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A review by jaynellewags
Playing for keeps by Jennifer Dugan
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Penguin Teen for an eARC of the book.
Tropes: Forbidden Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Sports Romance, Loss in the Family, Forced Proximity, Miscommunication
CW: sibling death, parent death
This was a story that was cute but had some very serious concepts on dealing with grief and moving on from the death of people that are close to you. June is a pitcher for a baseball team and wants to follow her parents dreams for her- playing baseball in college.
Ivy loves refereeing and wants to be a female ump after she finishes high school. When she gets moved to umping the baseball games at her job, she runs into June. The female pitcher with an attitude problem and a killer arm. When Ivy learns that June uses the umps changing room after games, and starts getting to know her- she notices that her tough exterior is just that- a tough exterior.
June pushes herself because of the dreams that her parents have laid out for her- so much so that she has an injury and has let it get to the point where she can't play without being in pain.
When Ivy invites June to a party after a game, their relationship starts to develop when they both realize that they have lost someone close to them, and are having to determine what they want to do after high school- and if it is really their dream.
Their relationship has miscommunication which I think is understanding- they're in high school and both have trauma that they haven't dealt with. I enjoyed the sports aspect and that they were both kind of "breaking the glass ceiling" and blazing a path.
I liked that both the girls had to work through their relationships with their parents and come to terms with how they wanted to live their lives. This is a big thing that a lot of high school kids have to learn and do. Coming of age stories are one of my favorites.
I had one issue with the book- 75 mph fast balls would not cut it in college for a baseball pitcher. So the entire concept that June was able to play in the major leagues would never be plausible.
Tropes: Forbidden Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Sports Romance, Loss in the Family, Forced Proximity, Miscommunication
CW: sibling death, parent death
This was a story that was cute but had some very serious concepts on dealing with grief and moving on from the death of people that are close to you. June is a pitcher for a baseball team and wants to follow her parents dreams for her- playing baseball in college.
Ivy loves refereeing and wants to be a female ump after she finishes high school. When she gets moved to umping the baseball games at her job, she runs into June. The female pitcher with an attitude problem and a killer arm. When Ivy learns that June uses the umps changing room after games, and starts getting to know her- she notices that her tough exterior is just that- a tough exterior.
June pushes herself because of the dreams that her parents have laid out for her- so much so that she has an injury and has let it get to the point where she can't play without being in pain.
When Ivy invites June to a party after a game, their relationship starts to develop when they both realize that they have lost someone close to them, and are having to determine what they want to do after high school- and if it is really their dream.
Their relationship has miscommunication which I think is understanding- they're in high school and both have trauma that they haven't dealt with. I enjoyed the sports aspect and that they were both kind of "breaking the glass ceiling" and blazing a path.
I liked that both the girls had to work through their relationships with their parents and come to terms with how they wanted to live their lives. This is a big thing that a lot of high school kids have to learn and do. Coming of age stories are one of my favorites.
I had one issue with the book- 75 mph fast balls would not cut it in college for a baseball pitcher. So the entire concept that June was able to play in the major leagues would never be plausible.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Child death