What do you think?
Lorimer Sports Stories
Tagged Out
The inner-city Blues baseball team is having a lousy year. Shortstop Nash and the Blues can't seem to win. They especially hate losing to their archrivals, the rich kids of the Parkhill Pirates. When all-star player Jock joins the team, it looks like the Blues might be able to turn the season around. The only problem? When the Pirates find out that Jock is gay, they ambush Nash and Jock, and Nash has to decide if he wants to stand by his teammate.
- GenresLGBTMiddle Grade
128 pages, Paperback
Published February 12, 2016
About the author
Joyce Grant
8 books20 followersJoyce Grant is a freelance journalist and professor at Humber College.
Her books:
* CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? How to Spot Fake News and Find the Facts (illus Kathleen Marcotte)
* SLIDING HOME and TAGGED OUT, fast-paced MG baseball novels
* GABBY picture book (illus Jan Dolby)
* GABBY: WONDER GIRL
* GABBY: DRAMA QUEEN
Joyce also publishes the internationally award-winning kid-friendly news website, TeachingKidsNews.com.
Her books:
* CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? How to Spot Fake News and Find the Facts (illus Kathleen Marcotte)
* SLIDING HOME and TAGGED OUT, fast-paced MG baseball novels
* GABBY picture book (illus Jan Dolby)
* GABBY: WONDER GIRL
* GABBY: DRAMA QUEEN
Joyce also publishes the internationally award-winning kid-friendly news website, TeachingKidsNews.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 13, 2016
Rep: gay side character
Tagged Out tells the story of a school baseball team that gains an amazing new player, who happens to be gay. Our main character, Gnash, hates him on sight - and just so happens to be homophobic (but not even internally so - just flat out homophobic). Which, okay, but I don't necessarily feel like I want to read a book where I'm expected to sympathise (at least in part) with a homophobic character, and definitely not one where a character's sexuality is used as a plot device to teach said homophobic character that "being gay is okay". Especially when the character seems limited to two traits: being gay, and being good at baseball. I got the impression that his sexuality was accepted because he was good at baseball and not really because Gnash had any real change in attitude towards that. (And his grandpa, who I assume is to be seen as the stem of Gnash's homophobic attitudes, seemed somewhat abusive - Gnash was afraid of what his reaction to his play in the final game would be - but this was never addressed or called out.)
In addition to that, there's sending a message and whacking your reader over the head with a blunt instrument, and unfortunately this book fell into the latter category. I get that this is a middle grade book, and so the author may feel the need to spell things out a bit more conspicuously, and while this one did not quite go so far as to have some character bring out a self-righteous speech, it was at wrong end of the spectrum for me.
There was also the part where the gay character is asked to "make nice" with the people who are being arseholes to him (mostly based on his sexuality). No, thanks. I don't see why he has to be nice to the people who are giving him shit in this way. It's a very straight attitude to take to this kind of thing.
But overall I guess the book gets its message across successfully enough.
Tagged Out tells the story of a school baseball team that gains an amazing new player, who happens to be gay. Our main character, Gnash, hates him on sight - and just so happens to be homophobic (but not even internally so - just flat out homophobic). Which, okay, but I don't necessarily feel like I want to read a book where I'm expected to sympathise (at least in part) with a homophobic character, and definitely not one where a character's sexuality is used as a plot device to teach said homophobic character that "being gay is okay". Especially when the character seems limited to two traits: being gay, and being good at baseball. I got the impression that his sexuality was accepted because he was good at baseball and not really because Gnash had any real change in attitude towards that. (And his grandpa, who I assume is to be seen as the stem of Gnash's homophobic attitudes, seemed somewhat abusive - Gnash was afraid of what his reaction to his play in the final game would be - but this was never addressed or called out.)
In addition to that, there's sending a message and whacking your reader over the head with a blunt instrument, and unfortunately this book fell into the latter category. I get that this is a middle grade book, and so the author may feel the need to spell things out a bit more conspicuously, and while this one did not quite go so far as to have some character bring out a self-righteous speech, it was at wrong end of the spectrum for me.
There was also the part where the gay character is asked to "make nice" with the people who are being arseholes to him (mostly based on his sexuality). No, thanks. I don't see why he has to be nice to the people who are giving him shit in this way. It's a very straight attitude to take to this kind of thing.
But overall I guess the book gets its message across successfully enough.
March 18, 2016
Tagged Out was an interesting read that will appeal to its desired audience. The story captivated me and pulled me into the story of Nash, Jock, and the entire Toronto Blues team. The characters were endearing and believable in their struggles to come to terms with their feelings about themselves and others. For those readers interested in baseball, it would be a must read. However, the themes and the characters delve much deeper and appeal to a wider audience. Helping to teach compassion and acceptance in our schools and in our society is sometimes an overwhelming job but this book is one more tool to help do so. As a teacher and an administrator, this book has a place in the classroom and would be a useful resources for building literacy in the classroom. I am going to buy a class set for our school!
January 13, 2017
This book was received from Netgalley for an honest review.
Gnash is mistreated at home and a little bit at school: "If someone did something wrong and Gnash was nearby, teachers just assumed it was him." He's an angry kid and a bit of a bully himself. When Jock joins his baseball team, he finds a good target. Not only is Jock gay and very good at the game (both offensive to Gnash), he's also angry. While Gnash is mad at everyone, Jock focuses his attitude on the homophobic. It seems justifiable but he's still hurtful. He mocks Gnash and others about their ignorance and their poor baseball skills, which only eggs Gnash on.
Raj, another player, is the redeeming character of Tagged Out. He's kind and confidently encourages both Jock and Gnash to give each other a chance even when neither deserves it. Jock takes Raj's encouragement to heart. Gnash gets encouragement to befriend Jock from another, less positive source. Sometimes 2 wrongs do make a right it seems.
The book is mostly about bullying. I definitely gained more compassion for Gnash when I found out about his home life. Gnash himself does mature a teensy weensy bit. As much as I disliked him at the beginning, he jerkiness is endearing by the end. He's still a jerk, but he asks permission before getting revenge on behalf of Jock... and doesn't do it when Jock says no. Not a bad start.
Gnash is mistreated at home and a little bit at school: "If someone did something wrong and Gnash was nearby, teachers just assumed it was him." He's an angry kid and a bit of a bully himself. When Jock joins his baseball team, he finds a good target. Not only is Jock gay and very good at the game (both offensive to Gnash), he's also angry. While Gnash is mad at everyone, Jock focuses his attitude on the homophobic. It seems justifiable but he's still hurtful. He mocks Gnash and others about their ignorance and their poor baseball skills, which only eggs Gnash on.
Raj, another player, is the redeeming character of Tagged Out. He's kind and confidently encourages both Jock and Gnash to give each other a chance even when neither deserves it. Jock takes Raj's encouragement to heart. Gnash gets encouragement to befriend Jock from another, less positive source. Sometimes 2 wrongs do make a right it seems.
The book is mostly about bullying. I definitely gained more compassion for Gnash when I found out about his home life. Gnash himself does mature a teensy weensy bit. As much as I disliked him at the beginning, he jerkiness is endearing by the end. He's still a jerk, but he asks permission before getting revenge on behalf of Jock... and doesn't do it when Jock says no. Not a bad start.
April 4, 2017
Hi-lo should have actual highs, right?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews