The Favorites

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of emotional abuse.

“Everyone thinks Heath Rocha was my first love. He wasn’t. My first love was figure skating.”

Kat reflects on how she fell in love with figure skating long before she fell in love with Heath. This assertion underlines how important ice dancing is in Kat’s life. Despite the visible love between Kat and Heath, ice dancing is unquestionably more important to Kat than it is to Heath, at least at the beginning of their journey. Accordingly, this reflection foreshadows one of the points of contention that will emerge in their relationship going forward.

“Since my very first juvenile competition, I’d worn my mother’s Art Deco engagement band as a good luck charm. When I was small, it hung on a gold chain around my neck. By sixteen, the ring fit my middle finger—and I’d started keeping it on my person at all times.”

Kat’s mother’s engagement ring is the only lasting connection she has with her mother, and growing up, she wears it as a good luck charm. However, she sells this ring with no regrets or hesitation to finance her and Heath’s training program at Sheila’s academy. This ring, and Kat’s easy parting with it, is symbolic of how Kat prioritizes her dreams over her relationships. It also foreshadows how Kat will lose important relationships in her life as she pays The Cost of Ambition.

“They looked at Kat Shaw and saw white trash, and they looked at Heath Rocha and saw a foreigner. Never mind that he was as American as any of those snobby-ass judges.”

Ellis Dean comments on the preconceived notions that awaited Kat and Heath when they began their professional journey. Ellis is one of the few voices in the story who honestly calls out the elitism and politicking in the sport, illustrated by his down-to-earth