Summary
Vivy Cohen is an 11-year-old autistic girl, who has been interested in being a knuckleball pitch since she met an MLB professional on a school field trip. She starts writing letters to that baseball player, and soon he starts to respond! The book is written in back and forth letters between Vivy and the MLB player. While writing letters, she starts playing on a little league team. The friendship and advice between the professional player and girl through her personal setbacks and his professional challenges are heartwarming.

Review
I love a book in letter form. The letters are endearing. They really show the emotional and social challenges of some learners. The challenges Vivy faces will resonate with different kids in different ways. For example, she has many social challenges with friends and teammates. She can be very stubborn and persistent, especially when things are not going her way!
This book has been particularly popular at my school with young female athletes. Many of the girls have enjoyed learning about the struggles Vivy has on her team. Being on a team sport, no matter if you have autism or not, has its ups and downs. Through her challenges and perseverance you can’t help, but love her! This is definitely in my top for the Intermediate Nutmegs this year! ( )

I really enjoyed this book in letters — just zipped along, and the narration on the audio book was excellent. Loved Vivy’s exuberant personality, love of the knuckleball and stubborn persistence even when things don’t go her way. Loved VJ Capello’s kind and respectful correspondence and solid advice. Vivy is autistic, Jewish, and a girl who pitches for baseball. VJ is a black major league pitcher with his own worries and problems, and their bond is both believable and a distinct asset to them both. Vivy’s older brother Nate comes out as gay later in the book, and her somewhat helicopter mom learns to let go. Altogether quite satisfying. ( )

Vivy, an 11-year-old autistic girl, has been interested in being a knuckleball pitcher ever since meeting a MLB professional at a school field trip. As part of a social skills assignment, she starts writing letters to that ballplayer and is pleasantly surprised when he starts writing back. At the same time, she joins the local Little League team as the only girl and faces some setbacks, including what feels like a lack of support from her family at times.

I am a sucker for epistolary novels, which this is, even with the switch from letters to emails fairly early on. The mentor-mentee relationship between Vivy and professional baseball player VJ is extremely sweet, and it is ultimately mutually beneficial. I really appreciate how VJ takes Vivy’s concerns seriously and doesn’t placate her with aphorisms. Vivy struggles with finding the words to speak with her neurotypical mother at times, and she learns how to better express herself through writing. She also has a strong bond with her brother despite some concerns about him changing now that he’s in high school, and develops a close friendship with the catcher on her baseball team.

All of this is not to say that she doesn’t face issues. Some of them will resonate with all kinds of kids – like being teased by a mean boy on her team – while others are specific to Vivy’s autism. She worries that her mother and others view her as broken, she gets overwhelmed by too loud sounds, and so on. Still, at the end of the day, Vivy finds success enough for her and that will instill an appropriate amount of hope in the readers.

I am a sucker for epistolary novels, which this is, even with the switch from letters to emails fairly early on. The mentor-mentee relationship between Vivy and professional baseball player VJ is extremely sweet, and it is ultimately mutually beneficial. I really appreciate how VJ takes Vivy’s concerns seriously and doesn’t placate her with aphorisms. Vivy struggles with finding the words to speak with her neurotypical mother at times, and she learns how to better express herself through writing. She also has a strong bond with her brother despite some concerns about him changing now that he’s in high school, and develops a close friendship with the catcher on her baseball team.

All of this is not to say that she doesn’t face issues. Some of them will resonate with all kinds of kids – like being teased by a mean boy on her team – while others are specific to Vivy’s autism. She worries that her mother and others view her as broken, she gets overwhelmed by too loud sounds, and so on. Still, at the end of the day, Vivy finds success enough for her and that will instill an appropriate amount of hope in the readers. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. 4-7

Plot Summary: Vivy's dreams are coming true. After working for a few years on throwing a good knuckleball, a baseball coach spotted her arm and invited her to join his team. Vivy's mom doesn't think it's a good idea -- she would be the only girl, Vivy has autism and mom doesn't know if that's a good fit, and mom is worried about distracting Vivy from her school work. Vivy is determined to convince her mom AND prove her wrong about everything. Once she convinces her mom to let her join the team, Vivy is scared about pitching in a real game. Will she keep her cool and be happy with her pitching? Will Vivy ever be allowed to return to the game after getting a line drive to her head? Will Vivy be able to stand up to the bully on the team, even if he is the coaches son?

Setting: ?

Characters:
Vivian Jane Cohen - AKA Vivy
Mom - over-protective of Vivy
Dad - let's mom make most of the parenting decisions, stands up for Vivy in his own way occasionally
Nate - Vivy's older brother, usually Vivy's catcher but hasn't been around recently, acting strange and Vivy takes it personally, starts dating another boy
Coach K - focused on baseball but also kind-hearted
Kyle - Coach K's son, bully, on the baseball team
Alex - on the baseball team, becomes friends with Vivy

Recurring Themes: baseball, women in sports, autism, knuckleball, pitching, bullying, friendship, protective parents, family, sports injury, LGBTQIA

Controversial Issues: Vivy's brother comes out; Vivy accepts him like it's no big deal

Personal Thoughts: Good book, just a little long. I liked the way that VJ acted like an adult and urged Vivy to talk to grownups when necessary. I liked the way that Nate came out to Vivy first, and the writing made it clear he was nervous with showing rather than telling.

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: slow, very little action, character driven without big changes or events
Characters: a few are well-developed
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: ( )

Vivy Cohen loves baseball and wants to someday be a knuckleball pitcher in the major leagues. For her social skills class she begins a correspondence with her favorite player, VJ Capello, sharing her baseball dreams. Amazingly, she ends up on a boys' baseball team after the coach observes her pitching to her brother. But there are barriers: Vivy's mother is less than thrilled; she is very protective of Vivy who has autism. The coach's son bullies her behind his father's back. And when a line drive hits her in the head, Vivy may be off the team for good. In their correspondence, it's apparent that VJ is also struggling with his game. We get more of a sense of who Vivy is, less so with VJ. And the idea of a grown man regularly emailing with an unrelated young girl--even portrayed innocuously--niggles at me a bit. But young readers who like baseball or epistolary novels may enjoy following Vivy's journey. ( )