Extra Innings and Change the Game

Bowen, Fred. Extra Innings

February 2024, Peachtree Publishing

ARC provided by the Publisher at NCTE

Mike's family members all work hard; his older sister Terry is waitressing before college, his mother is an office manager for a local doctor, and his father owns a moving company. Mike spends a lot of time playing baseball, which he feels is work, but his father disagrees. He'd like to see Mike work on the trucks with him. Mike's team, the Rays, has lost one of their good pitchers to a travel team, so are putting a lot of pressure on Mike. The coach is very helpful, helping Mike and Noah with extra practices, but Mike is still worried about looking productive in his father's eyes. When one of his teammates suggests that he help caddy at the country club, Mike jumps at the chance. The money is good, but his father still doesn't think that baseball is that important. The Rays do really well, and it looks like they might make the playoffs at the end of the season, when two Babe Ruth League teams will go up against two of the travel teams. Mike's pitching is great, but will it be enough to help the team win? Historical information about Harvey Haddix, who pitched a perfect, but losing, game is included. 

Strengths: Bowen's sports fiction books have the perfect mix of sports details and family and friend issues. Mike's desire to live up to his father's expectation of working while still being able to play ball was a great inclusion, and the scenes where the boys are caddying and realizing how much work it is are fantastic. I also liked that Mike was 14; publishers don't seem to understand how appealing older characters are to younger students. Being 14 gives Mike a lot of freedom without killing off either of his parents! The other inclusion that made me chuckle was Noah's dislike of the sponsors' names associated with the team, but also his realization that those sponsors make the sport possible. It was a nice touch to have Mike's dad show up to some games, see how well Mike was doing, and decide to have his moving company sponsor a team the following year as long as Mike promised to caddy and earn some money. I'd love to see more books with kids working. 
Weaknesses: There are a LOT of details about various baseball games and statistic that I don't really understand, but this makes them perfect for my readers. I do wish that Bowen would write more football, basketball, and soccer titles, since baseball stories are not quite as popular with my students. (It was fun to learn that Bowen's son is a baseball coach, though!)
What I really think: Peachtree should turn some of these titles into graphic novels with bright colors and larger text. They would be super popular with my students. I'll definitely buy this one, but if it were about the more popular sports, I would buy two copies. 

Kaepernick, Colin, Ewing, Eve L., and Caicedo, Orlando (illus.)

Change the Game: A Graphic Novel

March 7, 2023 by Graphix

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Born in 1987 and raised in California, young Colin was more interested in football than in baseball, although he was an multi-sport athlete and his parents were more invested in his baseball career. He struggled with fitting in at school, but had some good friends. The struggles often revolved around issues of personal identity. As a biracial teen being raised by white parents, he often felt that the Black portion of identity was something he should hide. Inspired by a friend's hair, he goes to a lot of trouble to get cornrows braided, even though his hair wasn't long enough and the rubber bands used hurt so much that he had to take the style out. His parents thought that look wasn't "professional" enough. There are many microaggressions from all sides, and he wasn't sure how to deal with these. He finds a girl in whome he is interested, only to be encouraged to date a different girl. This is a fascinating look into how past experiences can cement the idea of activism in a young person's mind, and highlights why Kaepernick was so adamant about standing his groung when he took a knee during a professional football game, even though it eventually meant the loss of his pro ball career. Additional information, complete with color photos, explains what the former athlete is going now, including his Know Your Rights camps for athletes of color. 

Caicedo's graphic novel style is more young adult than cartoonish, with long, lean characters, subtle coloring, and expressive, realistic faces. He does a great job of capturing movement on the page, and in conveying emotions. This is a slim volume, but really packs a punch. 

Since I was not really very familiar with Kaepernick, other than his frequent appearances in the news in 2016, I could have used more information about his family life. The role of his parents was critical in the book, and I was not aware that he was adopted as an infant. Since today's readers would have been very young when he made headlines because of his social activism, a little more explanation would have been helpful. 

Readers who love all things sports related and who have enjoyed graphic novels like Smith's Victory. Stand!, Wilson's Play Like a Girl and Tavares' Hoops will love seeing Kaepernick's games related in full color, and those who like biographies, like Wetzel's Epic Athletes series including Steph Curry and LeBron James, will find the details of Kaepernick's high school career inspiring.