Books in Brief: Fast Pitch, Both Sides Now, Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche

Fast Pitch by Nic Stone; Crown Books for Young Readers, 175 pages ($17.99) Ages 8 to 12.

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Nic Stone, a softball fanatic and author of "Clean Getaway," plus "Dear Martin" and several novels for teens, offers a firecracker of a tale in this marvelous novel of sports, family and one girl's fierce determination to right a historic wrong. 

Shenice "Lightning" Lockwood is captain of the U12 Fulton Firebirds, the only all-Black team in the Dixie Youth Softball Association. Her white coach is dean of an Atlanta charter school and a former youth softball national champion who formed the Firebirds at the suggestion of her mentor, a Black businesswoman and head lawyer at Coke, who felt "there isn't enough concentrated Black girl magic in this sport."

Stone offers a fierce competitor and engaging protagonist in Shenice, who narrates the tale. ("I've been playing base-related ball – first tee, now soft – since the minute I could hold up a bat. Just like my daddy. And his daddy before him. And his daddy before him. It's in my blood.") She is determined to make it to the state fast-pitch softball championships, to send "a message that girls like us do belong on the field. " When her father shows her an old trunk that belonged to her great-grandfather, JonJon Lee Lockwood, and she then visits her great-uncle in a retirement home, Shenice learns about the scandal that ended JonJon's baseball career and sets out to clear his name. 

"Fast Pitch" offers exciting play-by-play of the softball games, as Shenice battles to stay focused despite the distractions posed by her mission, a compelling mystery with a very satisfying resolution, and through the lens of Shenice's family, a very personal history of sport in America and the discrimination faced by Black athletes.  

This book grew out of Stone's "love of the sport and the movie 'The Sandlot,' and her desire to see more Black female athletes represented on the field and on the page." How fun that the cover illustration mirrors the author photo of Stone, backward baseball cap on her head, catcher's mitt in hand! 

YOUNG ADULT

Both Sides Now by Peyton Thomas; Dial Books,  304 pages ($17.99) Ages 14-17

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An author-journalist based in Toronto offers a heartfelt, witty debut novel in this compelling coming-of-age tale of a trans teen coming into his own.

Finch Kelly and his debate partner and gay best friend Jonah Cabrera are furiously prepping to win the Washington State high school debate title and then the national title, a win that could secure Finch's admission to Georgetown University, which he sees as a step toward his dream of becoming the first trans person elected to Congress. 

 Finch, who is "five feet and five unremarkable inches tall, with a thatch of disobedient red hair," struggles with body issues: "My body will always be a barrier. I'll have to apologize for it every time I meet somebody new." 

While Jonah has a boyfriend and a stable, supportive family, Finch is unsure about his sexual orientation and is dealing at home with parents facing financial crisis and fighting all the time. The narrative addresses issues of romantic attraction and self-esteem and the physical realities of transitioning from female to male. In an interesting side plot, Jonah, who is Filipino-American, must deal with Asian stereotypes in the school musical his boyfriend is starring in. Then at nationals, Finch and Jonah face a crisis of conscience when the question to be debated is bathroom access for transgender students.

YOUNG ADULT

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer; Wednesday Books, 272 pages ($17.99) Ages 13-18.

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15-year-old sleuth Enola Holmes joins forces with much older brother Sherlock to solve a case in this amusing, well-executed Victorian-era mystery, the 7th Enola adventure and the first in the series in 11 years.

Springer is true to the spirit of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle original in conjuring up the voice of Sherlock in both prologue and epilogue. (Sherlock recalls Enola appearing as "a fledgling stork" wearing "a frock that failed to cover her bony shanks" when he was summoned home after their mother's disappearance, the adventure made into a hit 2020 Netflix movie.)

Brainy, brash Enola narrates the rest. Summoned by Dr. Watson to help roust Sherlock out of his melancholia, Enola is at Holmes' residence when a young woman comes seeking assistance in the suspicious death of her twin sister, an artist who married an earl. Sherlock's determination that the cremated remains are of something "brown and furry" launches the investigation. The colorful plot features a temperamental horse named Jezebel, the reappearance of dashing young Viscount Tewkesbury and a brush with danger in Enola's visit to the grieving widower.   

[Review of "The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan: An Enola Holmes Mystery"] 

[Review of the Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery"]