katekintailbc | Forever by Roy MacGregor (Reply)

Forever: The Annual Hockey Classic
by Roy MacGregor, Paintings by Brian Deines

This is a lovely juvie fiction-length story about one family's tradition. Every year at Grandpa's farm they get together to pkay a pond hockey game on Christmas day. There are all sorts of fun aspects to this--one uncle's famous hip check and commentary, a hub cab that serves as the MVP trophey, an annual photo of all the players, etc. The book is filled with all sorts of details that made me feel right there with the family. There are also beautiful paintings illustrating many of these wonderful moments. It felt like I was right there in the story the whole time. The hockey aspect was what made me pick up the book, and it's a strong element here. You can tell the author has so much love for the sport through the details and way it's described and illustrated in images both big and small.

The story opens with Bump, a young boy who dreams of getting to play in the annual hockey classic, but he's too young. He waits for years, putting up with the waiting and the teasing as he loses a boot one year and everyone laughs at him. Finally, when it's his chance to play, he scores the game-winning goal. It's the sort of fictional drama that is expected in sports stories, but that usually end the story with a happy ending.

That's not how this story goes. After the game, the story keeps going. Years pass. Family members age and drop out of the game. One year, Grandpa dies and the next Grandma sells the farm. It seems that the tradition will end. Bump (Walt, later in his life when he outgrows his nickname) gets married and has children. And then the story comes full circle. He takes little Bump out on the ice to skate the black lake one night when it freezes over. The bliss of skating this endless sheet of ice is obvious and gorgeous, but there's more to it, as the title would indicate. There are new generations taking over for the older ones, and even though players and places change, the simple traditions stay alive in their hearts and will go on forever.