Review: The Game Can't Love You Back

Eve's used to being one of the boys - from her family life filled with brothers to being on the baseball team. But everything changes when her school burns down and she's forced to attend a different school. She doesn't want to start all over again, but she's not about to give up pitching.

Jamie, the star pitcher for the baseball team, isn't about to give up his spot on the mound. He needs to recognition from the awards to help him get to college. His whole future is riding on this and he's not going down without a fight.

Can the two pitchers share the mound and help their team or will everything go up in flames?

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this feminist read. I love how Eve isn't about to take crap - even after some jocks try to bring her down. I love the banter between her and Jamie. I really liked the dual perspective of this book - it made the book pop.  While I can't say that I enjoyed reading about the sexism of baseball - I thought it was an important piece to the story. And I liked the romance! 

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My Library
Library Recommendation: Grab this feminist sports read for your school and public libraries!

Review: my First Book of Hockey

Introduction to the game of hockey - the rules, the equipment, and how the game is played

My Thoughts: This book is perfect for a child learning about hockey. The test is limited, but very informative. The pictures combines with the illustrations are great. The cartoon text adds humor to the book. An excellent way to learn about the sport.

Picture Book Review: Long-Armed Ludy

Lucile “Ludy” Godbold was six feet tall and skinnier than a Carolina pine and an exceptional athlete. In her final year on the track team at Winthrop College in South Carolina, Ludy tried the shot put and she made that iron ball sail with her long, skinny arms. But when Ludy qualified for the first Women's Olympics in 1922, Ludy had no money to go. (from the publisher)

A great picture book biography - I knew nothing about Ludy but I'm so impressed by her determination and her hard work. I admired her for sticking to her true self. I loved the bit about sweat. I loved learning more about this amazing woman and the people who helped make her dreams come true.

A great book for both school and public libraries. And a great book for Women's History Month.

Upcoming Review: Last Man Out

Tommy loves football. He lives for it both on and off the field. During one of the most important games of the season, he hears the fire whistle. He knows his dad's out there battling the flames.

It isn't until afterwards that he learns the truth - his father didn't make it out. He always said be the first man in and the last man out, but not this time.

Now Tommy, his sister, and his mother must learn to live without him. Tommy becomes angry at the world and a little reckless. His sister Em quits the soccer team and shuts out the world. And their mom just tries to keep everyone together.

My Thoughts: I really liked this book. It made me tear up twice in the first few pages and it certainly tugged at my heartstrings a few more times. I liked the football moments. I liked learning more about Tommy's dad. He had great philosophies. I liked the moments between Tommy and his sister - how he tried to coax her out of her shell after the death of their father. 

The one problem I had was Tommy's age. The back cover of the ARC didn't mention Tommy's age and it wasn't until page 170 that it was mentioned. From the rest of the book, I thought he was older at least 14 if not 16 from the way he acted.  It changed the perspective of the book for me. 

Cover Thoughts: Great - Love the placement of the two helmets
Source: Book sent for review
Release Date: September 13th
Library Recommendation: Perfect for tween library collection - both school and public libraries. 

Tween Tuesday Review: All Access Sports

Tagline: A behind the scenes look at the coolest things in sports

Set-Up:
The book's divided into three categories: Athletes, Places, and Gear.
Athletes: Facts about your favorites: from their pre-game rituals to what they like to do with their downtime to their favorite sneakers.
Cool Places: building monsters trucks and cool baseball fields
Gear: What does a hockey goalie really wear - plus cool history from Cooperstown and the making of a football

The Good:
The lift and look pages are awesome
Lots of facts
Great pictures
I like how it covers a variety of sports - from conventional to non conventional

The Bad: 
There's nothing bad about this book

Overall:Perfect - Get this for the young sports fans in your life!

* Sent for review

Tween Tuesday Review: Football Genius

Yes, I realize it's Thursday, but I had something else I needed to post on Tuesday, so I just switches days, but I want people to be able to search for it if needed under the usual headings. So...

Troy can predict football plays before they happen once he get into the mindset. Although he's on the team for his school, he mostly plays the bench while the coach's son plays QB. Troy can read the field and throw better than Jamie, but he rarely gets the opportunity to play, which frustrates him.

When Troy's mom gets a job with the Atlanta Falcons, Troy thinks it could be his big break. He could help the Falcons win games, especially since they've been losing lately.  He could meet the players and become part of something bigger - if only he could get someone to listen to him.

My Thoughts: With each sports books I read, I'm becoming a bigger and bigger fan of them. I really liked the relationship between Troy and his mom. She worked really hard as a single mom, both at her job, but also in making sure that Troy has manners and morals. While they were at odds for most of the book, their relationship gave the book depth. Tate and Nathan were great friends, sometime helping Troy get into trouble, but there for him at all times. Everyone needs friends like them. I liked Seth and how he started to believe in Troy and how he didn't take no for an answer.  Sometime we just need that one person believing in us and that makes all the difference.

Cover Thoughts: Good - although it isn't a scene from the book.
Source: My Library

Game. Set. Match: Blog Tour

About the Book:
Nestled along the coastline of North Carolina, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the best elite tennis training facility in the world. Head Coach, Dominic Kingston has assembled some of the finest talent in the sport. From the game's biggest stars to athletes scraping and clawing to achieve their dreams, OBX is full of ego, drama and romance. Only the strong survive in this pressure cooker of competition, on and off the court.
Who will rise? Who will fall?
Told from rotating points of view, GAME. SET. MATCH. is a 'new adult' novel about three girls with one goal: to be the best tennis player in the world.

Check out the book trailer:



About the Author:
Jennifer Iacopelli was born in New York and has no plans to leave...ever. Growing up, she read everything she could get her hands on, but her favorite authors were Laura Ingalls Wilder, L.M. Montgomery and Frances Hodgson Burnett all of whom wrote about kick-ass girls before it was cool for girls to be kick-ass. She got a Bachelor's degree in Adolescence Education and English Literature quickly followed up by a Master's in Library Science, which lets her frolic all day with her books and computers, leaving plenty of time in the evenings to write and yell at the Yankees, Giants and her favorite tennis players through the TV.


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Review: Stealing Parker

Parker Shelton is lost after her family was torn apart. Her mom moved in with another woman. Her brother's losing himself in drugs and alcohol. Parker's friends have abandoned her, spreading nasty rumors about her being just like her mother.

Parker retaliates the rumors by making out with several guys, whom she cares nothing about. Everyone things that she sleeps with them all, but she's just happy that she's changed the rumors.

Parker decides to help out and manage the baseball team as a way of hanging out with her BFF Drew. She quit softball because of the hurt she felt when her mom left. She has no idea why God let her family be torn apart.

On the baseball team, she meets a new boy - the new assistant coach. He's fresh out of college and majorly cute. He seems to like her -could she find a lasting relationship with him, even if he's 6 years older?

My Thoughts: It took me a few chapters to get into, but then I was hooked. Parker kept talking to me. I didn't like her at first, but she grew on me. Usually I don't read books with religion or religious undertones, but I really liked how Miranda Kenneally worked religion into the story; how Parker questioned the goodness of religious people. Parker had so much thrown at her. She messes up more than once, but she's just struggling to keep her head above water. While I didn't enjoy watching her struggle (sometimes I want to shake her and say snap out of it), Parker kept me rooting for her. She had good intentions, but sometimes made really bad choices. I loved the combination of sports and romance - it's like a Sarah Dessen book crossed with Mike Lupica. I loved that Jordan and Sam showed up from Catching Jordan. It's an honest book about religion and kindness, a family dynamic that changes, a relationship with an older man, and finding and being happy with your true self. Miranda Kenneally is an author to watch!

Cover Thoughts: perfect
Source: my Library