FOX POINT'S OWN GEMMA HOPPER

In a family where baseball is life, how do you keep swinging for the fences when life throws nothing but curveballs?

Seventh grader Gemma Hopper is used to standing out in a crowd. She can’t help it—she’s 6 feet tall. Everyone knows her older brother, Teddy, the 14-year-old slugger on his way to Florida with an exclusive travel team. But even though Gemma pitches his batting practice every day, she feels like she’s little more than his shadow. Home life is not much better: Since their mom left, Gemma cares for her younger twin brothers and picks up all the household chores while her dad works. Feeling abandoned by her mother, used by her brothers, and ignored by her father, Gemma already has three strikes. Middle school social turmoil adds to the personal turmoil, and Gemma takes out her frustrations during one of Teddy’s daily batting practices, pitching her hardest and striking him out. It’s recorded by an onlooker, going viral overnight and giving her a chance to reimagine possibilities for her life. Spangler’s mix of paneling and full-page spreads creates a visual tone that’s both cohesive and dynamic. The black, white, and blue-green palette fluctuates only once, adding a contrasting reddish-brown anti-Gemma during the poignant penultimate scene when the titular character is duking it out against her inner critic. Gemma’s resilience and realism will have readers rooting for her. Main characters are White.

A sensitively told story about the power of self and sports.