Tryouts

by Sarah Sax Narrated by Emmett Grosland, Felisha Wong, Davu Smith, GM Hakim, Valerie Rose Lohman, Dan Crane, Mirai, Seth Fuentes, Jay Myers, Robbie Daymond, Full Cast

Overview

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”?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"A story that will encourage readers to spread their wings." —Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

2024-02-17
Characters from Sax’s Picture Day (2023) try out something new.

Thirteen-year-old Alexandra Olsen has played rec league baseball for years. Now, as a seventh grader at Brinkley Middle School, she tries out for boys’ baseball. The new coach welcomes her, and Al is skilled enough to make the team, along with Julian Veras, her nonbinary friend from rec league. Meanwhile, classmate Milo Castillo finds the courage to join the art club, something that’s outside his comfort zone, and extroverted Viv Sullivan revives the Brinkley Beak, an old school mascot. When Al is interviewed on local TV for being the first girl ballplayer at Brinkley, it leads to dissent among her teammates; she copes by becoming overly demanding, which causes further friction. Sax does well at depicting a wide range of young people and validating a variety of interests and talents. Al is a fully realized character, and the issue of girls’ equity in sports will be inviting to readers who enjoy graphic novels such as Misty Wilson and David Wilson’s Play Like a Girl (2022) and Matt Tavares’ Hoops (2023). In a subplot, the Brinkley girls’ basketball team’s undefeated season is overlooked in the hubbub over Al’s presence on the boys’ baseball team. The art is very well done, especially the sports scenes shown from multiple points of view. Al is white; there’s racial diversity among the supporting cast.

A story that will encourage readers to spread their wings. (character sketches, author’s note, resources) (Graphic fiction. 8-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159555069
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	05/07/2024
Series:	The Brinkley Yearbooks , #2
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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