I didn’t write up my review for Tryouts: (A Graphic Novel) (The Brinkley Yearbooks) by Sarah Sax until after things closed for the year. But that’s okay. I will just add it as my fourth book review of 2025 as I had a few books at the end of 2024 I missed, but will let you know about them now January 2025. And the rest of the books afterwards should be 2025 all the way.
Tryouts is a typical story of girl power, sports, teamwork and friendship. While not a fresh theme (a girl wants to play baseball, but the only team is the boys, but nobody thinks a girl could play), the way presented is more modern and has a bit of new ways of doing things. There were a few bumps for me as an adult, but kid me would have enjoyed this a lot. They also include a story about the girls basketball team and how they are undefeated, but not getting the press the boys team has gotten in the past. And a story about the mascot, which was a good idea to use to get a couple of the kids to get out of their comfort zone for being in a club, was not needed overall.
But though baseball and basketball are in the center role, it is not just for sports fans. It is about the comfort zone, standing up for yourself, learning about each other, teamwork and the biases people can have. This is tied together with the illustrations that will be full color in a final copy. I had an old reader’s copy with black and white illustrations, however, the example page shows how bold and simple (not simplistic) they are. They support the story well.
Part of The Brinkley Yearbooks series, Picture Day currently out and School Dance due mid-late August 2025.