No Cream Puffs

by Karen Day

MADISON IS NOT your average 12-year-old girl from Michigan in 1980. She doesn’t use lipgloss, but she loves to play sports, and joins baseball for the summer—the first girl in Southern Michigan to play on a boys’ team. The press call her a star and a trailblazer, but Madison just wants to play ball. Who knew it would be so much pressure? Crowds flock to the games. Her team will win the championship—if she can keep up her pitching streak. Meanwhile, she’s got a crush on a fellow player, her best friend abandons her for the popular girls, the “O” on her Hinton’s uniform forms a bulls-eye over her left breast, and the boy she punched on the last day of school plans to bean her in the championship game.

Genres: Sports, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Coming Of Age, Contemporary, Juvenile

224 pages, Hardcover

First published May 13, 2008

Reviews

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gutsy, athletically talented, and down-to-earth, 12-year-old Madison just wants to play baseball. She's been coached by her older brother, David and is being recruited by Coach Weeks. She's torn, however, by doing what comes naturally on the ball field and being friends with Sara. She joins the boys' league and ends up being the best player...but, what it does to her friendship with life-long classmates is another matter. TV and newspaper reporters show up by the dozens to get a glimpse of this phenom. The pressure is a lot to handle for Madison, but she gets some words of wisdom from an aging rock star, a patient brother, and a loyal teammate. What more could a girl ask for? No Cream Puffs is a angst-ridden coming of age story which speaks to feminism in a understated, yet realistic way. Throughout the season, you'll be cheering Madison on, not only rooting for a championship, but for equality and determination.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madison is a phenomenal baseball player. Her fielding is good and her pitching and hitting are unbelievable. When her brother (and coach) convinces her to play in their hometown's baseball league, her troubles begin. It's the late 1970s and teams have just started allowing girls to play, but that doesn't mean they have to like it. Some of her teammates are pretty unhappy about it, especially Randy, the team's other pitcher who's not quite as good as Madison. The stress on the field begins to grow as more and more spectators show up to watch the girl who's making the headlines.

This is a perfect book for readers with the end-of-winter blues. Summer, baseball, swimming in the lake, bike riding--it's all here. And Madison is a great character. She loves the sport but can't stand all the attention she's getting. First it's just the locals: the boys call her a tomboy, and the girls ignore her because she doesn't fit in with their crowd. Then the scope widens when she's interviewed by a local reporter and a TV station in Chicago gets wind of her amazing skills. To make matters worse, she's had a massive fight with her best friend so she has no one to confide in when the baseball drama gets to be too much. Can't everyone just let her play ball?

[Madison Metzger · Rating 4 out of 5]

What came as a surprise to you in this book? I would have to say when Sarah and her became friends again, it came as a surprise to me because they got into a huge at school, on the last day of school. Another part that came as a surprise to me was when Tommy kissed her on the lips when he had a girlfriend, but apparently she was gone for the summer visiting her family.
Which of the characters would you like to be in this book? Why? I would like to be the main character because she has the courage to play baseball with the boys even though she is the only girl that has ever played baseball. She isn't afraid to go out and play the sports that she enjoys.
Do you like the ending of the book? Why or why not? Do you think there is more to tell? No, I don't like the ending because they leave you hanging on if her and Sarah become BFF's again. Also, if she plays baseball again next year, I think they could have put that in the book so we could know and not just leave us wondering.

[Hollis Sev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It showed how girls can play baseball, too! I recommend this to a person who likes drama and/or baseball. READ!!

[Ellyse Noy]

this book is about a girl named Maddie who faces her fears and joins the local baseball team. She does this despite all the girls in her year telling her not to and all the guys making fun of her for doing so. this is an inspiring book about how girls can do anything that guys can do and more as well as girls not being treated differently for doing these things

[Eliza Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

No cream puffs is one of my favorite books ever. madison is such a cool protagonist and super relatable to anyone who been to middle school. she just wants to play baseball but runs into trouble just because she's a girl. i love this book and totally recommend!!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an old-fashioned book, but in a good way. It's the type of thing you don't see anymore, like a Judy Blume book from the early 'eighties or something, and it really reminded me of being in sixth grade- not just the type of books that I read, but also what it was like to be twelve and wondering when my life was going to start!

Madison wants to play baseball, which in her small Wisconsin town in 1980 means that she will be the only girl on the team. It's not about feminism, it's not about being tough, it's just about wanting to do something she's good at. At least for her. For everyone else it's a freakshow, a blow for women's lib, or a strike against baseball. Added to that is a fight with her best friend, who has given up sports for lip gloss, her yearning for a real father, and a host of other problems and confusions that could beset any twelve year old girl. A great story, plus Day's writing was so smooth I just glided through the book in an afternoon!

[Susan Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book make me remember so many things about my awkward early adolescence! Like Madison, I too was a jock. I didn't care about wearing makeup or curling my hair or flirting with boys, and when my friends starting changing I was left behind. This is exactly what happends to Madison the summer that she is 12. To make matters worse, she is the only girl playing in a boy's baseball league. She just wants to play ball - and she's a good pitcher - but it's 1980, and a girl in a boy's league is still a bit unusual. As her team continues to win, more and more people show up to watch each game. Some are cheering for the girl, but lots more aren't. Then there's the cute boy on the team, and Madison's catcher who obviously has a crush on her. This book is great for sports fans, and it's also a wonderful coming of age read.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet, easy read that felt true to its time and place (1980, southern MI). whether or not young readers are athletes or not, they will appreciate Madison's struggle to "just play baseball" when the fact that she's the first girl on a boys' team in her town makes her athletic skills newsworthy. Subplots about her relationship with her mother, best friend, and two boys make this an engaging read for middle school girls. The pink, "girly" cover will likely discourage most boys from picking up the book, but they might resonate with the protagonist and her peers if they did.

[Raegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked on this book from the very first page. The main character, Madison, is a few years younger than me, but the opening scene was something I experienced often at her age: she is standing in the bathroom at her middle school, watching the other girls put on lip gloss and being ostracized because she likes baseball, something not many girls that age are into. All in all, a very good read-- recommended for middle school girls, older girls, and anybody who loves baseball.

[Umuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I REALLY liked this book. Well, first I just want to say, all girls dont have to be girly girls, they can choose if they can be anything. You dont even have to like girly stuff. I dont even like girly stuff. Its too iffy. Well, I really like this book because its really detailed with her life and school, and I can really picture this book in my head. This book also sends a message as well. I really like it, yeah, I really liked this book. Stay in school.

[Kirsti Call · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard Karen Day speak at the ENCORE SCBWI workshop. She is a phenomenal speaker and this book is very well done. This book does a good job of showing the pressure that kids can feel when they are extremely good at sports...

[Jule Warner]

This book was really good. It reminded me that I could do anything a boy could do. I know sometimes I feel as if I can't do certain things that a boy could do, but now I am sure that I can. I wish I could be more like ,Madison, never afraid to try whatever was in front of her.

[Callie Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story really portrays how we all want what we don't have, even though it's something we don't like. It also shows things like false trust, abandonment, love, hate, false accusations, frenemies and enemies, best friends, and many other things we all go through.

[Chey Serrano · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was pretty good i read it in like two days

[Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

girl power

[Nishka K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hehe. It was pretty good... I liked her perspective. Some parts were weird... But it was good overall.

[Midalma Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does this book have any signpost in it

[Julia S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Addison · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Enjoyable and worth picking up!

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Day, Karen. 2008. No Cream Puffs.

This isn't what we usually do. If we have time after lunch, we shoot baskets with the boys in the gym. Today we're lined up in front of the mirror in the girls' bathroom. I stand to the side and twist my mood ring around and around my finger. My mess of curly blond hair is a disaster compared to the new feathered style everyone else has. "This is plushy pink." Casey Cunningham pulls a tube of lip gloss out of her purse and opens it. The sweet smell of cotton candy fills the bathroom. She rolls it onto her lips. "It's new."
She rolls it onto Gina's lips and then reaches for Sara, who stands next to me, holding her new purse with both hands. I'm next.
Casey snaps the cap on the lip gloss and puts it back in her purse. I feel the tops of my ears burn; she left me out on purpose. I glance at Sara, but she won't look at me.
"You smell like a circus," I blurt. Their lips sparkle under the lights. Could my lips look like that too?
"I'm sorry, Madison." Casey looks at me, eyes wide. "I didn't think baseball players wore lip gloss." (1-2)

Set in the summer of 1980, No Cream Puffs is the story of Madison Mitchell, a twelve-year-old baseball player who hates to be called a tom boy. So what if she likes to play sports? Does that make her a boy not a girl? NO. She's a girl alright. Her developing breasts (which she tries to disguise whenever she plays ball) and a crush on a teammate prove that.

No Cream Puffs is a sports story. No doubt about it. There's baseball games, baseball practice, and plenty of baseball talk. But it is more than that. Much more. It's the story of a girl who feels uncomfortable with herself, her body, her life. A girl who doesn't feel comfortable with her identity. She doesn't want to be solely defined as "the girl" (the only girl) who plays in a baseball league of boys. But as the girl she does get attention at all the games especially by the media who want to turn her into something she's not. It's a story about family. A story about friendship. A story about growing up. Here we see the first glimpses of a young girl changing into a young woman. Her first crushes. This age is often (or should I say always) awkward and painful. Madison's experiences are authentically so. I loved Madison's voice. And I loved her story.

I really loved this book. Karen Day knows how to do real, to do authentic. Everything just feels right about this one.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twelve-year-old Madison is a crack baseball player, and during the summer of 1980, her older brother convinces her to go out for the local boys' team. Madison is torn: her best friend has seemingly abandoned her for a clique of girly-girls, she doesn't want to be called a feminist or be seen as a trailblazer, and she's beginning to be self-conscious about what the boys think of her. But-she really wants to play ball. Her family convinces her, and she proves to be the star of the team, drawing attention from the town, the local press, and even a Chicago paper.

Her other concerns are her unresolved feelings about the abandonment of the family by her father years before, the fact that her mother is a lawyer, yet dresses like a hippie, the stay of a washed-out rock star in the neighborhood, and her own feelings about boys.

While it's disappointing to read yet another book in which being considered a feminist is seen as a negative thing, Day realistically explores all of Madison's mixed feelings, and the anguish of adolescence.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Michaela Pallante aka "Mickey" for TeensReadToo.com

Madison is one stressed out twelve-year-old.

This summer will be her first playing baseball for the town league. That may not be such a big deal if she wasn't the first girl in the town to do it.

Madison is really good at baseball and loves to play it because it's fun. However, after the first few games, the fun part becomes harder and harder to find. The crowds of people coming to watch the games get bigger and there are articles in the newspaper calling her names like "trailblazer."

All of the attention is making Madison nervous, and since she's in a fight with her best friend, Sara, she has no one she can talk to about it. Well, except for the ex-rockstar who's staying next door.

NO CREAM PUFFS is a great coming-of-age tale that young girls will love. Karen Day knows exactly what girls are going through and how to get the message through that you're not alone.

[Sophie Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book is totally misleading. Unless you know baseball, you would think it's about the food. The title actually refers to a type of throw in baseball. A cream puff is basically when a pitcher throws a weak throw. As a pitcher, you don't want to throw cream puffs. That aside the book is about a girl who wants to play baseball in her town's boys little league. She's a fantastic pitcher and hitter. Some people see her as a role model and a trailblazer while others think she shouldn't play because baseball is a boy's sport. The book is a story of how she decides to play baseball and what happens because of it.

I thought it was an enjoyable story. It was a quick easy read, that I didn't mean to pick up in the first place. Oops. I like it, but I didn't love it. Unless you like girls playing baseball in a boys league, I wouldn't go out of your way to find it. Not good enough to recommend.

[Caroline W.]

No Cream Puffs by Karen Day was a different book. It isent quit like any other book i have ever read. Idont know what made the book so different but there was somthing. I can say this is one book that is one my favorite list.
This book had everything. Love like everyone likes in a story, suspence with her mother, and that lesson that every book teachs you. No Cream Puffs is one of thoes books that you just can't put down. One of the main resons you can't put it down is because there is always somthing coming next. You never now what is going to pop up later on in the book.
This book taught me alot of different things. Things with being who you want to be not what eveyone eles wants you to be. Also that somtimes you just have to let your own light shine and not look at everyone eleses.

[Jennifer Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say, halfway through this book and I'm rather surprised. I didn't think I was going to like it, I thought it was another YA book dealing with weight, peer pressure and guys...and while it does deal with the latter two, it's actually a Middle Grade book, and much more interesting than I first gave it credit for. It's keeping me reading. There are a few things that I skim over cause it bores me, but they add to the story and I think I'm just bored with them because I'm tired of reading about the same issues over and over.

Here's to hoping the second half is a good as the first.

Overall I liked it, not bad, fairly entertaining :)

[Janessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book's honesty! The relationships between twelve year old Madison and her friends, between Madison and her mother, and between Madison and her first crush are all so solidly developed and truly felt. Added to that is the compelling story of Madison playing Little League Baseball with the boys in a mid-western town during the '80's. Newspaper reporters and camera crews follow every move Madison makes on the baseball field, but all she really wants is to be left alone to play ball. It is a real story about a real girl; an engaging read with emotional resonance that I would recommend to any tween and her mother.

[Brooke S · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very good, but also with a lot of drama. It is about a girl named Madison who wants to be in the boys baseball team, she's kind of nervous and only tells her best friend Sara but while she is telling Sara the new "mean girl" Casey over hears and tells pretty much everyone! So everyone makes fun of Madison because she thought Sara told Casey but she acctually just over heard! Madison joins the baseball team and she is great! She begins to love it. News reporters and everyone went to the games just to see the wonderful Madison! You will have to read the book to see what happens with Madison, the team, and Sara!

[Brookew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for girl's who like sports and arent afraid to get dirty. This is about a girl named Madison and she joins a boys baseball league. She is the first girl to play on a boys baseball team in her town. They call her a star. Then a big problem starts to occur Madison's friend leave her to go with the popular and snoby girls. If you do not like sports then i would not recommend this book. I rated this 4 stars only because im in the middle of reading it and i like it so far and once i get more into it and if it becomes better i will rate it 5 stars.