She Treads Softly: Spectacular Things

Friday, July 25, 2025

Spectacular Things

Spectacular Things by Beck Dorey-Stein
7/1/25; 368 pages
Random House

Spectacular Things by Beck Dorey-Stein is a recommended domestic drama following the relationship between two sisters which will be highly enjoyed by those who enjoy lots of soccer talk.

The novel opens with Mia giving birth while watching her sister Cricket playing for the US Women's Olympic soccer team on a TV at the hospital. Mia has a medical emergency after the birth. The novel then jumps back in time to follow their mother Liz Lowe. Liz was a high school soccer star when she found out she was pregnant as a senior and her promising soccer career ends abruptly. She gives birth to Mia and as soon as possible has her training to play soccer. Five years later Cricket is born and it is clear she is born to play soccer and be a star.

While the narrative shows devotion to and sacrifices made for your family, it also shows some dark secrets which should have been exposed, tragedies, and flawed behavior. (Take note, the girls father was a predator.) As a sister of two, I thought the narrative would follow a reciprocal relationship between the sisters rather than Mia being expected by Liz to sacrifice and give up her activities and time at a young age so Cricket could be a star. Mia's sacrifices continue throughout the plot.

Admittedly, I really disliked Cricket for almost the entire novel which really held back my enjoyment. Along with the slow pace, all the focus on soccer did not help hold my attention. I wish this overwhelming plot point had been mentioned in the description as I would have not requested it. It also felt like it was a bit too long winded and repetitive. This was just an okay read for me. Thanks to Random House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.