Vivy Cohen is 11 years old, loves baseball and her lifelong dream is to be a pitcher in the major leagues. The only problem is she has never pitched in a real game and is not on any baseball team. She is also autistic and goes to Social Skills group every week and sees a therapist weekly. She usually eats lunch alone.
Her best friend is her older brother, Nate, who plays
catcher with her in the park so she can practice her knuckleball. But Nate is
dressing differently, smells differently and doesn’t have time to be her catcher.
She wonders if he doesn’t like her anymore. But Nate has a secret that he is
not ready to share.
Her parents are supportive, but her mother is
overprotective. When she asks her parents to join a baseball team her mother is
worried it may be too stressful for her. Sometimes when Vivy is frustrated or
angry, she has a meltdown, a screaming or crying tantrum, she may also rock
back and forth. Her mother relents and allows Vivy to join the team.
She is one of the best pitchers on the team and Alex, her
catcher, becomes her best friend.
Her teacher gives the students a writing assignment. Vivy
picks V. J. Capello, a famous baseball player. They establish a pen pal
relationship and Vivy shares her thoughts, feelings and emotions.
Kyle, the coach’s son, bullies Vivy. She can’t tell her
parents about the bullying because she is worried her parents would make her
quit the team. She can’t tell the coach because who would he believe, her or his
own son? With the encouragement of V. J. Capello, she figures out how to deal
with the bully.
All is going well until she has a horrible accident on the
field. Her injury has healed, but her mother forbids her to play baseball
again. Her correspondence with V. J. Capello has soured. She doesn’t know why.
She continues writing emails but deletes the drafts.
Her parents have a plan to allow Vivy to continue being a
part of the team. She is on her way to realizing her dream and has made new
friends, including a major league pitcher.
Themes: family, sibling relationships, bullying, friendships
Dial Books for Young Readers, MG, ©2020