Shenice and her softball team are making waves being the first all Black team to progress this far. She has a family legacy to uphold, from her great grandfather down to her. On top of all that, Shenice just met her great uncle who gave her a mystery to solve about how her grandfather was kicked out of his league. She can't keep her focus on softball when her grandfather's mystery keeps coming up.

Opinion

I loved this book. I was close to my grandfather and I love that Shenice was working hard to clear her grandfather's name. This was a quick and enjoyable book that any young sports fan would love.

Many thanks to Net Galley and to Random House Children's books for providing me with an ARC of this book and many apologies for taking so long to review.

I interviewed Nic Stone about Fast Pitch for Kirkus Magazine. This book is fast-paced like its title and has a gripping narrative. The family relationships modeled in the story are healthy and refreshing although I took it somewhat personally when the author referred to Boys II Men as "old people music."

Even in high school, my students love this book. A great addition to our tiny sports section. A fun and quick read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I am a huge Nic Stone fan. Her new books always get automatically added to my TBR. I had no idea this was a companion to Clean Getaway until I saw Scoob's name pop up in the story. I was so happy to see him again! I enjoyed Shenice's story, as well. There were moments that I had to suspend my disbelief, but it was nice to watch the history of Shenice's great grandfather unfold. I also liked the supportive relationships between the girls on the softball team. Readers that liked Jasons Reynolds's Track series will likely enjoy this one.

Anything by Nic Stone will go into my classroom library and be recommended to other teachers. Fast Pitch did not disappoint and continued Stone's ability to develop fascinating and deep characters and her ability to get at the heart of what kids today need to read and hear while seeing themselves in their books.

What a fantastic middle grade/young YA book.

Shenice Lockwood is the capital of her softball team. She's a legacy baseball player, subconsciously following into the footsteps of her grandfather. As she learns what it means to be leader, she also learns about her family legacy.

This book shows (albeit a lighter version) of little league sports politics, which is very rarely discussed.

This is the book I wish I had when I was 10-13.

If you look back at my personal profile on both IG and TikTok, you will see a Nic Stone Appreciation Post. So yea this is 100% a Nic Stone stan account. Now let’s get into this middle grade book she dropped.

Shenice is captain of her all Black under 12 softball team. They have made it to the regional championship but they are the only all Black team so they have to work twice as hard to prove themselves. Just when she needs to be focused and at the top of of her game, she is distracted by learning that the crime her great-grandfather was accused of that cost him his reputation in the Negro League may have been a set up. But the timing of learning this could throw a wrench in winning the championship. Shenice has to show her leadership abilities by rallying the team together during the championship despite all that is going on.

This is a cute story that opens the door for some great discussions with kids ages 9 to 12. This book sets the tone for kids to learn empathy, tolerance, and allyship in a way that will impact them for life. I love everything Nic writes and this was no different so add this one to the summer reading list.

This was my first Nic Stone book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Having a strong female character was what made this book relatable an marketable to my students. The fact that it involved softball and a mystery made it even better!

I don't remember requesting this? It's definitely not something I would enjoy. I highly dislike sports books. So this is strange. But u have enjoyed past books from Nic Stone so 4 stars!

A softball team made up of all Black girls. Family history that still hasn't been completely revealed. Historical information on Black baseball players and the false accusation that ruined the professional career of Shenice's great-grandfather in baseball, straight from the only family member alive who knows the truth behind it.
I don't just recommend this book to middle-grade readers, but to every young person involved in sports, whether it's a Black kid who could relate to Shenice or a white kid who hasn't considered their privilege in the sport they play.

Nic Stone is an incredible writer. This book is a perfect middle-grade book that includes a mystery, and sports, and the power of friendship, as well as the importance of family history.

I love that the civil rights doesn't drive the story and how the author handled the topic of "race.' This is definitely a great read. I can't remember any other books with Black females in sports so this is definitely needed since I was always and athlete growing up and I didn't see myself reflected in books.

This title a very interesting one, out of my typical reading comfort zone but I found it generally enjoyable.

It was a really cute book. I haven't watched the movie that it was based on but even without that background I thoroughly enjoyed it! After finishing this book, I'm assuming the book was in middle grade because of the age of the characters but it definitely read YA,

Loved this book! Nic Stone is an amazing writer and her middle grade books are absolutely perfect. I loved that she included Scoob from Clean Getaway, so her readers could have that connection and a tiny more about Scoob.

Lots of kids will pick this up... sports, mystery, history, and a guest appearance by Scoob from Clean Getaway! I found it realistic and well-paced

Nic Stone does it again with a remarkable MG read about the power of teamwork, family, and the love of softball. This novel beautifully ties in the joys of playing softball and the pride a team can take in being good and the struggles that come with racism and how to understand it all at an age where growing up and life get a bit tricky. Honest, fun, and heartwarming, this story will find a special spot in the heart anyone who reads it.

Cute book for upper elementary/middle grades. I liked the combination of sports, history, and social justice. The ending felt abrupt though. I wish the mystery and the solving of it would have been developed more as a mystery because right now it reads kind of like one but not really.

Fun middle grade book about an all Black girls softball team and Shenice's quest to discover her family's history with baseball.