From #1New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone comes a challenging and heartwarming coming-of-age story about a softball player looking to prove herself on and off the field.

Shenice Lockwood, captain of the Fulton Firebirds, is hyper-focused when she steps up to the plate. Nothing can stop her from leading her team to the U12 fast-pitch softball regional championship. But life has thrown some curveballs her way.

Strike one: As the sole team of all-brown faces, Shenice and the Firebirds have to work twice as hard to prove that Black girls belong at bat.

Strike two: Shenices focus gets shaken when her great-uncle Jack reveals that a career-endingand family-name-ruiningcrime may have been a setup.

Strike three: Broken focus means mistakes on the field. And Shenices teammates are beginning to wonder if shes captain-qualified.

It’s up to Shenice to discover the truth about her familys pastand fastbefore secrets take the Firebirds out of the game forever.

Sports, suspense, mystery, history… What more could you want? A funny, charming page-turner. Adam Gidwitz, New York Times bestselling author

Published : January 3, 2023

Language : English

Paperback : 208 pages

Reading age : 8 – 12 years

Lexile measure : 790L

Grade level : 3 – 7