This is one of the most tender and healing readings I have ever read.
Through Rosie and Blair we can explore how powerful friendship can be, especially when you go through changes growing up, changes in the family and the way we get along with others.
It has the perfect mix between funny and serious moments to make Mach Point an unforgettable story.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGally for the ARC.

Loved the concept, but I don’t think the message really came through. I didn’t really get what was actually going on between Rosie and her dad. I loved Blair! I also loved that Rosie learned ASL so Erika could talk to her!

3.5 Stars

Thank you NetGalley and First Second Books for the ARC!
Out Sep. 19th 2023!

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an e-arc of this delightful graphic novel in exchange for an honest review. All my thoughts are my own and not influenced in any way.

Title: Match point!
Author: Maddie Gallegos
Genre: Graphic novel, Middle grade, Sports
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

this was so adorable. a story of friendship, family and finding your fun. This story follows Rosie who's dad was a professional raquetball player. Rosie plays for her raquetball club and is being trained by her dad for an upcoming tournament. However, she despises raquetball and is only playing because her dad wants to see her win. Enter Blair, a young raquetball mini star who doesn't even know it. Rosie is amazed by Blair's abilities and immediately forms a plan where Blair takes her place in the tournament so she can win a medal in Rosie's stead and get her dad off her back. The two form a friendship from there and bond over cakes, games and dumpster diving. rosie plays side by side with blair and slowly ends up enjoying raquetball.

i rlly enjoyed this story. there was a deaf character as well as racially and ethnically diverse characters. i liked the way they resolved their conflict. it felt so good to see them talk about their feelings openly. i enjoyed seeing the resolution of rosie struggle with jealousy of blair and her family getting along while she didn't feel as connected to her dad. Blair's family was so wholesome. i rlly liked Blair's character. she was very passionate about what she liked, so loyal and kind and so so loveable. overall, a great read.

Rosie hates racquetball, she only plays it because her father wants her to. His idea of fun is winning, but hers is very different, because she actually does enjoy playing with her friend Blair, when it’s not at all about winning and simply enjoying without forcing improvements. It’s not like her father is a villain, it’s just misunderstanding and miscommunication that got solved in the end, and I like that!

The characters are full of life and they’re distinguishable from one another. So much fun, absolutely loved the casual representation of deaf person(it didn’t have in impact on the plot!), the diversity in body shapes and sizes, POC and hijabi girl! appropriate for children and young adults, adults would enjoy it too!

I give this a 3.5. It was a quick, fun read. Including ASL in the graphic novel was very cool and done in a good way. I feel any of my students who feels pressured by a parent to be better at a sport (or any activity) would relate well to this book.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Maddie Gallegos and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rosie hates racquetball and hates that her dad pushes her so hard to play it. Even though she hates it, she still wants to do well enough to not finish in last place. Enter Hayden! A new girl who loves racquetball and is pretty good at it too! When Hayden and Rosie become friends, Rosie plans on getting Hayden to take her place in the upcoming racquetball tournament. When Hayden starts to realize that Rosie really does not want Hayden to take her place, she's determine to show Rosie how fun racquetball really can be.

Told in graphic novel form, I enjoyed this book. Rosie's dad was a little overbearing throughout the novel but I think it was handled well by the end.

Rosie’s dad loved racketball when he was growing up. He won allsorts of medals for the game, and he wants Rosie to have as much fun playing as he did. Problem is, she doesn’t like the game. She is not good at it, and she doesn’t care if she ever gets better.

Blair lives and breathes racketball, and so Rosie thinks that if she could switch places with Blair, then her Dad would finally be happy, and then she could quit the game and do something more fun.

Problem is, if it is a problem, Rosie loves playing with Blair, and doesn’t hate it quite so much. She still doesn’t want to play, but she does love playing with Blair.

What I liked about this story was that it really doesn’t wrap up in a neat little blow. That the characters probably have more growing to do, long after we close the book.

Rosie has a nemesis, who is Deaf, but that doesn’t become the sticking point of the story, It is just what she is. I love the friendship that the two have, and continue to have whether Rosie ever plays the game again. The pictures are wild and imaginative, with a lot of movement, which they should, being about a very physical game.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.Coming out from First Second books Sept 19th, 2023.

This was absolutely adorable. I loved the relationship between the two main characters. The way they went through the emotions and the way they spoke through their issues with eachother. I think this is tailored to younger teens but I still enjoy that someone in their 20s. I think the art style is absolutely gorgeous and I love the story that this graphic novel told. I think if it was slightly longer or it had a couple more volumes afterwards. I would enjoy it more as I think. Somethings could’ve been expanded on. But I will be reading more from this artist again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was like one of the most adorable things I’ve ever read. I cried a little even. I don’t even know anything about racquetball but I’m I’ve over here rooting for these two cuties.

Rosie hates racquetball. Her father was a champion as a kid and he’s putting pressure on her to enter the tournament and win. Blair is the new girl who happens to love racquetball and is obsessed with the sport. The two become fast friends and Rosie comes up with the idea to have Blair take her place in the tournament to please her dad.

I loved everyone here. Rosie, Blair, and their friend group were so much fun. I wish I had friends like that in school. I also liked the disability rep with everyone learning sign language so they could speak to Erika. You don’t really see the main characters using sign language.

I think my favorite character was Blair. She thought her hobbies were weird and didn’t want anyone to be burdened by them so she kept them to herself. She seemed like a sweet kid who really just wanted friends to accept her. Rosie was the same way but she wanted her father to accept her.

I’m getting more into sport graphic novels and while I had no idea there were like big tournaments for racquetball and people like play it normally, this was really interesting to learn from. The art was cute and this could be an informative middle grade book about learning to make friends and be yourself.

Such a fun graphic novel! Perfect for middle schoolers trying to find their place in the world. Also learned way more about racketball than I ever thought I needed to know, and honestly, it sounds pretty fun!