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The Best Thing about this Book is the format. It’s epistolary.
Premise: Vivy loves baseball, but she’s not allowed to play. Not only because she is a girl but because she is a girl with Autism and her mom thinks it just might be too much for Vivy to handle. But when a local coach sees her pitching at the park with her brother, he offers her a spot and, somehow, Vivy gets her mom to permit her. Only, that’s just the start of her problems.
Rating: 3/5
Target: 4-8 grade
Title: “Get a grip” is a play on the main pastime of the book: baseball. Vivy pitches. She identifies herself as a knuckle-baller, a rarity in the sport. However, the title may take on the idiomatic meaning as well.
Main Character(s): Vivy, 11 y.o. with autism (she/her)
Motifs (not exhaustive): autism, other, sports, bullying, professional sports, family, sexuality, independence, choice, control
Great for…* (readers): who love baseball or knuckleballs or pitching.
Great for…* (teachers): exploring structure. The book is written as a series of letters.
Parental Warning(s): None. I mean, it is a Schneider Family Book Award Honor recipient for 2020.
Interact: This is a rare book where I may not be the target audience. I want to hear from those of you who are baseball fans (which I am not). What did YOU think of this book?
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*The “Great for” category is not exhaustive and does not intend to neglect the multitude of readers/teachers who could learn from this book in any number of ways.
RATINGS GUIDE
٭ = DNF, would not recommend
٭٭ = would not recommend
٭٭٭ = enjoyable, would recommend
٭٭٭٭ = very good, would recommend
٭٭٭٭٭ = amazing, would definitely recommend
KZ Rochelle 