The protagonist, Holland Delviss, is an excellent hockey player, growing up with three brothers playing the same sport. One of her brothers is the co-captain of the boys team at her high school. While it would be predicted that she would excel on the girls team, she wants to play at what she considers a more competitive level and so she tries out and makes the boys team. And this is when the trouble starts. Holland has to endure the prejudice and disapproval of many of the citizens of her town, Halcyon Lake. She also has her own inner struggles, worrying that other people think that she is not good enough. When her school team is selected to be featured on television as part of a regional HockeyFest, her status as the only girl on the boys’ team makes her the lead story. But not everyone is excited about her new fame. One person fiercely supports her, and it’s the last person she expects: the other co-captain of the team, the bossy and domineering Wes.

The best parts of the story involve Holland’s struggle for equity and justice for female athletes, her drive to be known as an excellent hockey player, not just as a girl hockey player. The less satisfying parts are the romance that rapidly develops between Holland and Wes. The story would have been satisfying without teen romance. Nonetheless, Cold Day in the Sun is an enjoyable YA novel.