What a cute and heartfelt story.

The biggest flaw in this book was that it needed some editing. The biggest struggle Bea faced was her extreme insecurity. While this is a delicate age, it got old quick just how insecure she was and how she took it out on everyone else.

The storyline was cute and I loved the diversity within the novel with background characters. Since its middle grade, it was nice to see young girls coming into their own and starting to realize things aren’t the same with women’s sports as men’s.

For fans of the Mighty Ducks and the PWHL, Bea Mullins Takes a Shot is a wholesome read about a young girl gaining the confidence to play hockey and learns what it's like to be a part of a team.

Bea Mullins is terrible at sports. When she played basketball, her teammates iced her out because she would never throw the ball to them. Therefore, Bea believes there is no sport she will ever be good at.

When the gymnasium at her school floods, each student is forced to replace P.E. with a team sport. Of course, Bea would like to do anything else. But with some convincing, she and her best friend, Celia join the girl’s hockey team where Bea learns how to play hockey with a team that appreciates her and shows good sportsmanship toward one another. Bea also meets Gabi, an eighth grader who she starts crushing on.

This middle grade debut was stellar! It exceeded my expectations as a hockey fan. I loved the little jabs to the Toronto Maple Leafs fans and references to Gretzky’s famous quote, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” I especially enjoyed the focus on women’s sports and sharing facts about the disparity between the NHL and PWHL which Bea realizes in real time as she sees how the girl’s team is treated at her school versus the boys. The boys get new equipment and uniforms plus a huge crowd whereas the girls have to fundraise to get enough ice time.

I liked seeing how social media was incorporated as the girls brainstorm marketing tactics to bring in more audience members and raise money to keep their team alive.

I loved how normalized queerness was in this book. Gabi and Bea have a little fling and Celia has two moms who are lesbian and bisexual.

The hockey was written very well, too. The author has prior experience playing on a girl’s hockey team similar to Bea. But I appreciated how detailed she wrote each step of Bea’s hockey training, making it easy to understand and visualize what she was doing on the ice.


I highly recommend this to any hockey lovers!

In BEA MULLINS TAKES A SHOT, a reluctant Bea joins the school hockey team alongside her best friend Celia. Bea’s not athletic and she’s scared of failing. The team struggles to come together at first, but Bea’s skills grow, as do her feelings for one of her teammates. When it looks like the team won’t have the funds to survive, Bea realizes how much the team and hockey have come to mean to her and steps up with a plan to save the team.

As a hockey fan, I loved the representation of women’s hockey in the book and how the author addressed the inequities between men’s and women’s athletics in a natural way throughout the course of the book. This is much more than a sports book, though, and will appeal to those who aren’t familiar with hockey, too. Friendships, first crushes, family, and fear of failure are all common middle school experiences that Bea navigates, at some times better than others. She’s a likeable character and shows growth during the story beyond just her improvement on the ice. This story of sports and middle school struggles will be a winner with readers!

As I was reading Bea Mullins, the book released, so I finished up by listening to the audiobook through my local library (and the audio was lovely as well!) I’m not a huge sports person in general, but I loved Bea’s character and found her relatable. This is a well-crafted story, and it shines a light on the challenges and misogyny women’s sports face. I really enjoyed the read!

Emily Deibert's debut book is all about finding confidence in yourself and on a team! This book is great for both sports enthusiast and those unfamiliar with sports. I am from the latter group, but this book and the discussion of sports didn't feel unapproachable or overwhelming. Instead, I felt very connected with the characters and, like Bea, found myself excited about hockey and team sports in general. I also loved that Emily Deibert spent time discussing women's hockey - both the history and the future. The characters themselves were well written and felt very real. I loved Bea's relationship with Celia and Gaby and her learning to navigate friendships and crushes

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read with a satisfying conclusion: Bea, the hero, saves the day and gets the girl. But the book also does a good job of showing Bea's journey; she becomes a hero through trial and error. Bea's immense embarrassment at virtually every social interaction (something I feel was a tad overdone), threatens her relationship with friends, teammates, and a potential romantic connection. As an adult (who was a socially-oblivious kid), this was sometimes frustrating to read, but younger middle-grade readers will likely feel the stakes are real. And the book's lesson that being true to oneself and creating authentic connections trump momentary embarrassment is a noble one.

The hockey info is also well done—it's obvious a hockey fan wrote it. There seems to be a dearth of middle-grade sports fiction right now, especially any aimed at girls, so this fills a gap. Overall, a good book with good pacing and key points on friendship, first crushes, trying new things, and not taking yourself too seriously. 3.5/5

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” - Wayne Gretzky

Emily Deibert takes a shot with “Bea Mullins Takes a Shot” and doesn’t miss. This is a sweet lighthearted book about missing out on the chances that you’re too scared to take a shot at.

Bea Mullins is forced to participate in a team sport to make up for phys ed classes because the school's gym flooded and is unusable. She gets talked into joining the startup girls hockey team. Over time, Bea finds herself unknowingly crushing on the co-captain Gabi. Because Bea has no faith in herself whether on a team or in life, she refuses to take the shots that would help her win.

This is a middle-school aged book about first love, self discovery, and sports. I was actually kind of jealous reading this book. I LOVE hockey and I always wished I could have played hockey when I was younger because I think I could have been bad ass at it. I probably would have been a great defenseman. I really felt for Bea because she had a bad experience in a previous team sport which soured the experience for her. However, having to be on a team sport for phys ed helps her grow in ways she didn’t think she was capable of. This is a great read for an adult but an even better read for anyone who might be middle-school age and struggling with self worth and identity.

Being the most unathletic person I know, I never thought I’d love a book with so much hockey in it, but there is truly so much to love in Bea Mullins Takes a Shot by Emily Deibert.

Bea, an anxious 7th grader, believes she could be happy playing it safe and never taking chances—especially if that means avoiding the mortifying humiliation of failing herself and the people she cares about. But when she’s thrust into a hockey team with her best friend and an unexpected first crush, Bea must learn to take a chance on herself.

Bea, Celia, and Gabi are relatable characters that middle-grade readers are certain to connect with. Bea’s anxieties and insecurities in her family relationships, friendships, and crushes, as well as her fears about being perceived on social media, feel so real and relevant for this age group. All three characters are not only fleshed out, rounded, and unique in their own right, but their relationships feel sincere and wholesome, thanks to the author’s skillful middle-grade voice and earnest exploration of the emotional experience of a 7th grader.

Something else I particularly loved about this book was the *lack* of importance placed on scores and winning. Sure, it’s been said in all the books that “it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about how you play the game” or “what matters is that you have fun” and everything else one says when handing out participation trophies, but I’m not sure I’ve come across a book that has done a better job of *showing* (not telling) this in a way that is natural and not at all lesson-y or cheesy.

And yet . . . having said all that, it still must be said (I can’t help myself) that this book is an absolute winner!

This is so stinkin' cute and it makes me sad that I haven't been reading more middlegrade lately. I love middlegrades that you can even take life lessons from as an adult, and this was definitely one of those. Bea is such a relatable character, and I loved seeing her growth throughout the book. If you love reading about sports, definitely don't count out middlegrade! I really enjoyed this debut and am hoping for more from the author - I'll definitely pick it up.

This book was absolutely adorable from start to finish. I wish I had a story like this when I was middle grade age.

There was growing up, new schools, lasting friendships, hockey, young love, queer and BIPOC representation, and self discovery, all wrapped into one great package. The romantic moments were swoon-worthy, the funny bits made me laugh out loud, and there was a solid team worth cheering for the entire time.

This book is an easy 4 stars and I highly recommend it to any middle grade reader. I'm not a big sports romance person, but I still loved every second fo Bea and Gabi.

I was lucky enough to get approved by NetGalley for an ARC of this book!
Bea Mullins had a terrible experience when she joined the basketball team, something I can totally relate to! I was also tall for my age, just like Bea, and everyone expected me to be a natural. Bea had no plans to join another team sport—ever. But when the gym is rendered unusable for PE and Bea is forced to join the all girls hockey team, she has to face her fears of bullying and not living up to anyone’s expectations—even her own. I totally relate to her trepidation!
Emily Deibert captures the challenges and triumphs of navigating first crushes, best friendships, new friendships, and failure. She also shines a light on the unfairness in boys vs girls sports (thank youuuu!) Bea's journey is both relatable and inspiring, making this book a must-read for young readers seeking stories of courage and self-discovery.

Bea Mullins Takes a Shot is such a cute middle grade novel! Following a 7th grader as she navigates new experiences and feelings along with the anxiety that can often come with them. You can’t help but root for Bea as she conquers her fears and gains her confidence on and off the ice.

A great middle school book with diverse characters and family structures. Especially recommended to tweens/teens experiencing fear or anxiety over taking big steps.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was so cute! Even though it was a middle grade book I think any age would enjoy this!

It was written so well. It was a very quick read. I enjoyed every second of it.

Bea was such a fun main character to follow. She was funny and real. There were so many laugh out loud moments for me, whether it was her inner thoughts or the banter between her and her friends.

I liked that this book focused on friendships just as much as her relationship with Gabi. Even Bea’s relationship with her brother and her parents were touched on and I thought it was very well done.

There was a fairly large cast of characters, but I thought enough of them were fleshed out that they each felt like their own person. It could have easily just focused on Bea and Gabi and let everyone else not have a personality, but that wasn’t the case.

I thought her and Gabi were adorable. Their relationship was so natural, they started off as friends and it turned into something more. It was very innocent and sweet which is perfect for middle grade to read.

I really liked the team atmosphere and the message of never giving up and not letting fear or embarrassment stop you from doing something you want.

Some of the issues Bea had could have been avoided or she made a big deal of it for no reason, but she is young so obviously I don’t hold it against her. I thought for being in middle school her problems made sense and hopefully she can learn from them as she gets older.

I absolutely think everyone should pick this book up! I finished it in a day, that is how much I enjoyed it.

Super cute middle grade novel! Love the sapphic representation :)
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for sending me an early copy in exchange for this review!

This was a really cute MG book. As someone who tried and failed at several team sports as a child/teen, I could totally relate to Bea and her insecurities.

I loved the whole first crush plot line and I think lots of younger audiences will be able to relate to Bea and her feelings.

This is definitely one I would recommend to tween/teens but that I think would also be enjoyed by adults.

Thanks to @netgalley and @randomhousechildrens for the advance Kindle copy of this 2.25.25 release. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. This is such a great story of female sports representation with a sapphic romance thrown in. Bea and her best friend Celia are recruited for their school’s new girls’ hockey team. The problem? Bea is the opposite of athletic. Their team is kind of like the Bad News Bears of hockey, but with a solid teacher sponsor, some creativity, and team chemistry, they fight for their funding and improve their games. And, Bea finds more than a friend. Adorable. Hand to readers in grades 6+.

This middle grade through some of the unrealistic events still left me feeling cozy vibes. The exploration of the underdog aspect and throwing yourself out of your comfort zone to try something new was a fun journey. Go women’s sports! Each character brought something special to the team.

This was such a good book. I love all the hockey talk inside it. And the way Bea had to figure out what she did was amazing. She worked through everything like she should have. I was confused at frist, I didn't know if she liked Gabi or not. I truly loved this book, and I will definitely be buying this book.

Bea Mullins Takes a Shot is a cute sapphic coming of age story- and hockey! I loved the storyline and the characters were interesting and so very believable. I appreciated the women’s hockey storyline especially, I am a huge fan of women’s hockey and seeing the PWHL come into play across North America has been amazing and this story will only further interest in the sport- as players or spectators.