Ezra, the male lead of Faith Erin Hicks’ 2023 YA graphic novel Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy, is the kind of high school student who seems friends with everyone — including his exes. A theater enthusiast currently immersed in his school’s production of Little Shop of Horrors (1960), he radiates the easy confidence of someone comfortable in his own skin. This extends to his sexuality: while he rejects specific labels, he openly describes himself as being into “Girls, guys, all genders!” — a queer identity established from the novel’s opening pages.
Told through dual perspectives, Hockey Girl primarily follows Ezra’s unlikely connection with Alix, a star hockey player whose temper could cost her a coveted recommendation to an elite camp after she punches her bullying team captain, Lindsay. Though Lindsay’s harassment has been ongoing, Alix learns that violence isn’t excusable — if she wants to salvage her camp opportunity, she needs to master her anger immediately.
The solution appears in Ezra, whom Alix witnesses deftly handling a school bully. Convinced his techniques could work for her too, she impulsively asks for his help. Ezra hesitates — he’s hardly the picture of perfect emotional control, still wrestling with simmering rage toward his absent father — but recognizes Alix’s desperation. He agrees because he remembers being in her shoes, though neither anticipates how profoundly their lives will intersect through this mentorship.
Their evolving relationship forms the novel’s messy heart. As Ezra and Alix navigate their differences — theater kid versus athlete, calm exterior versus quick temper — readers witness both characters questioning whether Ezra’s guidance can truly help Alix, and whether she’s prepared to confront the truths behind her anger.
While not the central focus, Ezra’s queerness provides crucial depth. Though he avoids bisexual-specific terminology, the novel thoughtfully addresses bi erasure through his experiences. Classmates repeatedly assume he’s gay because his last relationship was with a boy named Bryan, forcing Ezra to gently but firmly correct their binary assumptions. These moments, where he asserts that sexuality exists beyond gay/straight categories, make his identity an impactful subplot.
Beyond queer representation, Hockey Girl explores universal coming-of-age struggles: navigating complex relationships, defining personal values, and mustering the courage to stand by them. Hicks renders this journey authentically, embracing the awkwardness and false starts that make adolescence both frustrating and transformative. Through Ezra and Alix’s collision of worlds, the graphic novel celebrates growth in all its imperfect glory.