Synopsis
When Native American Fredricka ‘Fred’ Oday is invited to become the only girl on the school’s golf team, she can’t say no. This is an opportunity to shine, win a scholarship and go to university, something no one in her family has done.
But Fred’s presence on the team isn’t exactly welcome — especially not to rich golden boy Ryan Berenger, whose best friend was kicked off the team to make a spot for Fred.
But there’s no denying that things are happening between the girl with the killer swing and the boy with the killer smile…
GET HOOKED ON A GIRL NAMED FRED.
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My Review
All Fred Oday wants to do is play golf. It gets her away from her house and into a zone for a few hours. When she’s spotted by her high school coach for the golf team and he offers her a place, she accepts. Little does she know, someone is going to get kicked off for her to take his place and that someone is Seth, Ryan’s best friend.
Ryan Berenger isn’t happy at all that his friend got kicked off the team in favour for a girl, but the more he sees Fred play golf and the more time they spend together, it’s clear that she’s more than amazing at golf and there’s no denying that something is happening between them, something neither of them saw coming.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Writing about two characters from completely different sides of the woods yet they have many things in common from their dysfunctional families to their love of Golf. I never thought I’d ever read a YA about golf, especially a girl being consumed by the sport but I really loved reading about the sport, as I’m not a massive golf fan at all, but Liz made it seem so interesting that I couldn’t put the book down. The alternating POV’s truly made the story come alive as well, getting an insight into both Ryan and Fred’s thoughts and feelings about one another; their voices were prominent and I felt connected to both of the characters. I also loved the Indian culture in this book. In a way, this book reminded me of Shut Up and Kiss Me by Christie Craig with the Indian culture and it made me really interested in learning more about the culture.
Fredricka – or Fred as she’d rather be called is from the Rez, the Indian community where they are all a close knit family. She practices golf every day as it’s a way out from being at home where her mum drinks all the time. She’s never had any golfing lessons, she self-taught herself but anyone who watches her can see she is amazing, and that’s actually what Coach says about her. So much so, he offers her a place on the golf team – but little does she know that someone has to be kicked off in order for her to have a place. As much as being petrified that she’s the only girl on the team, all she wants to do is play golf, and that’s exactly what she does.
I found her to be a strong girl, especially when comments were being passed about her but she held her ground and tried not to let them get to her. She was also confused over liking Ryan but in a way, it seemed to be her destiny to be with him. That’s how I thought about it anyway. Being the only girl on the team especially with her being from a different culture to them, the boys just didn’t know how to act or what to say, but it seemed once they got used to her and began winning they began to see her as a teammate and not the ‘Indian girl’ on a boys golf team. I loved watching her overcome all the obstacles that were placed in her way until she finally found herself, her true self and it genuinely made me happy that everything was coming into place.
Ryan is the popular kid at school. He’s the top golfer on the team and goes to all the parties. When his friend Seth, is kicked off the golf team in favour of Fred, Seth isn’t happy at all, and plans his revenge to get her kicked off. You can instantly see that although Ryan isn’t happy that a girl is on team and replaced Seth, he isn’t happy about being involved in the revenge at all. Throughout the book you see Ryan grow up and become into himself. You can see he’s conflicted about Fred. He’s gone from never seeing her around to seeing her everywhere he goes and he’s confused over his feelings for her. Getting to know her, it’s obvious that he really likes her but people keep messing with his head and getting in the way of them being together properly.
I loved his chapters when Seth was being batshit crazy over Fred and Ryan was there to beat him down – it showed his true feelings for Fred and I just loved him for that. He’s not without his douchery, but he does condone himself and tries to fix everything he’s done wrong. It really does make him think about himself and how he doesn’t want to be like everyone else – at least that is what I got from his character. Whether you feel that too, well, you’ll have to read it and analyse him yourself.
Their journey is not without struggles but throughout their diversions – when they are apart – it seems that neither of them can catch a break. Revenge from Seth was delivered plenty of times, Gwyneth completely got on my nerves with her lying and jealousy and everything that should have been an easy road for Ryan and Fred was just blown up because of the drama caused by people who were happy at all about an ‘Indian chick’ changing everything. But I did like the ending, as I do with many books. Everything seemed to work out perfectly, even if everything wasn’t completely worked out – Seth – but they overcame everything thrown at them, and I was grateful that Liz let them catch a break.
This book is more than just a romance, sporty book – it’s about fighting for your dream, no matter how hard it may be and also overcoming your stereotype – changing people’s perceptions of you. As a Native American, Fred is used to all sorts of comments thrown her way but she tries to be strong and ignore them, never forgetting her roots and never being embarrassed about them. She is proud of where she’s from and who she is. It was great to see a character embracing her culture and never forgetting it. It shows how wrong it is to discriminate against other people when you don’t even know them.
This book is out on the 1st February and I would like to thank NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book. I’m going to be super cheesy now but it definitely had me ‘Hooked’ right until the end. Make sure to grab your copy when it comes out. As I’ve said, I’m not a fan of golf but added with the drama and romance, the Indian blessings and prayers and you’ve got yourself a great book!
Z. Elizabeth 