A Review of Quan Barry’s We Ride Upon Sticks (Knopf, 2020)

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A Review of Quan Barry’s We Ride Upon Sticks (Knopf, 2020)

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Flashback to the '80s - The New York Times

2020 might be the year of the Asian American sports novel (alongside Gish Jen’s The Resisters and Sameer Pandya’s Members Only)! I loved this novel! It was the perfect tonality to read during the stress of the COVID pandemic. I only wish that the description below provided the names of all the members on the field hockey team: “Acclaimed novelist Quan Barry delivers a tour de female force in this delightful novel. Set in the coastal town of Danvers, Massachusetts, where the accusations began that led to the 1692 witch trials, We Ride Upon Sticks follows the 1989 Danvers High School Falcons field hockey team, who will do anything to make it to the state finals—even if it means tapping into some devilishly dark powers. In chapters dense with 1980s iconography—from Heathers to ‘big hair’—Barry expertly weaves together the individual and collective progress of this enchanted team as they storm their way through an unforgettable season. Helmed by good-girl captain Abby Putnam (a descendant of the infamous Salem accuser Ann Putnam) and her co-captain Jen Fiorenza (whose bleached blond “Claw” sees and knows all), the Falcons prove to be wily, original, and bold, flaunting society's stale notions of femininity in order to find their glorious true selves through the crucible of team sport and, more importantly, friendship.” The team includes: Julie Minh, Abby Putnam, Jen Fiorenza, Girl Cory, Boy Cory, Sue Yoon, and many others. At some point, early on in the text, Jen Fiorenza comes up with a sort of plan to have everyone sign a kind of “devilish” contract in a book that holds the image of—gasp—Emilio Estevez. Then all the field hockey team members promise that they will keep a blue string tied tightly around their arms. These actions are all meant to help the Falcons turn their team into one with a winning percentage. Indeed, they change from a 2-8 team to a team that’s winning practically every game. You can’t help but wonder when their luck will turn, but the whole point is that the teens believe they must do increasingly naughty things to make sure their win streak continues. Such antics include making false accusations and trying to live more promiscuous lives, but the tonality of Barry’s novel is not one of speculation or terror, witchcraft and social policing. Instead, it’s really a sports novel that focuses on female camaraderie and the unique spirit of community forged in a special time for these teenagers. Perhaps, my favorite part of this novel is that it’s written primarily in the collective second person. There are very few novels that are written in this way. One of the few exceptions is Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic. The narrative discourse is absolutely the right one, as the girls explore their connections with each other and make them stronger over the course of the year. I also absolutely adored how well Barry is able to cultivate the individual character of each member of the team. This coming-of-age novel would also pair quite well with Kim Fu’s The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore. The spirited comic hijinks of this team are the perfect antidote to our viral times.