Cross Check

Jamieson’s clumsy tale of love and hockey involves Bayard College Bears hockey superstar Ben Buckingham and sophomore Ella Verran, who’s on academic probation. Their respective best friends are a couple, so Ben and Ella see each other often—much more often than they’d like. Despite having no legitimate reason to antagonize each other, they just rub each other the wrong way. But all it takes is a single brief pause in the judgmental verbal swipes for lips to touch and passion to melt the ice between them. As they both share their dysfunctional, complicated family histories, their connection grows. Jamieson fills out a slender plot with a cast of generally benign characters, scenes from Bayard’s hockey games, and a dialogue-laden narrative that boomerangs from one topic to another. Unfortunately, many of those topics—including mental illness, suicide, and rape culture—deserve more than the superficial treatment they get here. Emily Sylvan Kim, Prospect Agency. (July)