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My Books - Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus, May 1, 2008
Baseball provides fertile ground for exploring cultural and personal issues in this satisfying novel set in the summer of 1980. Twelve-year-old Madison, a natural athlete, learned to pitch in pick-up games with coaching from her brother. When he encourages her to try out for a boys' team in their small Michigan town, Madison thinks it might be fun. But she finds that when she pitches well, which is almost always, people say she "throws like a boy." If a boy pitches poorly, he "throws like a girl." Her teammates react to her with mixed feelings; two show romantic interest. Coming-of-age themes emerge naturally at home and on the field. Madison chafes at the feminist views of her mother, a well-drawn character, but recognizes her love and loyalty. She resents her former best friend's interest in clothes and popularity, but sees her own role in undermining the friendship. Her feelings and choices ring true as do her teammates' complex reactions. Since controversy still surrounds girls playing football, this fine sports story is fresh and relevant. (Fiction. 10-14)
From School Library Journal, April 1, 2009
Sports fiction has a long pedigree—even Gilgamesh plays with a bat and a ball in one episode of his ancient epic. Lending itself naturally to tales that mix quick, exciting action with insights into both human nature and strategies for success in any endeavor, the genre's enduring popularity isn't hard to understand. Every one of these first-rate recent titles for middle and high school students not only makes absorbing, sometimes pulse-pounding reading, but also invites readers to think about the value of teamwork, determination, and setting goals as tools for coping with doubts and other personal challenges, along with peer, parental, and ( yes) pedagogical pressures. ...On the other hand, even while pitching her otherwise all-boy summer league team to a championship game, 12-year-old Madison finds herself sharing the mound with her own inner conflicts, concerns, and feelings about others in Karen Day's No Cream Puffs (Random, 2008, Gr 5-8). With her father and her erstwhile best friend absent, her feminist mother sometimes a little too present, a crush on a teammate to cope with, and a bully in the background, opposing batters are only some of the challenges she faces. Happily, the author endows her narrator with a willingness to learn, an engaging voice, and a good heart, along with plenty of baseball talent. Though set in 1980, this coming-of-age tale will resonate with today's young athletes, male and female, and would make a great choice for sparking a discussion of gender expectations—on the field or off...
From Booklist (ALA), April 1:
"Here we go again. New town. New school." When classmates ask Meg, 12, where she is from, she makes up wild stories
("from Australia . . . My dad is a doctor."). She desperately wants to be friends with classmate Grace, whose family is
"perfect," but she can't help wondering what will happen if Grace finds out that Dad is a drunk and that he abuses Meg's
older brother. What if she finds out who Meg really is? Honest about what it is like to live with an alcoholic parent--the
cover-ups, the fear of violence, the denial--Day's first novel delivers much more than a standard problem novel; Meg's lies
and secrets are funny and anguished, and readers will respond to the intense family drama and the quick, wild fantasies that
Meg spins to cover up her shame.
New town, new school, same old family problems. Twelve-year-old Meg is quietly hoping this time will be different since she's tired
of moving around from Michigan to Indiana so her alcoholic father can keep changing jobs. Unlike previous years, though, older
brother Teddy is more combative with drunken Dad, risking emotional and physical abuse. Mother is struggling to find a job, while
Meg's made-up tall tales about her life and family are becoming more frequent. She begins to worry about being caught in all sorts
of lies with her new friend, Grace, who struggles with the loss of her mother to cancer. Things go from bad to worse, as battered
Mom and kids fear for their safety yet are afraid to seek help even when a broken arm sends red flags to everyone at the hospital.
Meg's personal emotional ordeal is well portrayed as the reader is allowed into her private confused thoughts. Day juxtaposes
numerous themes and issues around two friends who live very differently, yet are burdened with powerful feelings of guilt and
grief. Darkened days brighten for Meg and her family when help is finally accepted from responsible adults and a new friendship
grows to a trusting and truthful relationship. Realistic, with an auspicious ending. (Fiction. 10-13)
Abusive, alcoholic fathers can be hard to hide from new friends, especially when they promise to stop drinking-and don't. Rather than spill family secrets, many family members sweep the problem under the rug, and invent excuses to explain odd behavior (or injuries). Twelve-year-old Meg has taken stretching the truth one step further. When pressed about her family by classmates at her new school, she makes up hyperbolic stories to take away the pressure. "My family is from Australia... we lived in tents for the past three years"; "I caught malaria in India last summer. I was so sick I almost died." When she meets Grace, the two become fast friends and Meg worries that her lies-and the truth about her father-will get in the way of their friendship. But as her father's abuse continues and he decides to move the family once again, Meg, her mother and her siblings must decide if they can leave him. Day's debut novel tackles deep issues-abuse in the home, excessive lying to both peers and adults, and a lack of responsible role models-though the narrative can be choppy in sections (chapter length varies widely). Still, Day's account captures the intense tangle of emotions felt by family members who have been convinced that they are too powerless to stop abuse on their own. Ages 9-12. (May)
From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, June 2007:
Meg Summers is once again entering school as the new kid, and sixth grade in Lake Haven, IN, makes her feel just
as lonely as she did on the previous moves. She wants a friend so badly that she begins fabricating stories to sound
exciting and interesting. When she does make friends with Grace Bennett, one of the "peppy blond girls," her stories
continue, this time to cover up her family's secret. Meg's father is an alcoholic and his binges are becoming more frequent
and violent, especially since her older brother is fighting back. When Grace's stepmom drives Meg home after one of her many
visits, they witness an altercation between Mr. Summers and Teddy in the driveway. Day uses the friendship between the girls
and the strong adult support of Grace's family and a favorite aunt to pave the path Meg follows to trust others enough to
finally tell the truth about her dad. "I've been telling the biggest tall tale of my life to myself." The author's portrayal
of a family in crisis is convincingly tragic: "…it's not until mom hands him coffee that I see in his eyes how it will be
today and how I should feel." Although there is no fairy-tale ending, the story is realistic and hopeful with discussable
issues appropriate for a wide audience.
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