Curveball

February 1, 2024

Gr 5-7- Curveball is certainly just that: readers will think they are in for a story about baseball, and before they know it, they're in the middle of a family drama with some terrific role-playing game action thrown in. While this title seems to have something for every reader, athletes struggling to remember their passion for the game, or players with overbearing parents, will find that this is the book for them. Even those domineering parents themselves might enjoy and benefit from this story and from flipping through the pages of Elena's summer with a hurt knee. Students will connect with the pressures Elena faces, from team competition to family and friend dynamics. Elena also deals with the unique challenge of being the only girl playing a male-dominated sport. Meanwhile, gamers will welcome the respect given to their hobby, and older elementary and middle school students will appreciate the way characters navigate relationships. The illustrations provide readers with immediate insight into each characters' personality. Teachers who are helping students find their path amidst pressure from parents and peers can recommend this title as good starting point for discussions. VERDICT Purchase where sports graphic novels and role playing games are popular, especially where there are gaps in female representation.-Darby Wallace

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 26, 2024
In this uplifting graphic novel, Cartaya (The Last Beekeeper) and Diaz Rivas (the FGTeeV series) chronicle the trials and tribulations of baseball-playing Latinx middle schooler Elena Rueda. Though she loves the sport and is a skilled player—and the only girl on her team—her mother’s single-minded focus on furthering Elena’s career forces Elena to consider leaving the diamond. A tweaked medial collateral ligament prevents her from attending a summer baseball clinic, which seems like a blessing in disguise—until she realizes that she doesn’t have friends to spend her downtime with. But a summer LARPing with her younger brother Benji may be the spark to get her back on the field. The conflict between Elena’s prodigious skill and her own desires, complicated by her mother’s hovering, presents a moving take on the struggles of growing up surrounded by the pressure to succeed and lacking the opportunity to explore different facets of oneself. By centering Benji’s fanciful hobbies and rendering the siblings’ individual challenges via vibrant color and kinetic movement, this grounded tale of self-discovery transcends a rote sports narrative. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Jessica Regel, Helm Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Atlanta Japp, Advocate Art.

Starred review from May 15, 2024
Grades 3-7 *Starred Review* When Elena fakes an injury to get out of playing baseball for the summer and avoid her competitively driven mother, the middle schooler must find a new passion with the help of her younger brother. The story unfolds in a similar fashion to other books on this topic, but Cartaya truly does throw readers a curveball by tossing Elena into the world of LARPing, where she explores her imagination and rediscovers the fun of playing just to play instead of playing to win. With the help of her new friends, Elena invents a brand-new game, merging her interests into a fun new passion. There are lots of books in the middle-grade space about kids giving up sports or other passions they used to love, and it's refreshing to see this variation of a kid pivoting, not completely quitting but instead using and still developing those skills for other purposes. The real star of the show is of course the artwork: Rivas' chunky anime style plays well with the wide array of emotions that the characters feel, while the blending of imaginative fantasy elements makes the action scenes of sports shots really come to life. Elena's family is Cuban, and Spanish dialogue is seamlessly woven throughout the story. A solid story of sports and emotional growth in an unexpected, imaginative package.

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