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I really love reading graphic novels and manga. There is just something so fun about diving into these stories and just getting to enjoy them alongside images that help to represent the characters, settings, situations, and more. Recently I picked up a graphic novel E-ARC (thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest review). I had no idea when I decided to pick this one up there was a graphic novel before it (so now I am trying to hunt a copy down to read) but in the meantime let’s talk about Tryouts!

SPOILERS AHEAD

Al is a female baseball player but now in middle school she is not sure she will get to play anymore. They have a boy’s team but not a girl’s team. After some research performed by her friends and a chat with her family, she decides she is going to sign up for tryouts for the boy’s team. The new coach does not put up a fight and is actually very excited to have Al trying out. Al tries out and does her best, she patiently waits for the news of if she made the team, and when the day comes that the coach makes the announcements, Al learns she made the team! She is beyond excited and they are able to start the session off strong. However, there starts to be some follies when Al is recognized by the media and they cut out some items from the interview to make it appear like Al is attributing all the success to herself instead of the team. Now the team is mad and Al and Al is feeling all off. But can the team make a comeback? This is very important to everyone but it would require them to pull together to pull this off!

I absolutely loved this graphic novel. Al, her family, her friends, and her teammates were all interesting and I loved getting to be a part of their world for just a little bit. Additionally, this graphic novel’s colors pop off the page and catch your attention, they make you want to continue reading this story and learning more about Al’s journey. I am currently hunting down the first graphic novel in this series and I am so excited to get to have more time in this world. This graphic novel is coming out on May 7th! I highly recommend giving it a try!

Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars

***Thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC. Tryouts is about a girl named AL(Alexandra) who is done with rec baseball and wants to play school ball. Unfortunately, there is no girls team, so she and another girl tryout for the boys team. The boys have been on a winning season in the past years and they fill the girls will make them lose. It will be hard work and real sportsmanship to get them to work together.

When Al ages out of rec baseball, her friends assume she will play softball. Al knows that softball isn't the same as baseball and knows she is just as good, if not better than the boys on the team. This is a story of friends having each other's backs and what happens when you can't believe in yourself, but your friends can!

3.5⭐️
Second installment from The Brinkley Yearbook series, this time the main star is Al, the redhead sporty girl! She took risk to join tryouts for the boy baseball team because the school doesn’t have a girl team.

I love the illustration & coloring style. Though the storytelling felt a bit out of place and hard to follow sometimes, and the fact that i’m not a fan of sports didn’t help at all haha. But it’s still nice to read.

Really lovely book about the first girl on an all-boy's baseball team at her middle school. When the team is featured in the news, the journalists focus too much on the protagonist Al rather than the whole team. The story really makes the point that kids should be able to tell the story that is important to them.

There are so many good things going on in this book. Al loves baseball and tries out for the boys baseball team. She gets a lot of positive attention for it. The girls basketball team is undefeated and isn’t getting attention got it. Al knows something is wrong but has to figure out how to fix it. Great story with fun characters. A lot of depth to the story.

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.