Cartaya, Pablo. Curveball. Miguel Diaz Rivas, Illus. Disney-Hyperion, 05/2024. 192pp. Graphic. Trade $24.99. 978-1-36809-009-4. Paper $14.99. 978-1-3680-8926-5. GRADES 3–6. ADDITIONAL.
Middle schooler Elena Rueda is the only girl on her baseball team, and she feels pressured by her mother to be the best. After an injury, she joins her brother’s cosplay group and realizes she can have fun without competition. Overall, the messaging is somewhat heavy-handed, but Elena is a sympathetic and relatable character. The family’s mother and grandfather are Latinx and Elena’s father is white, but the family uses some Spanish in the dialogue and celebrates their Latinx heritage. The full-color paneled cartoon artwork uses dialogue balloons for all the text, but some readers may be confused because the mother looks just a little older than Elena, as if she were her sister. Review based on an ARC.
Penny Peck—San José State University iSchool