Starred review from January 1, 2020
Gr 5-8-For readers who love baseball and heartwarming realistic fiction, this new title from Kapit is a standout. Vivy is a girl with a passion for baseball; she wants to be a pitcher more than anything else. Her life changes when a baseball coach scouts her at the park playing with her brother. But Vivy's mother is concerned about her joining the team, mainly because she will be the only child with autism and the only girl. When Vivy's social skills teacher makes her write a letter to someone, she chooses major league pitcher VJ Capello. Vivy and VJ correspond about everything and form a friendship that they both grow to need. Vivy is a heartwarming protagonist; her daily routines, struggles, and wishes will resonate with young readers who will be rooting for her from the first page. Kapit's portrayal of a girl with autism and a love for baseball feels authentic. The unique storytelling format of letters and emails will have even the most reluctant of readers turning the pages quickly. VERDICT A baseball story with heart for young readers of all genders, ages, and backgrounds. This is a must-have title for elementary and middle school libraries where realistic fiction is popular.-Elizabeth Pelayo, St. Charles East High School, IL
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from March 1, 2020
Grades 4-6 *Starred Review* Eleven-year-old Vivy has been pitching knuckleballs ever since meeting her baseball hero, VJ Capello, at an Autism Foundation event. When a Little League coach sees her practicing, he recruits Vivy onto the team, but not everyone is as happy about that as she is. Her overprotective mother refuses to believe Vivy can handle being the only girl on a competitive baseball team, and the coach's son?the team's star pitcher?bullies her mercilessly. Vivy's roller-coaster journey through the season is related exclusively through a series of letters, as what begins as fan mail to Capello becomes a regular correspondence between the young girl and the renowned pitcher. While the epistolary form stretches the bounds of believability?Vivy's messages are more first-person prose narrative than letter?the story is so undeniably charming, the sports so exciting, and the protagonist so sympathetic that readers will get sucked in. Kapit's debut is an exceedingly rare #OwnVoices account of an autistic girl?centered on that character?that gives a clear, authentic, and universally relatable representation of autism while still telling a positive, upbeat, feel-good story about a girl's fight to play the game she loves. Vivy's Jewish background, gay brother, and Latinx best friend bring an intersectionality to the novel that only adds to its appeal. A must for all collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)
Starred review from November 15, 2019
Eleven-year-old Vivian Jane Cohen has autism but she also throws a mean knuckleball and yearns to play baseball. Vivy first learned of the knuckleball three years ago, at an autism event where then-minor league pitcher VJ Capello showed her how to hold the ball the right way, but she mastered it on her own. Now a coach has seen her throwing to her older brother, Nate, and invited her to join his team. Although she initially begins writing to VJ to fulfill a school assignment, little expecting a reply, magically, he begins to write back. This vivid epistolary tale captures Vivy's growing sense of her own capabilities as she discovers that she can mostly hold her own on a boys' team, even though she has to deal with cruel bullying from the coach's obnoxious son. It helps that her catcher, Alex, accepts her fully and offers warm, believable encouragement as she finds ways to push back against her overprotective mother's smothering management. Just as helpful are VJ's insights on pitching, bullying, and life in general as he struggles with his own uncertainties. Vivy, Nate, and their parents are white and Jewish. VJ is black and Alex, Mexican American, offering opportunities for reflection on discrimination's many facets, while in a subplot, Nate comes out as gay to their accepting parents. A satisfying baseball story that never minimizes the challenges of autism but celebrates skill, determination, and love for the game. (Fiction. 9-12)
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