There’s No Base Like Home by Jessica Mendoza & Alana Mendoza Dusan


ESPN baseball analyst and two-time Olympic medalist Jessica Mendoza teams up with her sister Alana Mendoza Dusan in this sweet and hilarious middle-grade novel that celebrates teamwork, family, and softball!
This is going to be twelve-year-old Sophia Maria Garcia’s best year ever: she’s going out for the same softball team on which her high-school softball star sister played at her age, and she s starting middle school. New school, new Sophia!

But all does not go according to plan. Sophia does not make the Waves softball team, and making friends at her new school does not go well. Maybe Sophia isn’t the pitcher she thought she might be. And her best friend is drifting away, getting interested in boys and losing interest in Sophia. As the middle school blues set in, Sophia must reach deep down and find a little UMPH the difference between being good and being great to figure out her own place, on the field and off.

 

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Reviews
Billie Jean King – Founder of the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative and the Women’s Sports Foundation:
Jessica and Alana turn their experiences as softball sisters into pure gold. Great sports action and family drama—with personal details and game tips—combine to make There’s No Base Like Home a heartfelt novel filled with empowering messages.

Julie Foudy, two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist:
Ahh, how I wish I had this book by Jessica and Alana back in middle school. All I wanted to do was fit in and not be noticed. It wasn’t until later in college that I came to love my awkwardness and own my awesome (or awkward). 🙂 When you embrace what is different, the world suddenly opens up in the most magical way.

Jennie Finch, two-time Olympic softball pitcher
I thoroughly enjoyed There’s No Base Like Home! It brought me back to the adventures, fun, and adversity of my childhood playing the game I love. I love the message encouraging athletes to find their strengths and not being afraid to stand out!

Kerri Walsh Jennings, three-time Olympic gold medalist and professional beach volleyball player
There’s No Base Like Home: a perfect title with a beautiful message authored by two women who have clearly found their “home base” within. There is strength in uniqueness. . . . This is timely and timeless.

Booklist: The Mendoza sisters’ strong bond shines throughout their engagingly illustrated collaboration, resulting in a wonderful story of family and friendship that will quickly become an MVP among softball-fiction fans.

Publisher’s Weekly: The sibling authors know well of what they write: Mendoza, a two-time Olympic medalist as a member of the U.S. women’s softball team, is an MLB analyst for ESPN; Dusan played Division 1 softball in college. Their insider knowledge of the sport, team dynamics, and the give-and-take of sisterhood lends the narrative authenticity and candor, and their debut strikes a steady balance between on-the-field action and interpersonal interactions. Multiple recaps of plays and plot will help keep hesitant readers in the game.

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