PLAYING FOR KEEPS

Ivy, an 18-year-old referee, and June, a 17-year-old pitcher, exasperate each other the moment they meet.

In this voice-driven, absorbing dual narrative, anxiety about college applications drives the protagonists’ behavior almost as palpably as their grief-stricken family dynamics do. Ever since June’s mother, a former softball pitcher, passed away from breast cancer, June and her retired minor-league baseball player father have made June’s athletic success their obsession. Meanwhile, Ivy’s parents pressure her to focus more on academics, just like her late brother Nicky, who died of leukemia, did. Both young women cling to intense perfectionism, their desperation a shrewd cautionary tale for anyone struggling toward demanding dreams. When Ivy and June realize they’re in the “big, gay, dead family club” together (June is a lesbian, and Ivy is bisexual; both are witty), they wind up bonding, then kissing, and then falling in love. Their motivations are clear and relatable—and the two are clearly bound for strife, given that players and officials aren’t allowed to date. Plus, June has been pushing her injured rotator cuff way too far, in part thanks to the complicity of irresponsible adults. Ivy’s and June’s flawed coping strategies clash with their adorable budding romance, propelling them toward gut-wrenching heartbreak and terrifying, necessary, affirming new choices. Ivy and June are cued white; their respective best friends—Japanese American Mia and Javonte, who’s Black—are well developed in their supporting roles.

A page-turner that handles heavy topics with wisdom.