Reading Time: 4 minutesThe Girl, The Ring, & the Baseball Bat
By: Camille Gomez-Tavarez
Publisher: Levine Querido
Genre: YA, Magical Realism, Fiction, Contemporary
Originally Published: February, 2024
ISBN: 978-1-64614-265-1
Official Summary:
“Rosie: Capricorn. Does great in class. Wants nothing more than to get into the prestigious Innovation Technical Institute and kiss this awful school goodbye. Her talisman: a magical jacket from her mother’s past that gets people to do whatever she says.
Caro: Taurus. Rosie’s older sister. Always been closer to their estranged father – and always butted heads more with their strict mother. A trip to Dominican Republic for her father’s wedding leads her deep into family history that clears up any illusions about her parents she’s ever had. Her talisman: a baseball bat that fixes whatever it breaks.
Zeke: Certified Triple Pisces. Up in cold-ass Jersey City living with his aunt after his grandmother dies and his father moves to London to take care of his mother. He crushes on EVERYone – he knows he’ll find happiness in love, and maybe a way out of this depression. His talisman: a manifestation stone that will make anyone fall in love with him.
Rosie, Caro, and Zeke – and their talismans – find themselves intertwined in a magical, hilarious, and whip-smart
Outsiders for the modern day, written by Camille Gomera-Tavarez, a 2022 Publishers Weekly Flying Start”
(storygraph.com)Trigger Warning: Racism, Classism, Cursing, Alcohol, Homophobia, Sexual Harassment
Thank you to
Hear Our Voices and Levine Querido for the free ebook and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
As an audiobook: 4 stars
As an ebook: 3 stars
The best part of the book was its’ audio version.
“TGTRATBB” is an outstanding audiobook. It features multiple voice actors who palpably put their souls into their words and create vivid personalities. Through the voice actors I found myself laughing and cheering on the Talisman crew. During pivotal moments of the book there were drum beats or a celestial piano that accompanied the chapters, it was a sweet surprise. Had the plot of the story been able to keep up with its audio performance this could have been a five star read.
Points are made, but…
Gomez-Tavarez created a great cast of characters ranging from Afro-Latinx representation to LGBTQIA+ community representation and set them on a canvas of a school that criminalizes its Brown and Black students. The plot was easy enough to follow: Rosie Rojas is a hard working student who is unable to make it into her dream school due to the lack of support from her school. They hold her accountable of an incident from her past and are also criminalizing her because of her race. Through new friendships and a magical jacket Rosie reconsiders her goals as well as the power structure of the school and of society.
Powerful points are made about the structures of public schools in underserved communities. About how young girls of color are over sexualized. How there is a lot of pressure placed on young adults, but very little guidance is provided by the adults who are paid to help them. It’s a book that teens can relate to as they understand that feeling of uncertainty, but the overall digestibility is a 3 on a 5 point scale.
Three is a crowd.
The story is powerful and encourages readers to think about complex things like racism, classism, and sexism. A lot of “isms”. A young reader may be overwhelmed by these concepts due to the delivery of this content. Telling a story from three perspectives is fun, but also complex and it may have taken away from the overall quality of the story.
As I read, I became excited as a mystery developed. When Rosie finds out about her mothers secret past which leads her to her talisman. I thought: “Great, here we go! This is when it gets good.” *Cue the confusion.* I am left wondering if the pace is going to pick up? Are the dots going to be connected?
Basically we are told about this problem, Rosie has the potential to fix it, but there’s a detour. The characters Caro and Zeke still need to catch up and readers have to read their storyline. I was waiting for point A to connect to point B. Instead, I found myself going to A to A.a to A.b to A.c and so on.
The characters are well developed and are very lovable, but the story dragged and the resolution is rushed.
To give you a better idea of the characters I have created a playlist as well as some character “cards”. The cards feature the characters talisman and other details to embody their personality including songs that reflect their emotions and ideas throughout the book.
Playlist
Key Take-Aways.
Positive:
- Well Developed Characters
- Wonderful Representation:
- Intergenerational Families
- Afro-Latinx
- LGBTQIA+
- Amazing Audio
Negative:
- Slow Pacing
- Unclear Resolution
If you like books like: “A Cuban Girls Guide to Tea and Tomorrow” by Laura Taylor Namey or “American Street” by Ibi Zoboi then I’d recommend “The Girl, The Ring, & the Baseball Bat” by Camille Gomera-Tavarez .
Thank you for reading my review.
If you’re interested in this book/series and thinking about purchasing it please use my
bookshop link. Thank you!
