What a fun and engaging middle grade graphic novel! The illustrations are wonderful, and the story line is very cute. Can Al, who played little league baseball but can't technically join the middle school team, help them win another championship? The cast of characters offers many points of entry for readers. A reader does not need to love sports to love this book.

Great sports story for middle school. The ancillary plots include students who are spectators, making this novel relatable to a variety of students. The dynamics among the students and among the teachers/admin are realistically portrayed. I could see this situation occurring in many schools, though students might not always have the support of the teachers that they have in this story. Great addition for middle school libraries.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers for this DRC.
Alexandra, or Al, is a baseball player – not a softball player. Her friends support her in trying out the boys-only baseball team. She makes the team! While she goes on the journey of what makes a good team, her friends also try something new.
I enjoyed this bright graphic novel full of all sorts of kids finding their way to new experiences and what works for them now in middle school.

#Tryouts #NetGalley

Al loves baseball but now that she's in Middle School she's aged out of the non-school teams and the middle school team is for boys. When the middle school team announces tryouts her friends encourage her to go ahead and tryout. The new coach lovers her ability and puts her on the team. But will being the first girl on the baseball team ruin Al's love of the game? This book overall has a good message about pursing your dreams and working together as a team. The graphics were eye catching and moved with the story well. I loved Al's family and the portrayal of a large close knit family. At times the reactions between the teens didn't quite seemed more idealistic than realistic. Overall a nice pre-teen age read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy for a honest review.

Alexandra (Al) has been playing baseball for years, but when she ages out of Little League, she's afraid she'll never have the chance to play again. When her best friend suggests that she go out for the middle school baseball team, a team that has always been boys only, it seems like the perfect solution.

With a new coach and a young team, the school's 10th consecutive championship is on the line. But it seems like the team just can't figure out how to play together and when Al begins getting a lot of attention for being a girl playing with boys, their problems just escalate. In the meantime, the girls' basketball team is having a record breaking season and can't seem to get anyone to notice. Can Al and her friends figure out how to play together and can they show their town what a team really looks like?

I enjoyed Sax's story and illustrations a lot. This is going to be a great addition to any middle school library. It's a fantastic look at standing up for yourself, doing what you love, and figuring out how to work as a team. I liked that Al wasn't the only character in the story dealing with finding a way to do what she loves and that she was able to use the platform she never really wanted to shine a spotlight on the excellence of others. However, I did feel that some of the side storylines were a little unnecessary and they felt rushed or incomplete in some places.

Since this is part of a series, maybe Sax plans to feature these characters or storylines in other titles? Either way, this was a highly enjoyable graphic novel and I will absolutely be adding a copy to my school library.