Published March 2024 via Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
★★★
A semiautobiographical graphic novel about baseball, identity, and being true to yourself. I recently made a list of a whole bunch of graphic novels that my library has that interest me, and this was (surprise!) on the list.
It's a story that takes a longer path than some—the entirety of high school rather than, e.g., just a summer or a year. Jonah (the book version) has a lot of growing up to do over the course of those four years, from figuring out his own sexuality to realizing who his true friends are to seeing the world a bit more clearly. And, of course, to getting better at baseball.
The art feels a little simple to me (more "comic" than "graphic novel", if that makes sense), though it's consistent and, you know, miles better than anything I could draw myself. I do wish the plotline with Jonah's lone female baseball teammate had gone into a bit more depth; she pops on page every once in a while to be (rightfully) annoyed that the coach has given her approximately zero playing time while dedicating a tremendous amount of time and effort to moving Jonah from "bad at baseball" to "decent at baseball". It's clear that the author can see the discrepancy, but even at the end of the book I'm not sure book-Jonah ever really gets that even if he's not actively impeding her himself, he's doing nothing to help. It does feel realistic (teenagers are going to teenager!), and I'm not sure quite what I might have hoped for, but I did want a little something else there.
A quick read, in any case, and I think one where a lot of readers will find something to relate to.
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