. i’ll be thinking about this book for a very long time, and most definitely everytime i watch a hockey game.

kateleos's review against another edition

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4.0

Heartbreaking and infuriating. Branch's writing is so incredibly effective, particularly the last dread-filled march through the beginning of 2011. An important and affecting read for fans of any sport.

jeffy_spaghetti's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

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