Spotlight of Home or Away by Kathleen West

PHOTO SOURCE:
TYPORAMA
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HOME OR AWAY

KATHLEEN WEST

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ALL INFORMATION IN THIS POST IS COURTESY OF TARA O'CONNOR OF PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE

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When it comes to the trials and tribulations of modern parenting, critically acclaimed novelist Kathleen West has a gift for capturing the complexity, nuance, and absurdity of it all.

In HOME OR AWAY (Berkley; March 29, 2022), West ups the ante with an incisive look at toxic friendships, old alliances, and over-competitive parenting in organized youth and elite hockey as two former Olympic hopefuls pass along their love of the game—and the rest of their baggage—to the next generation.

It’s a riveting read about secrets, lies, competition, sacrifice, and intensity all within the world of youth hockey.

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PRAISE FOR HOME OR AWAY:

A gloriously entertaining plunge into the ultra-competitive world of youth sports and the lengths we go to for the kids and game we love."--New York Times bestselling author KJ Dell'Antonia 

 

**Praise taken from Ms. West's Amazon Page** 

 

ABOUT HOME OR AWAY:

Leigh Mackenzie is a successful investment banker happily married to her college sweetheart and is the proud mom of a hockey prodigy living in Florida—many miles from her hockey-obsessed Minnesota hometown of Liston Heights. Susy Walker never left Liston Heights. She was Leigh’s close friend and teammate, until Leigh didn’t make the Olympic hockey team—and Susy did. Leigh’s failure not only ended her career in hockey, but her relationships with everyone in it, including Susy.

Leigh and Susy’s paths unexpectedly cross twenty years after their fateful tryout when a career opportunity lands Leigh and her family back in Minnesota. Leigh is suddenly thrust back into the ultra-competitive world she left behind, but this time as a parent willing to do whatever it takes to give her son a shot. For Leigh, “whatever it takes” involves facing people and memories from her past that she thought she’d closed the door on two decades ago. One of those people is Susy, who knows Leigh’s darkest secret and the real reason Leigh didn’t make the team all those years ago. The other person is their former coach Jeff Carlson.

When it becomes clear that Leigh’s son Gus may not have what it takes to make the “A” team, Leigh’s nemesis and former coach hints at favors in exchange for ice time and preferential treatment. 

 

These favors require Leigh to deny the truth about the nature of her relationship with Jeff when he was her coach. A relationship that was predatory and inappropriate and seems to have become a pattern for him with other female players. 

 

Desperate to keep her history hidden for the sake of her marriage and to help her son make the team and torn about doing the right thing for other women in the sport, Leigh is caught in the ultimate bind: Come clean about what happened when she was an Olympic hopeful or play Jeff’s game. 

 

In a moment of desperation, Leigh realizes the one person she thought was her biggest competitor — her former teammate — might turn out to be her biggest ally.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kathleen West is a veteran middle and high-school teacher. She graduated with a degree in English from Macalester College and holds a Master's degree in literacy education from the University of Minnesota. She lives in Minneapolis with her family. 

 

Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes is her first novel.

 

**Author information and photo are taken from Ms. West's Amazon Page**

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