4 stars. Quick, fun read for tween fans of sporty graphic novels like The Breakaways. Great illustrations and colors, sure to be eye-catching to graphic novel lovers!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This Junior Library Gold Standard book has been flying off of the library shelves since I've added it my collection. Middle grade readers who loves sports, or just a laugh out loud funny will love this story!

I really enjoyed this graphic novel! Themes of friendship, school, balancing responsibilities and of course wrestling are present throughout the title. Perfect for all middle school graphic novel collections!

This is a scenario we see in books periodically - a school cuts funding to the arts and clubs in order to maintain the budget for sports. Our heroines, after a chance encounter with professional wrestling recognize it's potential: it's artistic, creative, dramatic, and most importantly, athletic. The set-up strains the willing suspension of disbelief and the characters are fairly one-note. Even so, this book is a fun read. It emphasizes communication, honesty, and safety about all else. It empowers young readers and encourages creative problem solving.

A funny and beautifully illustrated book for MG readers about friends, acceptance, and overcoming obstacles. MG readers will laugh their way through this fun book!

As a lifelong fan of pro-wrestling I adored this graphic! Sasha is really looking forward to holding an office position in her school gaming club but is crushed when the principal shuts down all clubs for the year. Sasha, her friends and other students come up with a great plan of combining sports and theater after she watches a pro-wrestling match. I loved that this entire novel is about making space for yourself and taking up that space on your own terms. The characters are very true to life and I love the messages of friendship and working together to build confidence and just be who you are. The artwork with bright and loud in the best ways and the facial expressions made me laugh so much during several scenes. Well done! I hope there is more to come in this series.

A very fun middle grade book about 7th graders who start the year off loosing all their clubs and extracurriculars due to budget cuts. They still have sports teams, though, so some of the students band together to create a club where they can still work on their interests while fitting the criteria of a sport. This takes the form of a wrestling club. The students hope is that this club will become popular enough to convince the school to bring back their respective clubs. I am pretty far removed from this age group, but I found the story fun and endearing. I also really enjoyed the artwork.

Wholesome, good fun! I liked getting to know the different characters and seeing then become friends. The art was well-done and cute.

Uau! This is so cool. I wish I had these friends and a club that combines sports and storytelling. I was really excited to read this one. 
13-year-old Sasha is starting 7th grade and she is hoping that this is the year that all is going to be better. Kids are often mean to her, she is not very confident or stands for herself and she is very shy ao maybe if she can become the Gaming Club president things can change. But the new principal shuts down all art programs and a lot of kids now don't have a way to express themselves... until... Sasha sees a pro-wrestling match between two amazing fighters and she has an idea to create their own at school.

It's so awesome, fighting to get her club approved promotes union, friendship, and teamwork. Later it helps them face fears and doubts. They get to create their background stories, make their characters' costumes and stand up for something they love. More than that, they make a place where they love and belong. Their hard work is recognized by parents, builds support from the community, and puts up an exciting show for those who become fans. All focused on safety and rules firsts, like any other sport. We even learn some basics and rules about pro-wrestling and the choreographs.
My favorite chapter is how they decided to introduce the club to the entire school, in the cafeteria. That was ingenious and super fun. Points for inclusiveness and for not expecting that girls only have to be cheerleaders and that all are girls.

The artwork and colors make the story uplifting, energetic, and vibrant. Great humor also in their expressions. Although the main character struggles with confidence, there are a lot of amazing colors, cute costumes, awesome poses, other characters, and go-forward, never give up vibes around them.

Even if you aren't into pro-wrestling, they make it like cartoon characters good vs evil and their stories are really cute. Also, this is about friendship and building confidence. Learning to stand up for others is important, but standing up for yourself is a stronger lesson. (I'll use my own words, but they say something like this: Never give up, always face fear and doubt... and kick out!)

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this Arc. My opinions are my own and honest.
Posted on Amazon on pub day.

This graphic novel is a ton of fun. Looking to find a way to use the skills they love and stay connected to their school after all non-sports activities get canceled, a mismatched group of middle schoolers create a professional wrestling team with the help of the school nurse, who happens to be the local women’s champion. The story looks at how people, relationships and priorities change as kids go through middle school, but does so in a highly entertaining fashion. And don’t worry if you aren’t an expert on pro wrestling; neither are most of the kids on the team. You’ll grow to love it like they do.

Thank you HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperAlley, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this great book. This is a fast-paced, action-packed sport based story about friendship, confidence building, fitting in, and being who you are. Fun art with manga elements, great, realistic characters, and important lessons of working together to accomplish a goal and standing up for yourself and others make for an entertaining read. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys realistic graphic novels in school setting, like those of Svetlana Chmakova.

Reviewed NetGalley:

Honest review from my ten year old.

A graphic novel bases on a pro wrestling club for mainly girls. Lots of fun to read.

This was a fantastic graphic novel about a group of creative middle schoolers who fall in love with wrestling when all of the arts and hobby clubs are taken away. This story contains a fun cast of characters and it’s easy to empathize with the protagonist, Sasha, as she tries to cut out a new space for herself after the gaming club is discontinued. This book really helps to cast wrestling in a whole new light to those unfamiliar with the particulars of the sport and I wouldn’t be surprised if more wrestling fans are created after reading this story. My only critique is that it’s hard to believe that all of the arts and hobby clubs would be disbanded in a school, but if you’re able to suspend your belief in that matter it’s an absolutely delightful read.

This graphic novel was really cute. I can't wait to purchase it for my library and add it to our collection. The art style is so colorful and it is a great story about entering middle school.

The art in this book gives off a serious manga vibe! Yet it reads like a regular graphic novel, just the art has this added bonus of being manga-like.
This is a fast-paced and lively story of fitting in, of friendship, of community, of being who you are, of finding creativity in all the unusual places, and of finding your place in the world.

My Rating: 5
An artistic, fiery, and wrestle-filled graphic novel about making a space for yourself when the world refuses to give you one.
Thank you Harper Alley for providing an e-book copy through NetGalley.

Synopsis:
Sasha is looking forward to the seventh grade, where she can relax in her gaming club and be with her like-minded nerdy friends. Then, she, and about half of the school are punched in the gut when the pro-football principal cancels all artistic extracurriculars in favor of all-things sports, including their plan for a brand new stadium, though he claims there is not enough budget for the rest. Sasha is broken, not only by the devastating news, but by 1) her best friend leaving her behind for cheerleading and 2) one of her gaming club friends turning against her and kicking her out, calling her a crybaby who can’t lead anything. Alone, she works hard for her English class project, where she has been grouped with a bubbly cosplayer, two theater nerds, and an improv actor, all reeling from the absence of their clubs. However, when the group goes to a local wrestling match and witnesses the wonder of sport, Sasha gets a brilliant idea: They will create their own wrestling club at school! Not only is it a sport, but it has costumes, acting, audio and music, theatrics and staging, improv, and so many more artistic elements that can create a space many students are missing. So Sasha and her crew create a plan, and together, they try to create the greatest wrestling club this school has ever seen. But how will they convince the principal and others to get on board with the plan? And will they take their performances too far?

What I Liked:
Everything, honestly. The art was fantastic - fun, colorful, and stylistic. Mided showed her inspiration of western comics and manga through the characters’ poses, composition, and overall energy. I loved all the characters themselves. Sasha, the protagonist, starts as a weak and insecure nerd and transforms into a passionate girl not afraid to fight in the face of authority and haters. Her wrestling buddies are drastically unique from each other, both in terms of the art they like (cosplay, theater, improv) but also their personalities, ethnicities, outlooks on the situation, and overall feel, so when all five come together, readers experience dynamic friendships that never go stale and handle both lows and highs of relationship building. Other characters, such as the coach, Sasha’s “ex-friends”, the principal, her enemy, and her family, stand out and none of them are wasted or useless to the narrative; All of them add to the conflict, the resolution, and Sasha’s character growth. Lastly, I think the plot itself is really clever and funny. A group of kids try to make a wrestling club that incorporates all their favorite artistic passions? That’s hilarious! I wish my school was bold enough to do that. Overall, a great comic for middle grade readers who want to see students their age in the arts fighting for their passions and dealing with friendship dynamics in a bright and entertaining graphic novel.

What I Didn’t Like: Nothing!

Who Would I Recommend This To: Kids who like realistic graphic novels with fun art, set in middle school, and involves fun sports, artistic passions, nerd culture, and navigating friendship. Crush or Enemies by Svetlana Chmakova or Click by Kayla Miller are good read-alikes.

Review Date: May 31, 2023

Club Kick Out: Into the Ring! is a must read for anyone who is a fan of the arts!

On the first day of school, Sasha and any student in extracurricular art clubs are blindsided at their assembly meeting when their club funds are taken away and given to the sports teams. Desperate to find an outlet for creativity, Sasha teams up with her book report group to blend their own artistic interests into something new- their very own pro-wrestling club! Sasha and friends now have a chance to show off their talents while having the freedom to express themselves in a new light. More specifically, this new and flashy club qualifies as a sports team, but they'll have to work harder than branding themselves to make this work!

While it may seem like a stretch for every artistic club to be cut from a school's budget, the emotional toil it has on these kids is very real when artistic clubs in today's society struggle to stay afloat. This novel brings to light the importance it is for kids to have the opportunity to find their own creative outlet that allows them the chance to grow and have fun in a safe space.

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Sasha is a big fan of the video game Pom-Pom McPunch, and she's in a gaming club at Custard Creek Middle School. She's excited to enter 7th grader, since 6th graders weren't allowed ot hold offices, and she would like to be president. She's in the club with her good friends Sage, Noah, and Declan. Sage is apprehensive about the year because her father, who was a football star and motivational writer, is going to be the new principal. Sasha's brother Riley is also going into 7th grade, but is a deeply unpleasant character and wants to run against her for the presidential position. When school starts, things don't go well. The gaming club, along with all of the other clubs that aren't sports related, have been canceled by the principal and school board, and all of the funding they would have had will be funneled into teams and a new sports facility. Not only that, but Declan is being horrible about everything and is no longer friends with the group. When Sasha's friend Clover gets tickets to pro wrestling, it's a welcome diversion at first, but the group soon realizes that it might be their answer for an alternative to a club. It's sports related, but also incorporates elements of theater, costume, and story telling. They put together a proposal that the principal considers, but they still need a faculty advisor. Their language arts teacher, Mr. Park, seems like a good candidate, but he's busy with cooking lessons, since he had been the home ec teacher before the cuts. Eventually, they approach the school nurse, since Sasha is always in her office because she's clumsy, but she refuses. The kids eventually find out that this is because she performs in local pro wrestling meets and doesn't want anyone to know. She eventually agrees, and Sasha and her friends come up with all sorts of plans for the group. Sasha has become a cheerleader, and it is hard for the two to remain friends. Some of them are a little misguided, and get them into trouble, like staging a fight in the cafeteria to drum up support and get new members for the club. Since they hadn't asked permission, and a bit of a food fight ensued, this doesn't help their case. Eventually, they get the backing of the cheerleaders and the football team, and plan a big show at half time. Will this be enough to stand the group in good stead with the administration and have access to funding? Will the clubs ever be able to return?

N.B. Graphic novels are a challenge for me; I can't high light things in my e copy, and even when I take notes, I often forget characters' names.

Strengths: The cool kids are now the uncool kids; this is completely on trend with the new middle grade insistence that all of the artistic types who previously were on the fringes of school society are now the main characters of books, fighting the injustice brought about by the evil sports teams. This makes sense, since the people who write books are often ones who felt marginalized when they were young. Sasha's love of gaming is something that many young readers will appreciate, and they will cheer for Sasha as she fights The Man to regain her club. This also has a nonbinary charater, Clover, who uses they/them pronouns, and one of the characters (Artemis, who likes vampires and dresses like a Goth) has two mothers. This is full of humor, has some friend drama, and shows dedicated students trying to fight for what they believe in. My favorite characters were Sasha's parents, who run a local cheese shop (this is set in Wisconsin) called Cheese Louise!
Weaknesses: While sports generally get more support than other sorts of activities, I'm not sure that school boards and principals can often take it upon themselves to pull funding from nonsports groups and reallocate it. It could happen, I suppose, but doesn't seem all that realistic. It makes for a good story, thought, like Herbach's Fat Boy vs. the Cheerleaders, but that book seemed a bit more likely.
What I really think: I'm not sure how many middle grader readers will be interested in pro wrestling, but this will appeal to the Post Covid middle graders who are always anxious, feel everyone is out to get them, and believe completely that the things they like to do are hated by everyone else. I'm struggling to understand these students, but this is completely on trend with what I have seen at school and in middle grade stories like Capp's Indigo and Ida, Badua's The Takeout, or Davault's Misfit Mansion. In the 1990s and early 2000s, everyone wanted to be popular. Now, characters seem to hate popular people and feel that they wish them ill. No judgement, just an observation on how perceptions change.

This one is a keeper!

Imagine the crossover between Raina Telgemeier's wildly popular realistic fiction graphic novels about life in middle school crossed with GLOW and you have Club Kick Out: Into the Ring!

Sasha, hopeful to spend seventh grade as president of her gaming club, is shocked on the first day of school to learn that her new principal - a self-help author and former star player for the Dallas Cow...pokes - has canceled all clubs and extracurriculars EXCEPT sports in order to pay for a new stadium.

Sasha and her literature class group project group - a collection of artsy misfits bemoaning their inability to perform and create anymore - have an epiphany when a member of the group gets free tickets to an independent pro wrestling show from their brother: professional wrestling combines all the artistic endeavors the group had been missing under the guise of athletic competition!

There's so much to love about this book. As an adult reader, I appreciate all the cultural references and jokes that might go over some target market heads now but will be "aha!" moments later in life (a bit like my generation realizing what Animaniacs jokes were referencing as we learned more about the world). Mided obviously shares the same zeal for these kids' passions (wrestling, video games, etc.) and that comes through in every panel of this book; for kids that translates into a gleeful reading experience with relatable drama stemming from Sasha caught between the two worlds of her old friendships (namely with the new principal's daughter, her former best friend who is now on the cheerleading squad) and a captivating journey of middle school self-discovery.

I'll need multiple copies of this one when the physical version is released - and I'll also need a few for my kids.