Club kick out!

Gr 3--8--When the new principal at Custard Creek Middle School bans all extra-curricular activities except football and its cheering squad, Sasha and her friends mourn the loss of their various passion clubs: game scripting, theater, and art, chief among them. In Mided's energetic imagery and equally peppy pacing, the kids decide to develop a wrestling team that combines their interests in plot and character development, costuming, and self-expression. Discovering that the school nurse is herself a pro-wrestler makes identifying a coach the necessary added tool with which they make their case to the principal--and win it on a probationary basis. Friendships, personalities, and setbacks are as diverse and credible as the kids' appearances of various body types, genders, and skin tones. VERDICT This bright and engaging graphic novel will speak to middle graders needs for personal recognition and group acceptance, all while introducing them to the behind-the-scenes veracity of staged wrestling.--Francisca Goldsmith

A group of middle schoolers without an extracurricular to call their own find pro wrestling a perfect outlet for their passions. Custard Creek Middle School has a new principal with a surprising plan for revamping the school's finances: He's canceling all the arts and other clubs and solely funding athletic programs. This sits poorly with the nonsporty students who find emotional outlets through activities like video games, theater, and cosplay. Enter a serendipitous loophole. When a group of these frustrated kids attends a local women's wrestling expo full of elaborate characters engaging in choreographed confrontations, they have a light-bulb moment: Why not funnel their own stifled creative energies into a wrestling club that requires dramatic imagination, cool costumes, and gamelike storylines? Much of the story centers on starting up the club--finding a faculty sponsor, planning their first match, and acting out an overly zealous pep rally/food fight. The infectious appeal of adolescent self-realization drives the story, but in laying the groundwork for future volumes, this series opener delves deeply into logistics, and the development of the expansive cast is light. The buzzy, brightly colored, manga-influenced art underlines emotional reactions with sparkly, wide-eyed close-ups reminiscent of Gale Galligan's work on the Baby-Sitters Club graphic-novel adaptations. The student body is racially diverse; most characters with central storylines appear white. Creativity and athletic endeavor forge a surprising alliance in this energetic series opener. (Graphic fiction. 9-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.