Genre: Middle Grade Graphic Novel
Publishing date: May 7th, 2024
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Synopsis:
It’s warm up time in this newest installment in the Brinkley Yearbook series. Will Alexandra make the cut and help the historically boys baseball team defend their 9-year championship title?
Alexandra, also known as Al, has been playing baseball with her older brothers for as long as she can remember. But when she ages out of Little League, it seems like it’s the end of the road for Al and the sport she loves. Until, that is, her friend Sammy suggests that Al try out for the middle school team—a team that has always been boys-only.
Al is prepared to fight for her right to try out, but to her surprise, the coach is delighted by her interest. When Al makes the team, it seems like everything is going to work out. But with a tenth consecutive championship on the line for Brinkley Middle School and a team that can’t seem to get along, will their season ground out faster than Al can say “home run”?
Favorite Quotes
I know I’m Good Enough
But I’ll always dance for fun
Redesigning my OC for my D&D campaign
Review
4.5/5
Characters-9
Tryouts had entertaining characters. I’m not one for sports books, but I enjoyed reading about the characters in this one. I loved the friendships in this book and the characters’ support for each other. Community support is important in the middle school years, and I loved how supportive the characters were of each other. They would do anything for their friends, and I loved seeing that throughout the story.
Writing & Illustrations -9
Tryouts had a fun art style. I loved the colorful pallet, and I thought it worked well to tell the story. With graphic novels, finding the balance between writing and art can be challenging, and Sarah Sax does a great job of both. I found the writing style to be charming and engaging.
Plot-8
This graphic novel had an engaging story. I enjoyed how Al broke barriers, and joined the boys team. She helped turn the team around by motivating them to do better, which I loved. I loved the Girl’s Basketball team getting coverage thanks to Al, and the rest of the teams shining a light on them. Al’s friends Viv and Milo were fun to follow as they both had their own journeys. Each character in this book grew and I loved seeing how much they grew.
Enjoyment-8
This book was fun. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I loved the characters and felt for some of them. The story was enjoyable and fun, while also talking about important topics.
Sarah cares deeply about encouraging young readers to discover and expand their sense of creative confidence. She studied Storytelling and Sequential Imagery at Hampshire College and she’s since worked as an educator at the Children’s Creativity Museum in San Francisco, a volunteer with 826 Valencia, and as Creative Director at Lumosity, where she led a team of artists working with scientists and game designers to transform problem-solving and memory skills into brain-training games. She is the illustrator of the first three books (Escape This Book: Titanic; Escape this Book: Tombs of Egypt; and Escape This Book: Race to the Moon) in the inventive, interactive Escape This Book! series, which has been translated into eight languages. Tryouts, her second of four graphic novels in the Brinkley Yearbooks series, will be published in the spring of 2024. She lives in Portland, Maine.
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