As this trilogy of graphic novels comes to an end, I find myself longing for more from the author, but knowing the story is done. I think he did a great job wrapping it up and bringing a teen friendship story full-circle. Istarted reading because I love bands and the way the author wrote the soundtrack and kept reading a sports graphic novel for the same soundtrack and the friends.

Book – Hockey Karma (Forever Friends Trilogy #3)
Author – Howard Shapiro
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 160
Cover – Great!
Would I read it again – Maybe
Genre – Young Adult, Comic, Sport


** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **


Again, I find myself missing that real emotional connection of book 1. Maybe it's because there is so much of the story dedicated to Jeremiah that it didn't feel as great, but I definitely felt that there was something missing.

The story was a great continuance of the previous book, but after reading it, book 1 feels more like a prequel than a start; it didn't connect with the later two books as much as I'd hoped. I had thought maybe they would all be about this gang of rock loving friends, but Tom's friendship with Jeremiah was interesting enough to carry this story, especially with the added drama.

It was great to see some of the old characters back again, to have that realism of not staying in touch with high school friends and wishing you had. It was also nice that Tom was able to manage both while keeping his current friends, without anyone feeling alienated.

Again, the story managed to pack some pretty serious topics into a young adult story, without overdoing it or crossing the line into adult material – relationships, death, drug abuse etc. They were all handled sensitively and made a real impact. I also love that Tom really focused on his entrepreneurial work, which Jeremiah introduced him to.

For me, books 2 and 3 are the perfect fit together, with a great ending. But, book 1 will always be my favourite, despite how good the other two are in their own right. I do love a good Hockey story, so this one really played on that part of me that loves the sport, while maintaining the story and characters that had begin in the previous book.

Jeremiah Jacobson is a 32 year-old hockey player. He has back problems and his game is suffering from it. Everyone can see that he is close to retirement. He starts taking a lot of pain medication, so much that he forgets to spend quality time with his wife and children. His friend Tom Leonard wants him to look over a plan he has to improve their neighbouring city, Bump City, but Jeremiah keeps forgetting. Meanwhile, Tom is having his own romantic issues. He is dating his high school crush, Jaelithe, but she lives across the country in Pittsburgh. Tom goes back to a high school reunion and is reunited with his old bandmates. Jeremiah has to deal with his new drug problem, while Tom has to decide what to do with his new relationship.

I loved this graphic novel! It's the third and final part in the Friends Forever series from Howard Shapiro. This one is definitely my favourite in the series. I love that it brings together the points from the first two books. I didn't see as much of a connection between the first and second books, but this one brings back all of the characters from the series in a reunion.

The only part that was a little confusing was determining which character was which while they played hockey. Since they were all wearing helmets, I couldn't tell which character was speaking at first glance.

I really enjoyed this series. This third book was a great conclusion to this heartfelt series.

This review will be posted on my blog on June 2, 2017.

Now we're talking. We got to see all of the old gang in this one...even Jacoby!

I enjoyed this third installment in the series, and like that the end was left open for more. I also like the way the characters have aged and where they've ended up. It was good seeing Tom finally step into his own...and Jeremiah figuring out he was more than hockey.

I really enjoy this series, and this one is no exception. The story focuses on male friendship and this is often a rarity for books that I read so by reading these is quite refreshing for me. I really enjoyed the characters too and found that the artwork was colourful and was really nice. I really recommend this series.

The story is simple but interesting, sort of like the first book.

It mentions important topics as well: homelessness, feminism, death of loved ones, etc.

There are moments in which they talk about things that happened in the first novel of the trilogy, something that didn’t really happen in Hockey Saint. The fact that they mention Jacoby was, at the very least, nostalgia-inducing, it felt as if I had read Stereotypical Freaks years ago instead of a few hours prior.

The characters in this novel were the same as Hockey Saint’s, which means they weren’t that great.

The art seemed a little bit more detailed, which is a great thing.

This book featured, just like the others, ‘Recommended Listenings’, a detail that I have grown to love.

I still think the first book was the best of the trilogy, but that doesn’t mean that this one is bad.