The Fifth Quarter

July 16, 2021

Gr 4-6-Fourth grader Lori Block loves playing basketball, even if she's not particularly great at it. Her coach puts her in during the fifth quarter, an extra period before the real game starts, when developing players are given the chance to practice their skills on the court. She's determined to make the regular roster next year, and when her supportive parents help her join an after-school basketball program, she practices with other aspiring athletes. As with many kids, sportsmanship doesn't come naturally to Lori; she is excited when she wins but brokenhearted when she loses and sometimes takes out her failed hoop dream frustrations on her teammates and friends. To make matters even more complicated, her passion for basketball isn't shared by her best friend and teammate Sophia, who would rather spend recess playing unicorns with their other friends than shooting hoops with Lori. Navigating tensions among her friends and coping with the strain of her mom running for a town council seat, Lori strives to improve her ball skills-and learns a lot about perseverance and grit along the way. The illustrations have a classic "Archie" comic book feel with vibrant colors. The relatable story line has an uplifting message and a Raina Telgemeier-esque vibe, which will appeal even to readers who aren't very sporty. Lori, her family, and Sophia are white. VERDICT You won't want to pass on this one! A recommended first purchase.-Abby Bussen, Muskego P.L., WI

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Starred review from June 1, 2021
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* Lori is a basketball-obsessed fourth-grader stuck in the "fifth quarter," when bench-banished teammates get to take their shots during breaks. But her commitment is solid, and as she works her way from after-school practices to a three-day camp intensive, her skill grows even as her friendships and family life face turmoil. Uncertain with her fourth-grade buddies and eager to join up with some basketball-playing fifth graders, Lori can occasionally let her emotions get the better of her, which is made all the worse when her mother decides to run for town council. While the basketball scenes are fast, tense, and exciting, the emotional journey Lori takes is authentic and will prove accessible and extremely validating to both young readers and their grown-ups. Rather than distancing readers, Lori's difficulty in seeing past her own social and performance-related anxieties makes her yet more relatable. Dawson's visuals are outstanding, whip fast, and energetic for the sports action and emotive and expressive for the family and friendship moments, with bright, lively colors and figures that have the big, instantly distinct features of classic comic strip characters. With its insightful emotional balance for kids and adults and its easy narrative and visual flow, this is the rare middle-grade graphic novel that will invite read-alouds in classrooms and at home.

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March 15, 2021
Practice makes perfect, or at least better--both in basketball and in friendship. Lori may be only good enough on the boards to play in her fourth grade team's informal "fifth quarter" warmups, but her determination to improve burns steadily enough to prompt signing up for both youth league and an intensive girls basketball camp at the local college. While chronicling plenty of realistically aggressive game and practice action in the tight but cleanly drawn panels, Dawson hands his protagonist a different sort of challenge too, as Lori discovers that Elyse, a likewise unskilled teammate she had pegged as a friend stealer, is actually an admirer who has been inspired by Lori's focus. In a thematically similar side plot, Lori's own mom nervously announces that she's going to run for town council. By the time fifth grade tryouts roll around, the work both girls have put into their games and their relationship bears fruit--and if the political campaign doesn't end so happily, still Lori expresses stout pride that her mom had the courage to try. That sentiment along with a more experienced player's "If you want to win you can't be scared you'll lose" make up the main message in this first of a planned duology. The bright, saturated color palette and characters' expressive faces complement this engaging, fast-paced story. Racially ambiguous Lori and her parents have black hair and light skin; the cast is visibly diverse. Nothing but net. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)

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