Characters from Sax's Picture Day (2023) try out something new.Thirteen-year-old Alexandra Olsen has played rec league baseball for years. Now, as a seventh grader at Brinkley Middle School, she tries out for boys' baseball. The new coach welcomes her, and Al is skilled enough to make the team, along with Julian Veras, her nonbinary friend from rec league. Meanwhile, classmate Milo Castillo finds the courage to join the art club, something that's outside his comfort zone, and extroverted Viv Sullivan revives the Brinkley Beak, an old school mascot. When Al is interviewed on local TV for being the first girl ballplayer at Brinkley, it leads to dissent among her teammates; she copes by becoming overly demanding, which causes further friction. Sax does well at depicting a wide range of young people and validating a variety of interests and talents. Al is a fully realized character, and the issue of girls' equity in sports will be inviting to readers who enjoy graphic novels such as Misty Wilson and David Wilson's Play Like a Girl (2022) and Matt Tavares' Hoops (2023). In a subplot, the Brinkley girls' basketball team's undefeated season is overlooked in the hubbub over Al's presence on the boys' baseball team. The art is very well done, especially the sports scenes shown from multiple points of view. Al is white; there's racial diversity among the supporting cast.A story that will encourage readers to spread their wings. (character sketches, author's note, resources) (Graphic fiction. 8-12)

Gr 4 Up —Al (short for Alexandra) has always loved playing baseball, but when she starts middle school, there's a complication. While the teams have always been co-ed before, in middle school, the baseball team is boys-only. When Al learns that she has the right to try out for this team, her decision has unexpected consequences. Al gets more attention and press coverage than the other members of her baseball team, and she's even getting more attention than the girls' basketball team and their record-breaking season. It will be up to Al to figure out whether she should run away from the spotlight or if she can use it to make positive change. This graphic novel is part of the "Brinkley Yearbooks" series, and as in Picture Day , features a school setting and a strong protagonist who needs to figure out the best way to make her voice heard. This story also features several supporting characters who are "trying out" activities that fit their own personalities, such as joining the art club and even becoming a very unusual mascot. The artwork is bright and colorful, conveying energy and action but also the emotions of the characters as they each struggle to find their way. VERDICT For readers who enjoy realistic graphic novels about sports, school stories, friendship, and issues of identity.—Andrea Lipinski