A Season of Daring Greatly - Ellen Emerson White

⭐ 8.0/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

I've been feeling sad about not being able to play baseball this year, so this book hit the spot. It's about Jill, is the first woman to ever get drafted to become a professional baseball player at the age of 18. Of course a lot of people don't make it easy for her. She faces having to move away from home, a lot of pressure, rude teammates, haters, and endless interviews. Being a pro baseball player sounds EXHAUSTING.

This book is essentially just Jill struggling the first few months of her career. She practices, she moves around, she has good games and bad games. People who don't know how to play baseball would probably find this pretty confusing, and although I know how to play, I know nothing about the world of professional sports. So some of the terminology lost me, and I would've liked a bit more explanation. But I found it quite enjoyable nonetheless, especially the unique position that Jill finds herself in as she's forced to become this female role model. She's reserved with a snarky sense of humour, and she knows she's not the media darling the world wants. I loved it every time her jokes did not land. There were a lot of characters and I could've done with fewer, but I liked seeing her form all these platonic bonds with the good guys there were on her team. Of course there were a lot of jerks that I hated, but it was heartwarming every time someone stood up for her. This book has almost no romance at all, which is refreshing for YA, as is a sports book centered on a female. It was definitely different, but I appreciated that.