Here’s a novel that crosses YA/adult book lines; it’s great to share with a high-school student, but adults will enjoy it as well: Cracks in the Ice by Deanna Klingel.

This young-adult novel ambitiously covers about 30 years in the lives of a mother and daughter. The author was best when writing in the voice of a young teenage girl. The novel deals with a young figure skater who’s the niece of an organized-crime boss–and how her life unravels as a result. Excellent faith angle and treatment of addiction and recovery.

Having grown up admiring Olympic figure skaters from afar, I enjoyed the look inside the world of skating.

You can learn more about author Deanna Klingel at her blog, Books by Deanna, or her author page on Facebook. She has written historical YA novels as well as this contemporary one! I met Deanna this summer at the Catholic Writers Guild Conference and enjoyed hearing about her various projects; her books have covered the Civil War Era, Vietnamese refugees, and World War II-era Lithuania, among other settings.

If there’s a teenage girl on your Christmas gift list, this novel would make a great present!

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