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jessoehrlein's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Really loved that this covers girls in all different sports and at all different kinds of levels, playing in different ways and for different reasons.
Some favorites:
*Iacopelli's "Safe at Home" - we don't have enough softball YA stories, and this one is so explicitly for the A League of Their Own (movie) fans
*Sarah Henning's "Better in the Long Run" - the reflections on running as love vs punishment here are so good! And people becoming teammates!
*Maggie Hall's "Sidelined" - I really like stories of people finding different places than they expected in activities they love. Also figuring out if they actually like something!
*"Volley Girl" by Adler - all the growing up feelings.
The one where I knew enough about the sport to have quibbles and *did* have them was the sport climbing story. The portrayal of climbing itself is fine, but the Olympic qualification process for 2020 is so thoroughly not even remotely how it worked!
Some favorites:
*Iacopelli's "Safe at Home" - we don't have enough softball YA stories, and this one is so explicitly for the A League of Their Own (movie) fans
*Sarah Henning's "Better in the Long Run" - the reflections on running as love vs punishment here are so good! And people becoming teammates!
*Maggie Hall's "Sidelined" - I really like stories of people finding different places than they expected in activities they love. Also figuring out if they actually like something!
*"Volley Girl" by Adler - all the growing up feelings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Transphobia and Suicidal thoughts
lberestecki's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
yapha's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a phenomenal collection of short stories! I am often frustrated with short stories, since I want more. I could easily have read an entire novel for each one of these, but they were so incredibly complete I didn't need to. There was a fantastic variety of sports represented, including wheelchair tennis. I also loved that the writers refer to each other's characters -- there are cross-story mentions, which ties them together so nicely and makes it feel more real. If i had to pick my favorites, I would say the golf story (since I was on the girls' golf team in high school and I was awful), the hockey story, and the archery story which was the perfect ending. Highly recommended for grades 8 & up, especially high school athletes.
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
mamas_gotta_read's review
4.0
This was a unique compilation, and so unlike anything I normally read, that I probably wouldn’t have picked it up on my own, but I’m glad I did!
This book is comprised of many different stories by many different authors. The only commonality being that they’re stories about girls in sports. Honestly, there wasn’t very much to these stories, and several of them read like excerpts of larger stories, but I appreciated the attention to detail, as most of the stories found a way to connect to another, and each author clearly researched or had a personal connection to the sport they wrote about.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. All opinions are my own.
This book is comprised of many different stories by many different authors. The only commonality being that they’re stories about girls in sports. Honestly, there wasn’t very much to these stories, and several of them read like excerpts of larger stories, but I appreciated the attention to detail, as most of the stories found a way to connect to another, and each author clearly researched or had a personal connection to the sport they wrote about.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. All opinions are my own.
raavenreads's review
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
queerafictionado's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
🏳️🌈✊🏾♿Rep: some POC rep, some trans/queer rep, one with disability rep
📝Tropes/Themes: short story anthology, girls in sports, young adult
This anthology was not quite what I was expecting. There were a number of stories that I enjoyed, some I thought were okay and a couple that I just didn’t care for much. I think I was hoping more for stories of empowerment and encouragement. But some of the stories focused so much more on all the negative things like eating disorders, misogyny, racism, ableism, etc. And some of the stories ended in a way where I was left wondering what message I was supposed to glean from that story.
I did really enjoy a few of the stories. Volley Girl by Dahlia Adler, Anchor Points by Marieke Nijkamp, Three Minutes by Aminah Mae Safi, and One on One by Juliana Goodman were probably my favorites.
I did not at all care for the wheelchair tennis story which was unfortunate. It wasn’t the story, it was just the format of the story - written more like the transcript of a documentary - and I found it hard to get into/follow. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ice hockey one either - I really didn’t like the whole premise of that one.
Sports included in the anthology: Softball, Cross Country, Powerlifting, Soccer, Football, Cheerleading, Wrestling, Crew, Golf, Boxing, Wheelchair Tennis, Ice Hockey, Basketball, Sport Climbing, Volleyball and Archery.
All in all, I thought it was a good anthology, and I found some enjoyment in most of the stories. It was just a lot different than what I was expecting. If you like stories about girls in sports, then I recommend picking it up. Not every story was for me, but that doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy them! Please note the trigger/content warnings below.
I received an ARC through NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group.
📝Tropes/Themes: short story anthology, girls in sports, young adult
This anthology was not quite what I was expecting. There were a number of stories that I enjoyed, some I thought were okay and a couple that I just didn’t care for much. I think I was hoping more for stories of empowerment and encouragement. But some of the stories focused so much more on all the negative things like eating disorders, misogyny, racism, ableism, etc. And some of the stories ended in a way where I was left wondering what message I was supposed to glean from that story.
I did really enjoy a few of the stories. Volley Girl by Dahlia Adler, Anchor Points by Marieke Nijkamp, Three Minutes by Aminah Mae Safi, and One on One by Juliana Goodman were probably my favorites.
I did not at all care for the wheelchair tennis story which was unfortunate. It wasn’t the story, it was just the format of the story - written more like the transcript of a documentary - and I found it hard to get into/follow. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ice hockey one either - I really didn’t like the whole premise of that one.
Sports included in the anthology: Softball, Cross Country, Powerlifting, Soccer, Football, Cheerleading, Wrestling, Crew, Golf, Boxing, Wheelchair Tennis, Ice Hockey, Basketball, Sport Climbing, Volleyball and Archery.
All in all, I thought it was a good anthology, and I found some enjoyment in most of the stories. It was just a lot different than what I was expecting. If you like stories about girls in sports, then I recommend picking it up. Not every story was for me, but that doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy them! Please note the trigger/content warnings below.
I received an ARC through NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Misogyny, Sexism, Racism, Vomit, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Ableism, Transphobia, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
forbearance's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Thank you to Edelweiss for the arc!
Overall, I loved this anthology. My favorites have to be the ice hockey story (obligatory, I love all of Allen's work), softball, and the closing archery story. My least favorite would the boxing one.
As a whole, I liked that the stories had different tones, but they didn't always transition well enough. You'd have an inspiring football story followed by graphic depictions of bulimia one story later. I also wish we didn't have dual pov stories with men when the purpose of the anthology was girls and NBs in sports.
More importantly, I loved the diversity. I loved trans women finding sports that worked where they didn't have to play a gendered side. I loved adaptive sports. And I loved the call outs between stories.
Overall, I loved this anthology. My favorites have to be the ice hockey story (obligatory, I love all of Allen's work), softball, and the closing archery story. My least favorite would the boxing one.
As a whole, I liked that the stories had different tones, but they didn't always transition well enough. You'd have an inspiring football story followed by graphic depictions of bulimia one story later. I also wish we didn't have dual pov stories with men when the purpose of the anthology was girls and NBs in sports.
More importantly, I loved the diversity. I loved trans women finding sports that worked where they didn't have to play a gendered side. I loved adaptive sports. And I loved the call outs between stories.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
bookishmillennial's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
I zoomed through this anthology so quickly and in one sitting! It was adorable, full of short stories about jealousy, heartbreak, competition, hope, friendship, sisterhood, and more coming-of-age themes.
My favorite stories were Three Minutes by Aminah Mae Safi (boxing), Safe at Home by Jennifer Iacopelli (softball), and Anchor Points by Marieke Nijkamp (archery). Every story was so lovely though! I found plenty of new-to-me authors & I can’t wait to read more from them.
I highly recommend this anthology & I will be buying a physical copy when it publishes!
I zoomed through this anthology so quickly and in one sitting! It was adorable, full of short stories about jealousy, heartbreak, competition, hope, friendship, sisterhood, and more coming-of-age themes.
My favorite stories were Three Minutes by Aminah Mae Safi (boxing), Safe at Home by Jennifer Iacopelli (softball), and Anchor Points by Marieke Nijkamp (archery). Every story was so lovely though! I found plenty of new-to-me authors & I can’t wait to read more from them.
I highly recommend this anthology & I will be buying a physical copy when it publishes!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Sexism, Bullying, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Eating disorder
jazzyjbox's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
What an incredible collection of strong young women in sports!
I loved how each story focused on a different sport and how some of the stories alluded to each other. I picked this up because I enjoy Dahlia Adler's writing and discovered several new authors to check out. The stories are diverse in characters and representation, including queer, nonbinary, mental health, and disability representation.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review!
I loved how each story focused on a different sport and how some of the stories alluded to each other. I picked this up because I enjoy Dahlia Adler's writing and discovered several new authors to check out. The stories are diverse in characters and representation, including queer, nonbinary, mental health, and disability representation.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review!
roxiefox4's review
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
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