Eyes on the Ice
Eyes on the Ice
Most nights, as soon as dinner is over, my mother lets us go outside alone for an hour or two as long as we all promise to stay together. We always head to the rink, even if we’ve already skated in the late afternoon. Andrej goes to bed early. He started playing at a real hockey arena a year ago, but his practices begin before the sun comes up, so at school he always looks like he needs an extra hour of sleep. Denys and I would love to train at an arena, too, but we can’t ask our parents for money they don’t have.
Since the outdoor rink closes at six o’clock, we have to climb over a tall fence to skate, boosting Alex first. If the wind is still, it’s quiet in the park, the sound of passing cars disappearing into the snow and spruce trees around us. Occasionally we see other boys, but the ice is usually empty after dark because the light from the street is so dim. Denys and I circle each other and take turns holding Alexander’s hand.
My mother worries the three of us will be caught hopping the fence one day, but people rarely look at us twice.
Besides, we are too fast. No one can catch us. My brothers and I, we run like the wind, and soon we’ll skate just as fast, even on the tattered skates we all wear. Denys blades are jagged, almost loose, but he still manages to glide easily, using his strong shoulders to stay on his feet. My parents are hoping someone will offer him another second-hand pair soon. Buying new skates is impossible. No one has enough money for such luxuries.
Lukas loves hockey, and, at age 10, it should be the only thing he’s thinking about. However, the year is 1963, and Lukas’s family lives in Czechoslovakia. With the Communist regime paying close attention to his family’s every move, Lukas and his brother spend as much time trying to follow the rules as they do on the ice. When their father is imprisoned, the boys are given what they believe is an opportunity to help— lose an upcoming tournament against Russia and their father will be safe. When they see their father again, though, they learn that this isn’t entirely true and that the only way for their family to stay safely together is to escape.
One of my favourite things in fiction is what I refer to as “sneaky teaching” where the author seamlessly integrates facts into the narrative and the reader walks away knowing just a little bit more about some activity, person, or world event. Rosner does this very well, giving the basic information needed to understand the historical context without losing the thread of the story. Readers will learn about the historical setting not through dry passages that feel like history textbooks but through the eyes of the young narrator who describes the world around him.
The narrator, Lukas, often felt older than ten. His internal monologue reflected a balance of maturity and childishness; all he really wanted to do was play hockey with his brothers and friends, but he was very aware of the external factors in the way: poor equipment, no money for ice time, and the secret police watching his every move. Through the course of the story, Lukas finds himself in a number of situations where he has to make quick decisions based not necessarily on what the adults in his life are telling him but on what he believes to be the best move to keep himself and his family safe.
One thing to note is that the blurb on the back of the advance reading copy I had made it seem like the big tournament against a visiting Soviet team was going to be a much more significant and drawn-out part of the book. I went into reading Eyes on the Ice thinking that the entire plot was leading up to this big game, but, after reading it, I would say that what comes after the game is actually more significant. That might be worth mentioning to anyone looking to read this specifically for the hockey plot.
Eyes on the Ice is a tricky book to place into any of my usual subcategories for recommendation—it’s historical fiction, obviously, but it isn’t really a war story or a sports story. It’s more of a fictional memoir. Fans of Alan Gratz or John Boyne immediately come to mind as those who might enjoy it, although the writing here is much simpler and probably for a younger demographic.
Allison Giggey is a teacher-librarian at an intermediate school in Prince Edward Island.