Check, Please!, Book 2

March 15, 2020
A college hockey player copes with school and the challenges of a secret long-distance relationship. The effervescent Eric "Bitty" Bittle returns in this sequel to Check Please! #Hockey (2018). Many of Bitty's closest friends have graduated, and he finds himself getting to know (and baking for) a new crop of ice hockey teammates. He also has the difficult task of maintaining his secret relationship with former teammate Jack Zimmerman. Jack is now in the spotlight playing for the Falconers, a professional team, and Bitty struggles to keep up the facade that he and Jack are simply best friends. In addition to relationship and family issues, Bitty is once again agonizing about life post-graduation. After the Falconers' championship game, it's clear that Jack and Bitty are more than friends, and the couple spends the next year answering questions about being openly gay athletes. Bitty's bighearted personality will have readers cheering for him on and off the ice. The white main characters are surrounded by a lively, diverse cast of characters who defy the conventions of jock culture in their acceptance of Jack and Bitty even as they deal with outsiders who do not. The colorful graphic format is ideal for telling this story, with plenty of action shots. As before, the dialogue is laced with humor and camaraderie. An upbeat story of love and acceptance. (extra comics, tweets) (Graphic fiction. 14-18)

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Starred review from March 15, 2020
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* In some ways, life is the best it's ever been for Eric Bittle, the brand-new, pie-baking, hockey-playing junior at Samwell University. He's figured out his place both on and off the ice, and he's even dating somebody special. But though Bitty is happy, things have been hard: his boyfriend is Jack, former Samwell hockey captain, current professional hockey player, and they've been keeping their relationship a secret for the sake of Jack's career, hiding it even from their own friends. But the pressure is starting to wear on Bitty. In this second and final volume (Check, Please!: #Hockey, 2018), Ukazu follows Bitty through his junior and senior years, capturing his growth, his achievements, and his low points with warmth and humor. The Samwell team remains a near-fantastical haven where toxic masculinity goes to die and hockey is still a driving narrative force. Ukazu excels at drawing action, with whole panels dedicated to a puck's journey across the ice. Bitty's parents, though they love him, are slow to accept his identity, and Ukazu often zeroes in on his baking, which he uses to cope with stress, capturing his hands as he kneads bread dough or cuts pie. Ultimately, though, this is a love story, one with a romance characterized by sweetness and support. Fans new and old won't be ready for it to end.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)