Status
Available
Call number
Call number
Graphic novel
Collection
Publication
First Second (2018), Edition: Illustrated, 288 pages
Description
"Eric Bittle may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and very talented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It is nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! First of all? There's checking (anything that hinders the player with possession of the puck, ranging from a stick check all the way to a physical sweep). And then, there is Jack-- his very attractive but moody captain"--Provided by publisher.
User reviews
LibraryThing member krau0098
This is the first book in the Check, Please! Series. It’s about a small town hockey player who goes to a bigger college and starts playing on the team there. It was a fun and touching read, but much more adult than I expected. It was well done and sweet. There is a lot of hockey, baking, and a
I gave this to my 11 year old son to read before I read it; I wouldn’t recommend doing that. This was quite a bit more adult than I thought it was going to be. It’s filed under middle grade in my library but is actually in a college setting. There’s a ton of swearing, some graphic sex talk, lots of drinking, some drugs, themes around overdose, and GLBTQ themes as well. I would recommend for older young adults. However, my son didn’t understand half of what was going on….he just mentioned how much swearing there was and how it was a bit weird that guys were kissing...so I guess no harm done.
This is very well done, very well drawn and fun to read. Despite everyone in my family playing hockey, I am not a huge hockey fan...so I probably won’t continue this. This is book goes into depth about the pressures of hockey and the team camaraderie but talked very little about how to balance that with other aspects of life...like school.
Overall very well done graphic novel about hockey, college, and growing up. I would recommend for older young adults or adults only; there is some pretty mature material in here. I wish there had been a bit more talk about how Eric balanced school with all his hockey commitments. I probably won’t continue the series because I am not a huge hockey fan and picked this up mainly for my son, who was a bit too young for this.
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bit of romance in here.I gave this to my 11 year old son to read before I read it; I wouldn’t recommend doing that. This was quite a bit more adult than I thought it was going to be. It’s filed under middle grade in my library but is actually in a college setting. There’s a ton of swearing, some graphic sex talk, lots of drinking, some drugs, themes around overdose, and GLBTQ themes as well. I would recommend for older young adults. However, my son didn’t understand half of what was going on….he just mentioned how much swearing there was and how it was a bit weird that guys were kissing...so I guess no harm done.
This is very well done, very well drawn and fun to read. Despite everyone in my family playing hockey, I am not a huge hockey fan...so I probably won’t continue this. This is book goes into depth about the pressures of hockey and the team camaraderie but talked very little about how to balance that with other aspects of life...like school.
Overall very well done graphic novel about hockey, college, and growing up. I would recommend for older young adults or adults only; there is some pretty mature material in here. I wish there had been a bit more talk about how Eric balanced school with all his hockey commitments. I probably won’t continue the series because I am not a huge hockey fan and picked this up mainly for my son, who was a bit too young for this.
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LibraryThing member Salsabrarian
Bitty (Eric Bittle's hockey nickname) enters Samwell College as a freshman. He's a former competitive figure skater looking to make his mark with the school's vaunted hockey team. He vlogs and tweets about his friends on the team (especially team captain Zimmerman, the handsome and brooding son of
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a hockey legend), and above all, loves to bake pies. Bitty is not at all rough, tough, and potty-mouthed like the other fellas and I feared he would be bullied. But Bitty is engagingly confident in his self and his space and his teammates fully accept him. There are pllenty of f-bombs and a character nicknamed "Shitty" whose real name no one knows. Lots of fun even if you are not a hockey fan. Show Less
LibraryThing member ecataldi
A cute, endearing graphic novel that will find a plethora of fans. Check Please is a graphic novel starring a young baker/vlogger/figure skater/hockey player that is thrilled to go away to college and meet new friends. He immediately feels at home with his new collegiate hockey mates and they
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accept him in no time. How can they not when he keeps baking them pies? He's having a harder time though on the ice then he thought he would, Bitty is terrified of getting hit; in his high school hockey league there was no checking; but now that he's in college he's going to have to accept taking a few hits and helping his teammates to help out. Cute, laugh out loud funny, inventive, and impossible to put down; I can't wait until volume two comes out. I have to find out what will happen between Bitty and his crush (the hockey captain!). Show Less
LibraryThing member emeraldreverie
I really really liked it. The format/framing reference is unique and well thought out. The story is heartwarming. The scenes are vital and well designed in all ways. There is one instance of fat-shaming that disappointing me, but otherwise, real good!
LibraryThing member lycomayflower
I absolutely loved this collection of the webcomic Check, Please. It follows Eric "Bitty" Bittle during his first two years playing hockey in college. It's part coming-of-age-at-college, part hockey fannishness, and a lot of friendship and looking for and finding acceptance. Oh. And baking. It's
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just a great warm hug of wonderful and fun and squish. Recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member cavernism
YAY IT'S BEING PUBLISHED IN BOOK FORM! This is the sweetest little comic and it sorta made me care about hockey, which is an achievement all by itself. I can't wait to buy a copy of this for my library.
LibraryThing member bemislibrary
Inside look at college hockey, filled with locker room banter and teammate relationships. The story contains many adult situations, such as drinking, drug use, and sex. Illustrations are an integral part of the story. The appropriate audience is senior high school or older.
LibraryThing member acciohaley
What can I say about Check, Please that hasn't already been said before? Bitty is soft, he's darling, he's just a generally good human being who I would die for and he deserves the world. He bakes pies and he puts together gift bags and he generally loves his teammates and wants the best for them.
The only criticism I have is that there are some parts of it that could be fleshed out a little more. This covers two years, Bitty's first and second year of college, and I wish that some parts had been expanded on because at times it feels like it flies by a little too fast. I do understand why it's they way it is but still..
Other than that - the story is wonderful, the art style is darling, and the characters are lovable.
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Check, Please is a fun and easy going graphic novel about a guy terrified of being checked who joins his college hockey team, primarily because he loves skating and wants the athletic scholarship, and along the way makes amazing friends and learns a lot of thing about himself. I'm currently in the middle of reading the second half of this online and am loving it just as much as the first half of it. The only criticism I have is that there are some parts of it that could be fleshed out a little more. This covers two years, Bitty's first and second year of college, and I wish that some parts had been expanded on because at times it feels like it flies by a little too fast. I do understand why it's they way it is but still..
Other than that - the story is wonderful, the art style is darling, and the characters are lovable.
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LibraryThing member quondame
Cute, rather too sweet, story of a young hockey player who chose Samwell for it's record of LBGT acceptance but who is still slow in coming out to his team mates. Then the complication as he falls for the team captain. And he has an ongoing issue with checks that may loose him his place on the
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hockey team and the scholarship that goes with it. Show Less
LibraryThing member electrascaife
A college freshman - a gay figure skating champ/hockey player from Georgia - adjusts to life on a small Massachusetts college campus, makes friends with his new teammates, bakes pies like a pro, struggles to overcome his fears in the rink, and copes with it all by keeping a vlog. Oh, and he's
Oh gosh, I loved this one! Bitty (the main character) is all kinds of adorable and funny, as are all of his teammates, who are a fantastic mix of typical crude college dudes and lovable & fierce friends who have each other's backs no matter what. I love that they accept Bitty as gay when he comes out to them as a matter of course, and that his sexual identity is just one of many Life as a College Kid topics. The love story is equally sweet, and Ukazu makes it so easy to root for both Bitty and Jack. Definitely recommended.
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pretty sure he's falling for the hockey team captain, although he's also pretty sure he's straight (the captain that is). Oh gosh, I loved this one! Bitty (the main character) is all kinds of adorable and funny, as are all of his teammates, who are a fantastic mix of typical crude college dudes and lovable & fierce friends who have each other's backs no matter what. I love that they accept Bitty as gay when he comes out to them as a matter of course, and that his sexual identity is just one of many Life as a College Kid topics. The love story is equally sweet, and Ukazu makes it so easy to root for both Bitty and Jack. Definitely recommended.
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LibraryThing member clrichm
Ngozi is wonderful, and I would take a bullet for Bitty. That is all.
LibraryThing member lydia1879
this. was so pure. and so sweet. and so precious.
i wanna cry ??? this was so good ??? the art was so good, beautiful lines, super easy palette, so readable. i ate this whole thing up i felt stressed for the boys when they were about to play a game. pies!! queers !!! boys who are idiots but not
i loved this. where is volume two. i gotta read it. ugh i have so many FEELS it's so GOOD.
i wanna cry ??? this was so good ??? the art was so good, beautiful lines, super easy palette, so readable. i ate this whole thing up i felt stressed for the boys when they were about to play a game. pies!! queers !!! boys who are idiots but not
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toxic masculine knobheads!!! i loved this. where is volume two. i gotta read it. ugh i have so many FEELS it's so GOOD.
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LibraryThing member villemezbrown
OMG! Totally adorable!
Sweet southerner Eric "Bitty" Bittle vlogs about his jump from figure skating in high school to playing hockey at a New England college. Oh, and pies, because he's a compulsive baker.
The five-page chapters are fun and humorous, and the last three leave you begging for the next
This is the best Goodreads Giveaway I've ever won, and I just put it on the next book order for the library where I work.
Sweet southerner Eric "Bitty" Bittle vlogs about his jump from figure skating in high school to playing hockey at a New England college. Oh, and pies, because he's a compulsive baker.
The five-page chapters are fun and humorous, and the last three leave you begging for the next
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volume. This is the best Goodreads Giveaway I've ever won, and I just put it on the next book order for the library where I work.
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LibraryThing member jothebookgirl
I wasn’t so sure about a gay relationship between hockey players, but here it is, the second book, so it’s working.
This is the story of a pie-baking hockey player from a small-town in Georgia who starts college and settles into the jock culture.
Eric “Bitty” Bittle’s is starting college
It’s a sweet story with themes of acceptance, standing up to fear, and finding your place.
The art uses exaggerated expressive facial shots to complement the quick and sometimes-raunchy dialogue. Bitty is white, and there is some diversity in secondary characters
This is the story of a pie-baking hockey player from a small-town in Georgia who starts college and settles into the jock culture.
Eric “Bitty” Bittle’s is starting college
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and is on the hockey team at Samwell University in Massachusetts. Bitty is an experienced hockey player and has figure skated competitively. The team back home was coed did not allow “checking,” or physical contact, and Bitty’s fear of being hit becomes a real issue in college hockey. Bitty’s team captain, Jack Zimmerman, “the hockey prince,” is determined to help Bitty break through his fear of being checked. During the process, Bitty develops a serious crush on good looking, Jack. . As the practices and games develop, Bitty forms bonds with the other players and soon comes out. This helps him settle into college life.more readily. He finishes the first year and as sophomore year rolls around, Bitty has to face that two of his closest teammates are seniors and will be leaving soon. It’s a sweet story with themes of acceptance, standing up to fear, and finding your place.
The art uses exaggerated expressive facial shots to complement the quick and sometimes-raunchy dialogue. Bitty is white, and there is some diversity in secondary characters
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LibraryThing member senbei
Honestly I ... didn't understand a single word of it. Was that the point?
LibraryThing member reader1009
diverse teen graphic novel (gay hockey player from Georgia starts college in Canada)
really sweet, cute story w/endearing characters. I learned a little about hockey too. Parental notes: includes language, heavy party drinking.
really sweet, cute story w/endearing characters. I learned a little about hockey too. Parental notes: includes language, heavy party drinking.
LibraryThing member spinsterrevival
This was rather adorable and sweet. I didn’t understand many of the references but still had fun especially with the extras at the end (and the tweets explained the burgeoning romance better than the story itself did). Heading right into the second book to see where these boys are going.
LibraryThing member RealLifeReading
I know pretty much nothing about ice hockey! I grew up in a land where hockey = the kind with rounded sticks and a round ball and is played in a field. Very different kind of hockey.
And to be honest, this book was requested from the library because I saw "Check, Please!" on the Reading The End blog
I love that the main character is a newbie, a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team. Bittle (or Bitty as he's known) is a former figure skater, a baking aficionado (he makes pies!) and is gay but still hasn't come out yet. And the teammates he has! There's Shitty who's funny and smart and deep. Holster and Ransom are in an amazing bromance. Then there's Jack, the handsome captain with a sad past and who Bitty has the biggest ever crush on.
It reminds me of manga, mostly because of the way Bitty has such big eyes. And there's a cuteness to it that I would never associate with ice hockey.
So even if you don't care an inkling about ice hockey like I do, Check, Please! is a fun comic series to try out! Also it will make you hungry for pie.
And to be honest, this book was requested from the library because I saw "Check, Please!" on the Reading The End blog
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and thought, oh, a comic set in a restaurant? Yes, please!Turned out to be a different kind of check all together. But this comic has now turned me into a.... well, not a complete turnaround into a hockey fan but at least someone who's curious now about hockey and wouldn't say no to watching a game!I love that the main character is a newbie, a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team. Bittle (or Bitty as he's known) is a former figure skater, a baking aficionado (he makes pies!) and is gay but still hasn't come out yet. And the teammates he has! There's Shitty who's funny and smart and deep. Holster and Ransom are in an amazing bromance. Then there's Jack, the handsome captain with a sad past and who Bitty has the biggest ever crush on.
It reminds me of manga, mostly because of the way Bitty has such big eyes. And there's a cuteness to it that I would never associate with ice hockey.
So even if you don't care an inkling about ice hockey like I do, Check, Please! is a fun comic series to try out! Also it will make you hungry for pie.
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LibraryThing member jennybeast
Well, gosh, this is all the feels and all the squeeeee! -- cute as hell, captures college life really well, and all of the weird hockey bro culture just grows on you like a persistent fungus. Love the romance, Bitty's sincere character, the excessive baking, the hilarious nicknames, the awwww
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moments. Loved the characters enough that it was awesome to read the in-character tweet log at the back of the book -- that's a statement in itself. More, please! It's an absolute delight. Show Less
LibraryThing member MickyFine
I loved this comic series so much. Bitty is an adorable and sweet character who grows but never stops being himself and is part of a team who wholeheartedly accepts him for who he is. Watching this group of characters Ukazu created mature as they face challenges both on and off the ice is a
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delight. While she doesn't shy away from some of the challenges Bitty faces as an openly gay men's hockey player, she's created a group of friends who refuse to let it get him down. A really sweet coming of age comic with a prominent queer romance plot that will delight readers whether they're into hockey or not. Recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member smorton11
The last true Comic Book Monday feature I did was in April of 2018 and I’d been toying with bringing it back every time a parent looks at me in the bookstore and proceeds to tell me how graphic novels aren’t real books and they don’t want their precious precocious pre-teens reading picture
And now! Onto the review! I wish I had read Check Please! before writing my favorite sports books post a few weeks ago, but I’ll just have to save it for my next sports listicle. I’d taken a break from graphic novels at the start of the year, telling myself I wanted to see if I could meet my reading goal without them, as they bring down my average page count and I do tend to fly through them in a very short amount of time. I’m not ashamed to admit I’d hoard all my bound volume reading until the end of the year to see if I was coming up short on my Goodreads challenge. More than a few times I’d use them to pad out the list. But I just couldn’t stay away.
One of our reps recently sent me two graphic novels from a publisher that we hadn’t carried before and it led me to my ARC shelf in my library/guest bedroom to poke around for what other graphic novels I’d collected, but not yet read. While shelving those, I stumbled across my long forgotten ARC of Check Please! (it came out in September 2018… which means it’s been almost 2 years that it’s been sitting up there). I still don’t know how I could have possibly forgotten about it, given my everlasting love for ice hockey.
Check Please! also represents a first for me: it’s my first read with a protagonist who is part of the LGBTQ community. When I mentioned I was reading it to a friend, she asked if it was my first. And I didn’t think it was, how could it be? And then she reminded me off all the books I had “blurb read” and therefore not really finished and I realized that this was, in fact, the first I finished! Bitty, the aforementioned protagonist, full name Eric Richard Bittle, is an absolutely darling. He loves baking and hockey, but comes to the sport by way of competitive figure skating and he’s terrified of being checked (where another hockey player slams into you, something that happens all the time in the contact sport of ice hockey.)
As he grows into his role on a university ice hockey team, he discovers more about himself, and the players on the team, particularly what a tight knit brotherhood they have – they always have each other’s backs. The pacing is incredibly quick, 200 and change pages covers both Bitty’s freshman and sophomore years of university. Bitty, Jack, and the other hockey players are incredibly well developed – I felt that it was the best ensemble graphic novel character cast I’d seen since Giant Days and I couldn’t have been more delighted by how the first graphic novel ends, character wise.
My only gripes with the book is that, while Ngozi has definitely researched the sport of ice hockey, there are some hockey organization and culture nuances that slip through a bit. The structure and likelihood of a player’s professional career, how the NCAA tournaments work, etc. are either glossed over or not quite right and the art style, while delightful, could be stronger in conveying character emotions and facial expressions to the help the reader add tone and feeling into their dialogue while reading. However, overall, I highly recommend the book and I will now join Ngozi’s long time fans in anxiously awaiting book 2’s release on April 7th of this year!
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books when they’re asking for them with more enthusiasm than I can manage to muster most days, and I’m a pretty chipper and cheery person. I figure if I could convert my father-in-law to the way of the graphic novel on my twelve year old sister in law’s behalf, I could certainly help the kids out at the store. So please, if you want to see more comic book and graphic novel reviews, let me know – I’ve got dozens I can do! I’ll be breaking down the ratings for comics and graphic novels into writing and art separately.And now! Onto the review! I wish I had read Check Please! before writing my favorite sports books post a few weeks ago, but I’ll just have to save it for my next sports listicle. I’d taken a break from graphic novels at the start of the year, telling myself I wanted to see if I could meet my reading goal without them, as they bring down my average page count and I do tend to fly through them in a very short amount of time. I’m not ashamed to admit I’d hoard all my bound volume reading until the end of the year to see if I was coming up short on my Goodreads challenge. More than a few times I’d use them to pad out the list. But I just couldn’t stay away.
One of our reps recently sent me two graphic novels from a publisher that we hadn’t carried before and it led me to my ARC shelf in my library/guest bedroom to poke around for what other graphic novels I’d collected, but not yet read. While shelving those, I stumbled across my long forgotten ARC of Check Please! (it came out in September 2018… which means it’s been almost 2 years that it’s been sitting up there). I still don’t know how I could have possibly forgotten about it, given my everlasting love for ice hockey.
Check Please! also represents a first for me: it’s my first read with a protagonist who is part of the LGBTQ community. When I mentioned I was reading it to a friend, she asked if it was my first. And I didn’t think it was, how could it be? And then she reminded me off all the books I had “blurb read” and therefore not really finished and I realized that this was, in fact, the first I finished! Bitty, the aforementioned protagonist, full name Eric Richard Bittle, is an absolutely darling. He loves baking and hockey, but comes to the sport by way of competitive figure skating and he’s terrified of being checked (where another hockey player slams into you, something that happens all the time in the contact sport of ice hockey.)
As he grows into his role on a university ice hockey team, he discovers more about himself, and the players on the team, particularly what a tight knit brotherhood they have – they always have each other’s backs. The pacing is incredibly quick, 200 and change pages covers both Bitty’s freshman and sophomore years of university. Bitty, Jack, and the other hockey players are incredibly well developed – I felt that it was the best ensemble graphic novel character cast I’d seen since Giant Days and I couldn’t have been more delighted by how the first graphic novel ends, character wise.
My only gripes with the book is that, while Ngozi has definitely researched the sport of ice hockey, there are some hockey organization and culture nuances that slip through a bit. The structure and likelihood of a player’s professional career, how the NCAA tournaments work, etc. are either glossed over or not quite right and the art style, while delightful, could be stronger in conveying character emotions and facial expressions to the help the reader add tone and feeling into their dialogue while reading. However, overall, I highly recommend the book and I will now join Ngozi’s long time fans in anxiously awaiting book 2’s release on April 7th of this year!
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LibraryThing member tuusannuuska
This was so sweet! 100% what I needed to read right now.
LibraryThing member tornadox
Collects the the freshman and sophomore years of the much-loved webcomic with the relevant tweets in a book (now that’s transmedia!)
Sweet story about hockey, first love, pies, hockey bros, coming out, and adjusting to college (not necessarily in that order.) Although i read the webcomic — year
Sweet story about hockey, first love, pies, hockey bros, coming out, and adjusting to college (not necessarily in that order.) Although i read the webcomic — year
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4 just began — i enjoyed rereading them. The story holds together very well and the art improves. Cannot wait for the next volume collecting years 3 and 4. Show Less
Awards
Nutmeg Book Award (Nominee — High School — 2021)
Green Mountain Book Award (Nominee — 2020)
Lincoln Award: Illinois Teen Readers' Choice Award (Nominee — 2023)
South Dakota Teen Choice Book Awards (Nominee — 2020)
Blue Hen Book Award (Nominee — 2021)
Milwaukee County Teen Book Award (Nominee — 2020)
William C. Morris YA Debut Award (Finalist — 2019)
Texas Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List (Selection — 2019)
VLA Graphic Novel Diversity Award (Overfloweth — Youth — 2018)
NPR: Books We Love (2018)
CCBC Choices (2019)
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (Selection — 2019)
Nerdy Book Award (Graphic Novels — 2018)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Teen — 2018)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Teens (Top Ten — 2018)
Original language
English
Physical description
288 p.; 8.83 inches
ISBN
1250177952 / 9781250177957