Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Spangler (Beast) crafts a piercing meditation on fraught family dynamics, complex adolescence, and athletic meritocracy in this baseball-filled graphic novel. Ever since her mother left unexpectedly, 13-year-old Gemma Hopper has been the de facto caregiver to her younger twin brothers. Though Gemma keeps the household running by preparing meals and doing laundry, her overworked father seems solely interested in her baseball prodigy older brother Teddy, who's set to join the under-16 All-Atlantic baseball team. School offers little reprieve as classmates use her as a way to get close to Teddy. While helping Teddy with batting practice, Gemma channels her frustrations into throwing her best pitches, and strikes Teddy out. The incident goes viral, tanking Teddy's confidence and catapulting Gemma into the limelight. The two-toned teal palette evokes a distinctly New England setting; rust-colored accents add nuance and energy to the protagonist's internal conflicts. Gemma's yearning for recognition from her loved ones, and the thoughtfully characterized family's struggles to connect amid the tumult, result in both hard-won reconciliations and painful disappointments, presenting a sympathetic rendering of a disheartened teenager navigating an unsettled home life. Ages 8--12. Agent: Mackenzie Brady Watson, Stuart Krichevsky Literary. (Apr.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 6 Up--Gemma Hopper feels invisible, even though she's the tallest girl in her grade, because her dad and town only seem to care about her baseball star brother, while her mom is taking time "to find herself." Meanwhile, she's left taking care of her younger twin brothers, doing all the dishes and laundry, and barely has any time to herself. On top of all that, she must play pitcher for her brother's batting practice. When she's given an assignment to write about her family tree, she doesn't know what to do because her maternal grandparents are no more present than her mom. Her best friend has started hanging out with a popular girl who's pressuring her for an introduction to Gemma's brother. Under all this pressure, it's no wonder that Gemma cracks. She makes up her family history, because there's no one to help her with it. Setting the popular girl up with her brother goes horribly wrong and leads to a fight with her best friend, and she accidentally embarrasses her brother in front of a crowd when she pitches what she wants instead of easy hits. It's only after getting out of her brother's shadow that she realizes she might have some baseball aspirations of her own. Gemma is down, but never out. Spangler crafts a story any middle schooler will understand, weaving together the troubles of Gemma's daily life into an intriguing graphic novel that kids will want to read. The distinct art style conveys Gemma's tendency to curl in on herself, and the palette changes to show when she's giving herself a hard time on the mound. VERDICT A good purchase for libraries.--Stacey Shapiro
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
In a family where baseball is life, how do you keep swinging for the fences when life throws nothing but curveballs? Seventh grader Gemma Hopper is used to standing out in a crowd. She can't help it--she's 6 feet tall. Everyone knows her older brother, Teddy, the 14-year-old slugger on his way to Florida with an exclusive travel team. But even though Gemma pitches his batting practice every day, she feels like she's little more than his shadow. Home life is not much better: Since their mom left, Gemma cares for her younger twin brothers and picks up all the household chores while her dad works. Feeling abandoned by her mother, used by her brothers, and ignored by her father, Gemma already has three strikes. Middle school social turmoil adds to the personal turmoil, and Gemma takes out her frustrations during one of Teddy's daily batting practices, pitching her hardest and striking him out. It's recorded by an onlooker, going viral overnight and giving her a chance to reimagine possibilities for her life. Spangler's mix of paneling and full-page spreads creates a visual tone that's both cohesive and dynamic. The black, white, and blue-green palette fluctuates only once, adding a contrasting reddish-brown anti-Gemma during the poignant penultimate scene when the titular character is duking it out against her inner critic. Gemma's resilience and realism will have readers rooting for her. Main characters are White. A sensitively told story about the power of self and sports. (Graphic fiction. 9-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
