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About We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel
Product Description "We Ride Upon Sticks . . . is for the kind of adults who watch Stranger Things and still have, somewhere, an athletic award inscribed on a paper plate." —NPR **NPR “Best Books of 2020****TIME “Must Read Books of 2020”****Book Riot "Best Books of 2020**** Literary Hub "Our 65 Favorite Books of 2020** Acclaimed novelist Quan Barry delivers a tour de female force in this delightful novel. Set in the coastal town of Danvers, Massachusetts, where the accusations began that led to the 1692 witch trials, We Ride Upon Sticks follows the 1989 Danvers High School Falcons field hockey team, who will do anything to make it to the state finals—even if it means tapping into some devilishly dark powers. In chapters dense with 1980s iconography—from Heathers to "big hair"—Barry expertly weaves together the individual and collective progress of this enchanted team as they storm their way through an unforgettable season. Helmed by good-girl captain Abby Putnam (a descendant of the infamous Salem accuser Ann Putnam) and her co-captain Jen Fiorenza (whose bleached blond “Claw” sees and knows all), the Falcons prove to be wily, original, and bold, flaunting society's stale notions of femininity in order to find their glorious true selves through the crucible of team sport and, more importantly, friendship. From School Library Journal The Danvers High School Girls Field Hockey team's losing streak turns around after they make a dark pledge of amateur witchcraft. Using the pronoun "we," Barry tells this story from the perspective of all of the girls, making the reader feel like one of the team. VERDICT Set in the 1980s, Barry's unique historical novel is full of wit, uplifting friendships, and riveting field hockey games.—Elliot Riley, Deerfield Academy, MA Review “In the great chasm that is 2020, this book was a huge bright spot for me . . . This was the shake-up and downright weird and nerdy book that put my reading back on track while quarantined.” — Cassie Gutman, Book Riot (“Best Books of 2020”) “Psst. Hey you. Yeah, you. If you’re looking for a good time, call . . . your local bookstore and ask them to set aside a copy of Quan Barry’s We Ride Upon Sticks with your name on it. This novel, in which a high school field hockey team turns to the dark side (well, sort of) via a pledge penned in purple in an Emilio Estevez notebook (it’s the 80s), is almost too much fun to be allowed. I haven’t snickered so much reading a novel since I was a kid, but it’s not just slapstick, or the pure goofiness of the time period—the pleasure comes from Barry’s ludicrous, masterful sentences as much as it does from her ludicrous, over-the-top characters. Truly a delight in every way.” —Emily Temple, Lit Hub Senior Editor “An absolute gift—a genuinely funny page turner with enough heart to win any championship.” —Jolie Myers, NPR“[A] delightful, pop culture-packed novel . . . In revealing the team members’ individual histories, the book becomes more than just a story of field hockey and witchcraft—it’s an energetic and original examination of young people wrestling with all the complicated parts of growing up.” —TIME “This is a novel by a poet and it rules . . . The prose style is neon and the laughs do not stop. I feel like the author wrote the entire book with an evil grin on her face.” — Molly Young, Vulture “Packed with the ’80s flare of Stranger Things.” —Sabienna Bowman, PopSugar “The book takes on the task of crafting compelling characters out of eleven protagonists, and succeeds in spades. [A] delightful narrative mosaic . . . Barry is a skilled storyteller and sentence artist who embraces irreverence where irreverence is due . . . As the story wind-sprints toward its deeply gratifying ending, one can’t help but grab a stick and hold on.” —Sarah Neilson, Minneapolis Star Tribune “Spellbinding, wickedly fun . . . Each sentence fizzes like a just-opened bottle of New Coke.” — O, The Oprah Magazine “Riotously e
