Game Changer

September 24, 2012
Eighth-grader KT Sutton lives to play softball. She has a roomful of trophies, parents who cater to her every athletic need, and a list of childhood goals tacked up in her room with sayings like, “The University of Arizona will beg me to pitch for them.” Then, without warning or explanation, she’s thrust into an alternate world where athletic skills are taught in school for grades, but after-school academic competitions are all anyone cares about. KT’s geeky 12-year-old brother, Max, is now a mathletic rock star; her softball teammates don’t want to be seen with her; and her parents find her an annoyance and a disappointment. Though KT’s fierceness and determination to do what she loves are admirable, Haddix’s message about the overimportance of sports in contemporary society is heavy-handed. Only when KT learns that Max also remembers the “real world,” and the two of them team up, does the story find its warmth and heart. Haddix (The Always War) pulls out a touching ending after a journey designed mostly to teach a lesson. Ages 12–up. Agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary.

September 1, 2012
An elite athlete, KT is on the fast track to softball stardom when her world is turned upside down. The eighth-grader's life drastically changes when she collapses while pitching during a major tournament. Awakening to an alternate reality, KT discovers the traditional roles of academics and sports have been reversed. Now, KT's younger and supremely nonathletic brother, Max, is the focus of family life due to his status on the school's math team. Yet KT soon realizes she is not the only one who wants out of this other world. Ultimately, she must figure out the common ground among an athlete, a genius and a video gamer and determine what issues drove them into this altered reality. While the premise of the sports/academics switch provides some humorous scenarios, it also conveys a powerful message. Haddix illuminates the pressure middle school-aged students often feel to conform to predetermined roles. Her cleverly constructed tale gives a voice to all students, encouraging them to look beyond the labels of sporty, smart and so on, to define themselves. KT's transition from athlete to advocate is calculated to inspire readers to celebrate their individuality. Haddix's insightful tale is a compelling blend of sports, action and mystery. (Fantasy. 12-14)

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January 1, 2013

Gr 5-8-Highly motivated KT Sutton is an eighth-grade softball sensation, but she's so self-centered that she ignores her younger brother, Max, and doesn't tolerate weakness. Her parents are overindulgent and overinvolved; their lives revolve around their daughter's games. She's not that great a student, but KT figures all she needs is to make it to the Olympics and she'll be fine. Then, during the biggest game of her career, she blacks out. When she wakes up, the world has turned topsy-turvy: school consists of exercise drills, gifted athletes are outcasts, and everyone is obsessed with after-school academics, where mathletes and chem geniuses are the stars. At home, KT's role has been reversed, too; Max, who excels at math, is the center of her parents' attention. Desperate to return to her previous world, KT will try anything. But nagging memories of hospital beds and devastating news keep popping into her head. This sci-fi novel highlights how much sports are valued in our culture over academics-and Haddix tries to impart the wisdom that kids of all kinds deserve to be accepted. Unfortunately, the plot never quite gels; the mechanics of the alternate reality will stretch even the imaginations of readers willing to suspend disbelief. KT is not a likable character, and her final turnaround feels forced. Capped off with a public-service-like ending, this novel is not a home run.-Jamie Kallio, Orland Park Public Library, IL

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2012
Grades 6-9 For eighth-grader and star pitcher KT Sutton, softball is life. For her little brother, Max, sitting through her games is only tolerable with videogames. But when a wild pitch throws them both into an alternate reality, the tables turn. It's Max who is lauded for his mathletic skills and KT whose talents are only appreciated in the classroom in this academic-focused world. KT is predictably miserable. Without a team, she's practically a social pariah. Max's math skills bring him popularity, admiration, and all of his parents' attention, but he doesn't enjoy it. Together they find a way back home, arriving with a greater appreciation of different abilities and personalities, which comes in handy when they realize that the real world has significant changes in store for them. An epilogue ties everything up prettily and spells out the lessons about acceptance, cliques, and bullying, which will satisfy some, though it does feel forced. Low on complexity and high on reluctant-reader appeal, this fast-paced novel will fit well on back-to-school displays.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)