With Tryouts, Sarah Sax writes and illustrates a graphic novel for middle school readers about the power of teamwork, self-advocacy, and voice.
As a young athlete, Alexandra Olsen (aka Al) has played baseball for a rec league, but the baseball team at her middle school is for boys only. With the help of her friends Milo and Viv, Al not only discovers that “gender-inclusive teams have led the way in Brinkley sports history” (58) but that Title IX says she has to be allowed an equal chance to play if there is no equivalent girls’ team. Hoping for a fair shot to play, Al tries out for the team becasue playing baseball makes her feel complete.
Milo, meanwhile, finds fulfillment in sewing quilt squares. He enjoys the craft with his abulela. Both create a new square when something big happens in their lives. “She lives far away, so it’s like a way to keep track of what’s been going on” (101), Milo claims.
And Viv is on a mascot mission. After finding a photograph of the Brinkley Beak in a 1973 yearbook, Viv is convicned there is a conspiracy coverup. She wishes to uncover why the school’s original mascot was retired in favor of the Martian.
When things at Brinkley start to unravel, the trio has to find a way to bring the various players, naysayers, and adversaries together. Seeking the right kind of energy to move forward, the tweens recognize the value of communication, sharing credit, trusting a teammate, and supporting one another. “Even when things get messy, we don’t assume success. . . . And we learn from our mistakes instead of passing blame. Sure, it sounds basic. But you have to really practice the fundmentals of teamwork to have it show up in your game” (164-165).
Sax’s characters also find power in giving name to their goals and being willing to lose. After all, “you’ll never be perfect unless you let yourself be bad first” (247).
- Donna