Our Thoughts

If we are being honest, every time we hear of a graphic novel based on real events from the 70s, 80s or 90s we get nervous. Often the content is very out of sync with the format and inevitable audience. Fortunately we were pleasantly surprised here. This is one of those rare cases where the sweet looking cover of the graphic novel matches well what young readers will find inside. This book is light and entertaining, while also hitting on an interesting historical aspect most won’t be familiar with. This story shows a glimpse into the advancement of sports for girls in high school. And it does it well (for the most part, see a couple exceptions above). Unlike much of the “woke” approaches into these types of issues, here we instead see a fair treatment. For example, the book brings up the real challenge of how to pay for the additional cost of additional sports for girls on a fixed and limited budget (here the girls get the idea to go out and sell tickets, with the graphic showing them selling outside of a church and other places). The artwork is great and really fits well with the story and setting. There is also a nice focus on friendships and an interesting supplemental author’s note. We have set out to find better graphic novel options for Christian parents. While we have not been successful nearly as often as we would like, it always brings a great deal of joy when we are. As long as you are comfortable with the set of potentially concerning content above, we feel this is one that most young readers can safely enjoy. We have this as a Recommended option for Christian parents.