Being Sloane Jacobs

Sloane Emily Jacobs is the pampered daughter of a senator who is expected to really excel at figure skating. Sloane Devon Jacobs is a hockey player from a tough Philadelphia neighborhood who has some anger management issues. Both girls are sent to camps for their respective sports in Montreal. They have a hostile meeting in a hotel, their bags are switched, and they decide to switch places, mistakenly thinking that the others' sport is easier. They find out differently. Not only are both sports physically grueling, but there are mean girls in each, and a lot of competition. Both girls struggle with perfecting a new sport, meet cute boys, and deal with escalating family problems. Is the grass really greener on the other side of the ice?

What a fantastic book! This was just the sort of book a lot of my 8th grade girls want. The cover made me think it would be a sappy romance, but it wasn't at all. I enjoyed the fact that the girls had a lot of other interests other than the boys, but there was a bit of romance as well, and nothing inappropriate. Both girls get to show how difficult their sport is, and there are a ton of good details about both figure skating and ice hockey.

This is a great book for fans of Freitas' Gold Medal Winter, Messner's Sugar and Ice, and Davis' The Boyfriend Game.

When I first heard that this book was "The Parent Trap meets The Cutting Edge" I KNEW I must read it. These are two of my most favorite movies and I have been known to bust out Cutting Edge quotes at any given moment. I was so excited to dive right into this book. I'm so excited that this book met every one of my expectations.

What I loved: If you are looking for a fun, contemporary read look no further. This is it. The two Sloane Jacobs decide to switch places-one heads off for a hockey camp while the other has to learn the fine art of the toe pick at a prestigious figure skating camp. The results are full of funny moments both on and off the ice. I wouldn't peg this one as a "romance" but there is enough of hot hockey player moments to keep us all happy.

I loved reading how both girls had to learn their new sport in just a short amount of time. They manage to fly under the radar and learn new skills on the ice and a lot about themselves off the ice. Sometimes a change of scenery does a person good and both girls end up in a much better place at the end of their crazy journey.

What left me wanting more: Nothing. Just like Morrill's Meant to Be, this was such a delightful read. Contemporary fans won't be disappointed.

Final verdict: If you grew up watching The Parent Trap and The Cutting Edge then you will fall in love with Being Sloane Jacobs.

What I Liked:
Being Sloane Jacobs is every bit as fun and fluffy as Meant to Be, with bonus family drama, pop culture references, and rarely covered (in YA at least) sports.

Being Sloane Jacobs was originally pitched as The Cutting Edge meets The Parent Trap. Now such blah meets blah advertising strategies tend to be a whole bunch of bull hockey (see what I did there?). In this case, though, that description is complete perfection. Considering that I grew up watching both of these things, I was happy as a clam (are clams happy?) from the beginning to the end.

In case you’ve not seen the cinematic gem The Cutting Edge, the basic premise is that a washed up hockey player ends up getting hired to be the partner to a bitchy princess of an ice skater who no actual pairs figure skater is willing to partner anymore. Morrill has taken this and changed it to two heroines: one washed up figure skater and one troubled hockey player. Both of them have lost their mojo at their chosen sport and, for different reasons, have been sent to training camps in Montreal for the summer.

When the two Sloane Jacobses meet by accident in their hotel, they hatch a plan to Parent Trap it up. No, they’re not long lost siblings. However, they’re both sick of their respective lives and want to escape family drama and the pressure of their respective sports. They agree to swap, both assuming that the other sport will be a total breeze compared to her own, in a taunting session that’s so completely The Cutting Edge that I flailed a bit. Of course, in swapping, they learn a lot about themselves and a new respect for another sport. Morrill does a great job with the descriptions of both the figure skating and the hockey, though I think she does the latter particularly well probably thanks to her roller derby experience (lots of hard hits in that sport too).

Both Sloane Emily and Sloane Devon are interesting girls, though I do gravitate a bit more to the hard-edged Sloane Devon. Sloane Emily’s dealing with her Senator father’s recent scandal and her mother’s overbearing attitude. Sloane Devon has a mother in rehab and a desperate need for a scholarship to have any hope of college. The scene stealer of the show, in my opinion, is Andy, a sassy black figure skater who I think is just the best.

In proper Lauren Morrill style, there is, of course, some romance. However, unlike with Meant to Be, the romance is NOT the central theme of the novel. It takes a backseat to sports, friendship and family, in roughly that order. Both girls get a cute boy and, just like in Meant to Be, it’s delightfully realistic and non-HEAish. Morill achieves this perfect balance between swooniness and a sense that the relationships probably won’t last forever.

What Left Me Wanting More:
Obviously, I read an ARC copy, but I did note a couple of things that will hopefully be fixed before the final copy is printed. As I know I’ve seen Ashleigh (The YA Kitten) point out, mention is made of Sloane Devon not having washed her hockey gear since Justin Timberlake was releasing albums, implying that it had been ages, which I do not believe to be the case. I also felt the two perspectives could have sounded a bit more distinct, but I never had much of an issue telling the two apart, since they were almost never in the same place.

The Final Verdict:
Lauren Morrill is an author I trust to write deliciously fluffy novels. They’re like dessert: satisfying and happy-making, only, magically, you can’t over-indulge in this dessert and make yourself sick. Being Sloane Jacobs is an excellent choice if you like sports stories or adorableness.