Synopses & Reviews
Alex makes an unpopular decision and Ava deals with an unwanted crush in the fifth book of the It Takes Two series!andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Sporty, shy Ava is finally starting to feel like the guys on the Ashland Middle School football team are accepting her as a player, despite the fact that sheand#8217;s a girl. But then the star wide receiver, Owen, keeps missing his passes, and his teammates are blaming it on a crushand#8212;on Ava! When he awkwardly gives Ava a gift thatand#8217;s way too expensive, she realizes theyand#8217;re right. Can she find a way to let Owen down easy and still stay on the teamand#8217;s good side?andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Meanwhile, class president Alex has to choose how to spend some student council funds. The football team is scheduled to get a new scoreboard, but the drama department desperately needs new sets and costumes. Alex decides itand#8217;s fair to give some money to the arts for a change, but the football fans of Ashland donand#8217;t necessarily think soand#8230;and it may take a natural disaster for Alex to prove sheand#8217;s not a football-hater!
Review
For andlt;Iandgt;A Whole New Ball Gameandlt;/Iandgt;:andlt;BRandgt; "The twin device is effectively deployed as each girl seeks to understand herself independently, in relation to her twin, and in the context of her new town; there's also appeal in the plot's sitcom elements of overheard conversations, secret observations, and all the uncertainty that comes with being a new place."
About the Author
Belle Payton isnand#8217;t a twin herself, but she does have twin brothers! She spent much of her childhood in the bleachers readingand#8212;er, cheering them onand#8212;at their football games. Though she left the South long ago to become a childrenand#8217;s book editor in New York City, Belle still drinks approximately a gallon of sweet tea a week and loves treating her friends to her famous homemade mac-and-cheese. Belle is the author of many books for children and tweens, and is currently having a blast writing two sides to each It Takes Two story.