Bonus #latinxheritagemonth book rec: a MG graphic novel that follows a team’s only female baseball player who, after she’s injured, finds another passion in LARPing (live action role playing)!

An interesting take on the standard sports story. Or the standard story of kids dealing with parental expectations. Combining the two and adding siblings who don't understand each other makes for plenty of interest. The messaging is aimed a bit more at adults especially the stuff surrounding sports. The plot is a bit lacking in focus but overall it's pretty readable.

A terrific book in many ways: The art is engaging, the characters and sibling dynamics are pitch perfect. The storyline is concise but the emotional nuance is substantial. Delivers on all a great graphic novel should!

If you paid attention to social media, you might have heard of a team called Savannah Bananas. They put imagination back into baseball. This book is about a girl whose life is so devoted and focused on baseball that she has no imagination. Over summer must find her imagination so she can make new friends and grow closer to her brother. There are some good lessons in here. The reader can see the Mom pushing baseball. This is what the mom wants not what the daughter wants. But you can also tell that the daughter does love the game. This book was lots of fun for any age.

Curveball discusses issues a lot of children Elena's age face. She struggles with her siblings, the pressure her mom puts on her and finding who she is. The graphic novel teaches students to not be afraid to try new things.

Elena Rueda is a baseball player. It's her life, and her mother's life. After her team loses the semi-finals, and she injures her knee tripping over her brother's LARP costume, Elena might just be having a baseball free boring summer. When her abuelo suggests she hang out with her younger brother Benji and his live action role playing (LARP) group, Elena is horrified. But as she meets Toni from across from the old sandlot, Elena starts rethinking how much baseball means to her and if she's living her life's dream, or her mother's.

I ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would. The premise was interesting and even though the plot was predictable it was still fun to read.

In this fun graphic novel, Elena has been playing baseball to the exclusion of everything else in her life. Her mom has been pushing her hard to be the best and suddenly, baseball isn't as much fun as it used to be. She ends up playing a role playing game with her brother and some of his friends and finds it's a lot more fun than baseball. Super fun story and the illustrations are terrific.

Elena is a standout on her baseball team and not just because she is the only girl. Her mom is super invested in her success and constantly pushes Elena to work on her game. When an injury forces her to take a break from the sport and leaves her with lots of time on her hands, Elena gets the opportunity to think about what she really wants—and realize that you don’t always have to compete to enjoy playing games.

Readers will relate to Elena’s struggle to find what really matters to her and to becoming confident enough to stand up to her parents to make her feelings about their expectations—and competitive baseball--known. While on the surface, this seems to be a sports themed book, the graphic novel’s pairing of baseball with live-action role playing (LARP) will help it appeal to wide reader audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for me to read and review.

Elena's life is baseball all the time. She can't hang out with friends, including those on her own team, and having any hobbies? Forget it. Her mother wants her to hit varsity baseball in the fall.

A chance fall leaves Elena with an injured knee, and she has to stay. off it for a few days. Her abuelo suggests why not LARP with her little brother. So she decides to try it, a game without winning and competition. But what happens when some nosy adults get involved?

I admit when seeing a graphic novel involving a girl playing on an all-boys' baseball team, I would expect it to be about breaking the glass ceiling. Instead, we see the other side of it; glass ceilings are hard to break! And no one should feel obligated to reach for those heights, especially if they are burning out. Elena is not perfect, but she tries her best to not get her little brother involved with those feelings. And turns out there are reasons why their mother is desperate to have a great lady baseball player in the family. The depth and the art make the story great, and it is worth the read.

The bright, bold cover drew me into this book, and the fun illustrations in this graphic novel are great! I found this book very readable. Elena is an outlier- the only girl on her baseball team and a standout player, but her commitment to the sport has left holes in her personal life. When a knee injury keeps her from playing ball over the summer, she spends more time with her younger brother, his LARPing friends and a mysterious artistic neighbor. Elena struggles to ignite her imagination and can’t help but slide back into her competitive, ball-playing ways. This book is good for young kids who are struggling with expectations and finding their niche.

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

Elena loves baseball more than anything! Not only is she the only girl on her team, but she's the best player too. The only problem is Elena isn't having fun anymore (her mom makes her train a lot) and she's ready to walk away. Elena doesn't know who she is without a bat in her hand. That is until she spends time with her brother and his unique friends.

A great graphic novel and a great story about finding who you truly are and where you belong in life.

A graphic novel centered around Elena, the only girl on the boys baseball team, and her relationship with those around her based on her baseball identity. Besides wanting to throttle Elena's mother, an all-too-real example of how wrapped up some parents get in their child's sports life, I found the book engaging. The cross over of live-action role playing (LARP) and athletics through Elena and her brother Benji felt a little forced and the judgement around both those who enjoy LARPing and those who are competitive was a little heavy-handed, but since it was seen through the lens of the kids themselves, it works in the end. The illustrations are clear and bright and well-drawn throughout; a little more differentiation between Elena and her mother would have been helpful.

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this quick read about a girl who is a baseball superstar partly because of her natural talents, but also because it's apparent that she works very hard at it. However, it's pretty clear at the beginning that her mom seems way more invested in her success than she does. It's a classic story about a child figuring herself out and feeling added pressure because they don't want to disappoint their parent. While a common theme, I really liked that this story included her brother's love of LARP, not something I often see. The illustrations are great, with the exception of the new girl's grandmother--she totally looked like Cruella DeVille to me and that just seemed odd because while her grandmother was kind of standoffish (being super wealthy, but also dealing with her own pain), she was not an evil woman. So that one didn't work for me. I especially liked the illustrations that showed their imagination with the LARP and it was great seeing Elena slowly discovering her inner little girl, back before teasing from other kids taught her to push down her imagination.

I also enjoyed the various Spanish phrases that made it into the story, and it was fun to know what was being said even without a translation! Yay for Duolingo, lol! I definitely recommend this for elementary and middle school kids!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the PDF of this Graphic Novel. 3.5/5 stars.

I mean, it's short and it's cute, but that's about it? I like the diversity rep and the way it incorporated Spanish and Cuban history of Baseball...but it just was very very very middle grade. I also thought it was interesting that Toni's grandmother looked like the stepmother from Cinderella...and there's a whole plot with Toni that I feel like really wasn't necessary?

I do like how it amplifies the importance of imagination (go LARPing) and balance with athletics, but it didn't leave a major impact on me. I think younger middle grade would love this though.

I loved this playful story about siblings learning to love each other's individual interests, even when they don't align. I loved how the characters helped each other realize what they wanted and find the strength to voice that. The intergenerational relationships were a strong point.

Thank you NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for an advanced copy of Curveball by Pablo Cartaya. I really enjoyed this graphic novel and I'm sure my students will too! Pablo Cartaya does a great job again of showing a complex relationship between middle grade kids and their mothers. This book has lots of diversity of characters and it does a good job of showing a character overcome obstacles.
The main character, Elena is super managed by her mom who only wants her to play baseball (which was her dream for herself). When Elena finally gets a break from baseball she sees that she hasn't had time to make friends and she has no imagination. With the help of her younger brother, LARPing and his friends she is able to grow a lot, even to the point of finally letting her mom know how she feels about baseball. It's a fun read.

Curveball is a really fun middle grade graphic novel that offers something for everyone! Perfect for baseball fans and kids who love LARPing and D&D. A must for all middle grade collections!

This graphic novel caters well to fans of the genre. Despite being enjoyable, it didn't quite stand out from similar ones I've encountered, leading me to give it 3 stars. While it offers good female role models and explores family dynamics, the storyline felt somewhat recycled. Nonetheless, it's a pleasant read and I recommend it, especially for those new to the genre.

Curveball presents a charming premise centered on imaginative exploration versus rigid rule-following, following a star baseball player's foray into live-action roleplaying. Elena, breaking barriers as the first girl on the high school varsity baseball team, undergoes a shift when a minor injury prompts her to rediscover the joy of playing for its own sake. While the concept intrigued me, stiff dialogue and underdeveloped relationships hindered my enjoyment. Despite these shortcomings, Miguel Diaz Rivas' art provides a compelling visual element that carries the story forward.

Thanks to Disney Publishing Worldwide and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

The book was fine--the art was very solid and cartoony. I wish the mom's design didn't look exactly like the main character, but still. It brings a lot of different themes and tackles half of them. I wasn't really a fan of the main character or her rather obnoxious brother so it made it harder to read.