The Favorites by Layne Fargo

She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and roller-coaster relationship.

Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.

As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the “real story” through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary, but she can’t stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy. So, after a decade of silence, she’s telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.

Why I Picked It Up

Thanks for reading Words Like Silver! Subscribe for free to support my work.

Subscribe Now

placeholder

Admittedly, I completely forgot about the upcoming Winter Olympics, and that's a treat to look forward to. I'd been rummaging through library titles before a flight and happened to see this one was available. I own a hardcover that was in a moving box at the time, but this sounded entertaining.

I love books about the arts (Daisy Jones & the Six) and about the intensity of pursuit (Étoile) and the Olympics (and perhaps the weight-on-your-shoulders via winter sport á la Beartown), and I also love a fractured, complicated love story to boot.

Update: I had absolutely no idea this book was meant to be a retelling of Wuthering Heights, so that's on me. In hindsight, that makes total sense. And is timely too!

About the Book

I got the sense very quickly on in The Favorites that this was a book I'd read before, which started it out on an interesting foot. Normally, that would make me lose interest. I just got the sense of deja vu that I already knew these characters and approximately what would happen. (Bits of it are very predictable.)

But overall, I still like those attributes that felt overused, and the second half majorly made up for that. I adored the ending, and found it brilliant for so many reasons. It so cleverly tied together so many threads, and a lot of character complications and development—both singularly and within relationships—felt earned and built-upon for years.

At the beginning, I was not convinced by Kat and Heath’s chemistry at all. He felt like such a cardboard character. A lot felt told and not shown, but at some point, the book finds its rhythm and is ultimately successful.

The Favorites spans an entire lifetime career, and it feels like it. Instead of that feeling fatiguing, like you’re shouldering the ice dancers’ exhaustion, it just feels like you're getting a glimpse into a very layered and holistic world.

I could likely best describe it as Daisy Jones and the Six meets Spinning Out. Also, you should watch this ice dancing final of lore, because there's a whole lot of passion (and fanfiction) buried in that pursuit.

Any artistic endeavor (like acting or ice dancing) that relies on chemistry and storytelling invites the delicious questions of what is form vs. feeling, and when “fake it ‘til you make it” starts to blur those lines.

Admittedly, the storylines and naming conventions do feel familiar (like her hitting her head and being out of the game, also being called Katarina, because is that not Spinning Out exactly?)

The comeback game is also like Taylor Jenkins Reid's Carrie Soto Is Back, which I liked. But they’re rewarding for those same reasons. It’s genuinely surprising how much volume is peppered into the book. As soon as you think there can’t possibly be a bigger moment, there is—so it does scale up in a fabulous way I appreciate from an ending.

It’s trope-heavy in some ways and subversive in others, which is probably a good balance for the broad appeal the book enjoyed across properties like Book of the Month. I had an absolutely grand time reading, and was wholly absorbed in the highs and lows.

Overall Thoughts

I’m a fan! I recommended this to my sister, who read it immediately, and we had a very satisfying book club about it. I adored the reading experience (fabulous plane read) despite me being picky about plenty. Especially ahead of the Winter Olympics, The Favorites would be an excellent choice for something alluring, exciting, complicated, and ultimately a good time.

For fans of:

Carrie Soto Is Back by TJR; Daisy Jones and the Six by TJR; Spinning Out (Netflix); Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings; etc.