Fast Pitch

 

Author: Nic Stone

Publisher: Random House Children’s 

Year: 2021

🥎 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐲! 🥎

Shenice “Lightning” Lockwood comes from a long line of ball players. He dad, grandfather, and her great grandfather all played baseball and all might have made it to the pros. Shenice is the captain of her fast pitch softball team. She’s ready to lead her all Black team to the district championship and then onto the state tournament. Throughout her softball career, she was often one of the only Black faces on the field, so she’s always felt like she has something to prove. 

With the district tournament looming, Shenice discovers a mystery surrounding her great grandfather and how his baseball career was ruined. Can Shenice figure out what happened all those decades ago and lead her team to victory? 

I liked that Shenice loves playing her sport and that she likes school too. Shenice’s teammates are multifaceted characters too. Some girls on her team are into robotics and others like fashion and glamour. These girls work hard at their sport and they know they are good. I’m thrilled author @nicstone avoids some common sports troupe stories. It features supportive parents instead of obnoxious sports parents who push their kid to be the best. This isn’t a story about a girl fighting to play on a team full of boys. The main character doesn’t suffer a career ending injury. The team’s coaches are caring women who want the girls to be strong players and also good people. 

This is a fun and fast paced sports story with a big helping of mystery that will appeal to middle grade readers. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the digital review copy. 

Happy Tuesday! I’m waiting for an electrician to arrive to do some work. We’re starting a home reno project. Yikes! What are you doing this week? 

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