Description
Cracks in the Ice received the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval and is a Selah Book Award finalist. “We skate deliberately over the wide dangerous cracks, where lesser skaters might fall and never recover …” Gina Mangalli, niece of a mafia don, has dreams of Olympic gold as a figure skater. When tragedy strikes, her life spins out of control, and then a rash decision changes Gina’s life forever. The burden of guilt causes a spiral that carries her further from the life she had always dreamed for herself. Have things gone too far? Can her hopes and dreams be restored or is it too late?
ADDITIONAL REVIEWS ARE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
MC Brady –
Gina Mangalli lives with her mother and her uncle in an elegant manor inside a compound where she has everything but friends. She is unaware that her uncle is a mafia don. She thinks he is a loving boss, because if a business associate has a problem, her uncle tells a guard to “take care of him.” When Gina is allowed to take ice-skating lessons, she discovers she has amazing talent. She works hard and dreams of going to the Olympics. Unexpected twists and turns interrupt the characters’ lives and make this book a page-turner.
I especially enjoyed the historical details and the portrayal of alcoholism as a disease and Al-Anon and Alcoholics Anonymous as helpful methods of coping. Though it’s meant for teens, this is a book anyone would enjoy.
Christina Weigand –
Cracks in the Ice by Deanna Klingel is an interesting glimpse into the world of championship figure skating and the mafia. Although at times the characters seemed a little to clueless for their own good, overall the story is intriguing. At times the issues seemed to easily solved by the character that was dealing with them. I would have liked to see a little more of the characters involvement in the world around them.
Klingel touches on some very sensitive issues like alcoholism and the mafia and for the most part handles them well. I would have liked to see more of the struggles of each character as they faced their demons.
I struggled at the beginning of the book and that may have been due to the pov Klingel chose, but once I got into the story I couldn’t stop reading it. I had to know how it ended.
This would be a good book for the young adults in your life with some good life lessons.
Glenda Council Beall –
I am impressed with all the details on alcoholism and figure skating that Deanna Klingel uses in this book. She carefully researched her topics until she can make the reader feel present in all the scenes. This book is one that young people and mature adults can appreciate. It is refreshing to read a book, in today’s world, that shows the consequences of bad behavior, that shows the good that can come from hard work and perseverance.