Medicine Wheels was a book that came out of nowhere and totally transfixed me. I had so much fun in this YA Contemporary about family, friendship, and skateboarding! Keep reading this book review of Medicine Wheels for my full thoughts.
Summary
When Bryce’s mom walks out on her abusive boyfriend and back into jail for breaking her probation, he’s left facing the summer of his junior year with no parents, no phone, and only the clothes on his back.
With nowhere to call home, Bryce crashes at his grandparents’ house on Wolf Creek reservation. Wolf Creek is full of memories and old friends—including Robbie and Mikayla, who hang out at the local skate park.
Skateboarding reminds Bryce of his late dad: carefree, riding like he could fly. If Bryce could learn to ride like that, he’d take his crew to the top of the skateboarding championship at the end of the summer, and finally prove he’s not a loser, especially to the online-famous, captivating Mikayla. Summer is looking up, even as he’s falling on his face.
But when a fresh loss takes Bryce down, he’ll need to learn to lean on his Ojibwe community to get back on the board. Only then can he discover his father’s real legacy—and the true meaning of unconditional love.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Medicine Wheels revolve around community. It begins with an escape, the toxic cycle of abuse and being sucked in, and ends with a story about community and friendship. For Bryce, he’s on his own and having to look out for himself. So Medicine Wheels is about him finding his (found) family, the people who support him, and to fight for what he loves. I adored Bryce’s character journey, his discipline to learn how to skateboard, and the ways that we can honor our past, our family, and ourselves. We never know what someone is dealing with and the reasons for lashing out, but we can just focus on what we can do, how we can react.
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The pain, anger, and resentment which all piles up. Medicine Wheels is about the healing we can get from passion, from hobbies, from skateboarding. How it can give us confidence to speak up for ourselves. We can think that what’s wrong, our pain, can define us. But we choose how we are defined. As long as we’re still around we can choose who we want to be, our next choice, and the way we can resist. Find Medicine Wheels on Goodreads, Storygraph, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.