The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Barry, Quan. We Ride Upon Sticks. Pantheon Books, 2020.

Barry’s novel is divided into 11 chapters. Each chapter places a central focus on one of the varsity players of a high school field hockey team, the 1989 Danvers Falcons, while also moving the plot forward along a chronological timeline. The novel begins with a quote from Ann Putnam, whose accusations in the Salem Witch Trials contributed to multiple deaths. The quote is from an apology Putnam made years later for her role in the executions.

In “Danvers vs. Masconomet” (1), the Danvers team loses an offseason game in the summer of 1989. Mel Boucher, the goalie, invites her teammates to perform a ritual by signing their names in a notebook with Emilio Estevez on the cover and tying strips of blue tube sock around their arms. This seems to give them powers and they start to win games.

“Danvers vs. Bishop Fenwick” (31) takes place at the beginning of the school year, when team member Girl Cory receives a gift of rose stems from a longtime stalker, “Philip.” The team wins their preseason game against Fenwick 2-0. Jen Fiorenza is voted team captain alongside Abby Putnam, although the position was expected to go to Girl Cory. Later, Mel discovers that Jen has glued one of the rose stems from “Philip” between the pages of the notebook, and assumes that this helped her win the vote.

In “Danvers vs. Swampscott” (63), friends and teammates Julie Kaling and Heather Houston conduct research to find new ways to “power” Emilio. The team wins their opening season game against Swampscott. Julie interprets the contents of a book on witchcraft she takes from her father’s study to mean that the team should perform mischievous and nefarious acts. A Vietnamese girl adopted by a white family, she begins to make changes to her identity that include going by the name Julie Minh.

In “Danvers vs. Lynn Classical” (95), AJ Johnson, the only black girl on the team, is incensed at having to participate in discussions of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn at school that involve white students using the n-word. In their game against Lynn Classical, the team is shocked that they only manage to tie 1-1. At the end of the chapter, AJ slips a note under the main office door that it will later become clear is anonymously accusing Coach Mullins, an assistant trainer, of having sex with a senior girl.

In “Danvers vs. Marblehead” (116), a school reporter named Nicky Higgins is beginning to take an interest in the Danvers field hockey team’s success. The narration provides details of the life of player Becca Bjelica, the daughter of a Serbian immigrant who is often underestimated due to her large breasts. Rumors of Coach Mullins’ perceived indiscretions have spread, due to both AJ’s letter and an additional letter Jen wrote that appears to be from a girl Coach Mullins has been dating. A rabbit Little Smitty has entered in competition at a local fair, Marilyn Bunroe, dies suddenly of a respiratory infection. The team buries Marilyn on the hockey field. They win their next game, against Marblehead, 10-2.

In “Danvers vs. Salem” (150), the Danvers team wins a game against the Salem Witches 4-0 on Halloween, which is also Julie Minh’s birthday. Meanwhile, player Sue Yoon has been given the role of Tituba in a school production of The Crucible. The narration reflects on Sue’s childhood and her understanding of American pop culture gained through television. After the game, the team goes out and encounters a group of boys who are mostly named Mark, one of whom takes an interest in Julie Minh.

In “Danvers vs. Peabody” (186), Boy Cory, whose name distinguishes him from Girl Cory, loses his sock armband and experiences a subsequent streak of good luck, including scoring a goal in a winning 5-0 game against Peabody and new social success. At the end of the chapter, Jen makes him a new armband and he experiences a sense of relief at being bound to the team again.

In “Danvers vs. Winthrop” (216), Heather Houston discovers that her mother has been sneaking candy bars in their sugar-free household and believes that Mrs. Houston is also having an affair. In the meantime, Nicky Higgins is continuing to pressure the team for details about their unexplained success. They convince her to meet them at the historic home of a victim of the Salem Witch Trials, Rebecca Nurse, where they drink alcohol with Nicky, tell her about Emilio, and try to convince her to sign the book. She does not ultimately sign, however. The team consults a Ouija board, asking what they need to do to win States, and the board spells out the phrase “human sacrifice.” The next day, they win against Winthrop 1-0 in overtime.

In a game against Lexington in “Danvers vs. Lexington” (256), player Little Smitty sustains a facial injury but the team wins 2-1. At her family’s Thanksgiving dinner, Little Smitty asks Brad, her cousin’s college roommate, to go to prom with her. On prom night, the team members have various positive sexual and romantic experiences. They meet at a reservoir at the end of the night to dance around a fire.

“Danvers vs. Greenfield” (293) follows the team leading up to the championship game against Greenfield. Jen’s hair, known as the Claw, is mysteriously falling out. When the team members gather at the reservoir, some of their parents unexpectedly show up. Several family secrets are unearthed, including the fact that Heather Houston and Julie Minh’s mothers are having an affair.

In “Danvers vs. Danvers” (330), the team reunites 30 years in the future for the wedding of Mel Boucher, who is marrying Coach Mullins. They reminisce about the championship game, where Abby Putnam, who is distantly related to Ann Putnam, deliberately missed a penalty shot, causing them to lose the game, because she believed that was the only way to free the team from Emilio’s imaginary influence.