SPECTACULAR THINGS
By: Beck Dorey-Stein
Published: July 1, 2025
Publisher: The Dial Press
Fiction
You know I love sister and family stories, so I was eager to read this novel. Author Beck Dorey-Stein isn’t someone I was familiar with, but the synopsis had me intrigued. Before I could get to it, I found out it had been chosen as a Reese’s Book Club selection for July. Within the first few pages, I knew that I was in for an excellent reading experience.
“They say that to accomodate all the love and loss and loneliness, your heart has to grow bigger.”
The book begins with Mia and her husband heading to the hospital to give birth to their baby. At the same time, Cricket, Mia’s sister, is playing for the US Women’s National Soccer Team at the 2028 Summer Olympics in LA. The US team is in the final Gold Medal match against the Netherlands. It’s “game day for both Lowe sisters.”
“There in Cricket’s hotel room, they cannot yet imagine how soccer will unequivocally fill, torment, mend, and mangle both of their hearts.”
After the heart-stopping events culminate for both Mia and Cricket, one sister has to make a life-changing decision while the other waits in the wings. The first seven chapters take the readers through these exhilarating days following the Olympics and the birth of Mia’s baby. Then the author leaves you gasping and hanging by a thread while taking you back in time to meet Liz, Mia and Cricket’s mom.
“Liz rolls down her window to see behind her, only to realize how rarely one must look back when forging ahead.”
It’s 1989, and Liz, at the age of 8, finds soccer at a summer camp, and her life is never the same. Liz quickly becomes a rising soccer star, wanted by several colleges with hopes of making the National Team. Then something happens to change all of that and send Liz on a road trip to Maine. Maine is where she raises Mia and Cricket as a single mom while also hoping that the girls will love soccer as much as she does. From 1989 to 2028, readers are part of the lives of these three characters, watching Liz rise to spectacular fame in soccer, her special relationship with her two daughters, and then eventually learn why Cricket became the super soccer star and not Mia.
“…when you’re young, it’s impossible to understand the permanence of your decisions or their ripple effects.”
Liz, Mia, and Cricket felt like family to me. I cried with their heartbreaks, sympathized with their sacrifices, hoped their dreams would come true, and cheered when they did. The three women lived by the Steve Prefontaine quote, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” This theme radiates throughout the novel as the girls make many sacrifices, especially Mia, to support Cricket’s soccer career.
“At birth, each person unwittingly signs a contract to say goodbye to everyone they’re about to meet. Life is merciless in that way, in its promise to end.”
Even though this is a character-driven story, there are plenty of twists and turns in the lives of these characters to keep you invested. Just when you think, Oh, I see how this is going to play out, the author takes you in a different direction. You don’t have to be a soccer fan or really know anything about soccer to enjoy this story, although soccer is at the heart of everything the characters do. It reminded me of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s book, CARRIE SOTO IS BACK. I didn’t know or care much about tennis before I read that story, yet I still became immersed in the character’s drive to win and how that passion affected her and her relationships. Don’t miss this one as it is easily making my Top Books of 2025 list.
Beck Dorey-Stein grew up in Narberth, Pennsylvania. Her first book, From the Corner of the Oval, a memoir, was a New York Times bestseller, and her debut novel, Rock the Boat, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection. Prior to her five years in the White House, she taught high school English in Hightstown, New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; and Seoul, South Korea. She now lives in Maine with her family, but will always root for longer summers and Philly sports teams. Check out her website, HERE.
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Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this book for this review. This review is my honest opinion. If you choose to purchase through the above links, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase.
Posted Under Beck Dorey-Stein, Book Review, family drama, fiction, sisters, soccer