Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the PDF of this Graphic Novel. 3.5/5 stars.

I mean, it's short and it's cute, but that's about it? I like the diversity rep and the way it incorporated Spanish and Cuban history of Baseball...but it just was very very very middle grade. I also thought it was interesting that Toni's grandmother looked like the stepmother from Cinderella...and there's a whole plot with Toni that I feel like really wasn't necessary?

I do like how it amplifies the importance of imagination (go LARPing) and balance with athletics, but it didn't leave a major impact on me. I think younger middle grade would love this though.

I loved this playful story about siblings learning to love each other's individual interests, even when they don't align. I loved how the characters helped each other realize what they wanted and find the strength to voice that. The intergenerational relationships were a strong point.

Thank you NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for an advanced copy of Curveball by Pablo Cartaya. I really enjoyed this graphic novel and I'm sure my students will too! Pablo Cartaya does a great job again of showing a complex relationship between middle grade kids and their mothers. This book has lots of diversity of characters and it does a good job of showing a character overcome obstacles.
The main character, Elena is super managed by her mom who only wants her to play baseball (which was her dream for herself). When Elena finally gets a break from baseball she sees that she hasn't had time to make friends and she has no imagination. With the help of her younger brother, LARPing and his friends she is able to grow a lot, even to the point of finally letting her mom know how she feels about baseball. It's a fun read.

Curveball is a really fun middle grade graphic novel that offers something for everyone! Perfect for baseball fans and kids who love LARPing and D&D. A must for all middle grade collections!

This graphic novel caters well to fans of the genre. Despite being enjoyable, it didn't quite stand out from similar ones I've encountered, leading me to give it 3 stars. While it offers good female role models and explores family dynamics, the storyline felt somewhat recycled. Nonetheless, it's a pleasant read and I recommend it, especially for those new to the genre.

Curveball presents a charming premise centered on imaginative exploration versus rigid rule-following, following a star baseball player's foray into live-action roleplaying. Elena, breaking barriers as the first girl on the high school varsity baseball team, undergoes a shift when a minor injury prompts her to rediscover the joy of playing for its own sake. While the concept intrigued me, stiff dialogue and underdeveloped relationships hindered my enjoyment. Despite these shortcomings, Miguel Diaz Rivas' art provides a compelling visual element that carries the story forward.

Thanks to Disney Publishing Worldwide and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

The book was fine--the art was very solid and cartoony. I wish the mom's design didn't look exactly like the main character, but still. It brings a lot of different themes and tackles half of them. I wasn't really a fan of the main character or her rather obnoxious brother so it made it harder to read.

Loved this graphic novel! The design was really cool and the cast was super sweet. Sports books for graphic novels are few and far between, and it's great that there are more books being published! Definitely fills a need.

I really like this book! If you love baseball, girl power, and finding your way then this middle grade graphic novel is for you. The characters are quirky and fun, and Elena finds a new friend at a least likely time. Elena learns to grow without a bat in her hand, and this is a new experience for her.

Elena gets hurt playing baseball, the sport she loves, but not quite as much as her mother, and has to figure out something else to do. Her wise grandfather encourages her to try new things, namely, role playing (LARPing) with her brother and his friends, but it doesn't quite come easily to Elena. Kids will empathize with Elena as she struggles to find something she enjoys when she can no longer play baseball, they'll understand how challenging it is for Elena to stand up to her mom, too.

This book was really fun. I loved how the main character has to look outside of her box. It gives an honest account of someone stuck in something because their parents wants them there, not because it’s a passion of their own. A very important lesson for any kid. I will be purchasing this one for my daughters. They are going to love it!

Middle schooler Elena Rueda is the only girl on her baseball team, and she feels pressured by her mother to be the best. After an injury, she joins her brother’s cosplay group and realizes she can have fun without competition. Overall, the messaging is somewhat heavy handed, but Elena is a sympathetic and relatable character. The family’s mother and grandfather are Latinx and Elena’s father is white, but the family uses some Spanish in the dialogue and celebrates their Latinx heritage. The full color paneled cartoon artwork uses dialogue balloons for all the text, but some readers may be confused because the mother looks just a little older than Elena, as if she was her sister.

My middle-grade students enjoy graphic novels so I am always looking for good ones for our classroom library. This title did not disappoint! I feel like they can relate to the characters in this story because I hear them talk about the topic every day. Middle-grade students feel more pressure than any other grade group to decide what they love and hate without any clear-cut lines. Some parents put added pressure on these kiddos by forcing them or pushing them to do what activities they think are best for them. This title addresses this topic perfectly! Elena is the only girl on the baseball team and her mother pushes her because of that fact. When Elena gets hurt in the game and needs to take some time off to rest, she finally has time to spend with her brother and her other friends. She discovers that there are other things that she enjoys doing besides baseball, but she never has time to do them. She pushes back against her mother and decides to do what makes her happy. This story is great for any student who is feeling that same kind of pressure from their parent. This book has a great message for kids and adults alike! I would like to thank NetGalley for the ARC and I will certainly be recommending this book to my students and purchasing it for our classroom library.

Curveball is about a girl being pushed by her mom to go to the next level in softball. She has an injury and remembers how fun life can be. I had a little trouble following the imagination side of the story but I think I understood it at the end. Addresses parents pushing their children to live out their dreams.

A graphic novel that follows tween Elena, who plays baseball for her local team, and is beginning to see life outside of baseball for the first time. Her mother, a former player, seems to be putting her own hopes and dreams that never happened onto her daughter. Elena has followed along because she didn’t know better, but as she starts her summer with a brief break from the game, she spends time with her brother and his friends and sees there is more to enjoying life than being on a baseball path all the time.

A sweet story about kids spending their summer playing and using their imagination as they navigate their own challenges. Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for being given a digital ARC of this book. I look forward to recommending this book to the kids in my library this summer!

I received a free ebook ARC from Disney Hyperion via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This juvenile graphic novel stars Elena who’s whole life is focused on baseball and who’s mom is hyper-focused on her success. Elena is questioning how much she loves baseball and why she is doing it. When Elena has an injury in the summer that has her hanging out with her brother and his friends who LARP – she realizes how hard it is to open up her imagination. Will Elena be able to find what is most fun for her? Overall, this is a cute and well-illustrated story that could have spent more time developing all the characters. It was also a bit cliqued in parts, but easy to read.

Elena is an amazing athlete - as the only girl on the baseball team, she needs to be better than everyone else to show them girls are legitimate players. Her mom was also a player, but her dreams were squashed by stricter rules restricting girls from playing. So her mom has been training her since day one to be a super star no one can deny. When an injury at the begining of the summer sidelines her training, Elena has an opportunity - is this who she wants to be?

Elena lives and breathes baseball. But lately, the thrill of the game has been replaced by burnout. Fueled by her mom's relentless expectations, Elena feels lost - unsure of who she is without a bat in her hand. A minor injury becomes an unexpected chance to step back from the diamond. Venturing beyond the baseball field, Elena finds herself drawn to the world of her brother's quirky friends, the BORKS. These free spirits love to dress up and create fantastical worlds. As Elena joins their adventures, she learns more about her brother and herself. Curveball is a graphic novel that hits a home run with its wonderful characters and exploration of friendship, imagination, and finding your own path. It's a must-read for anyone who's ever felt like they have to live up to someone else's expectations.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Elena has spent her whole life working to be the best baseball player--the only girl on the boys' teams. She and her mom are determined to have her play high school baseball with the boys. When an injury sidelines Elena for the summer, she has time and space to determine what she really wants.

A solid middle grade graphic novel that incorporates sports, imagination, friendship, and family.

I have a love of baseball, and when it is a a girl playing, it make it even better. I enjoyed this book and how life can have its pressures. A person needs to decide what to do, but yet doesn’t want to disappoint anyone. That was this book. In the end with communication things did get better for the main character. She gained friends an imagination and she got to play ball but in a different way that she enjoyed. The pictures were colorful and easy to see, some graphic novels, have awful graphics, but not this book.
The only thing I didn’t like in the book, was the Spanish words. I have no background in Spanish and could not figure out what was being said. As a speech and language pathologist, when working with students 90-95% of information must be presented so they can understand, and with that Spanish, they would have a difficult time with this book. That would be the only reason why I wouldn’t use it for therapy. I will suggest they read it on their own though.

This story is about Elena, a middle school girl that plays baseball on a boy's team (the only one available). She enjoys baseball, but that seems secondary to her mother's reasons for Elena playing baseball, namely that Elena has the chance to achieve what her mother and grandmother could not. When a non-baseball related knee injury sidelines Elena, she doesn't know what to do with herself, but finds she is relieved to not be playing baseball. With the encouragement of her grandfather, she "plays" with her brother and his band of LARPers, but finds that imaginary worlds are hard for her, she is so use to the rules and absolutes of baseball. During her struggles to fit in with the LARP group she meets Toni, a girl who now lives with her grandmother after the death of her parents. She and Toni are able to talk to each other, and help each other be brave in telling the adults in their lives that they need to be able to make their own choices about the things they care about .

This graphic novel moves quickly, with lots of action in the panels. With problems such as over-bearing parents, and pressure to perform, I think that many kids will find something to relate to. In addition, role-playing games are becoming more popular again, and the LARP group is a large part of this story, so that will also draw readers. The cast is diverse, with Elena's family (Cuban) reverting to Spanish, especially when overwhelmed or talking to grandfather, but it is easily understood as the listener often repeats the meaning of the words in English. Definitely a graphic novel that has a strong story behind it.