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Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!

Sarah Kapit (Goodreads Author)

4.19 · Rating details · 276 ratings · 91 reviews

In this epistolary middle grade novel, Vivy Cohen won't let autism stop her from playing baseball--not when she has a major-league pitcher as her pen pal.

Vivy Cohen wants to play baseball. Ever since her hero, Major League star pitcher VJ Capello, taught her how to throw a knuckleball at a family fun day for kids with autism, she's been perfecting her pitch. And now she kn ...more

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Hardcover, 356 pages

Published February 25th 2020 by Dial Books

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· 276 ratings · 91 reviews

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Aug 22, 2019 Scott rated it it was amazing

I love this book so much. I helped coach my own autistic son's team the year he played until A Very Bad Thing happened and left him (understandably) afraid to keep playing.

Kapit perfectly captures the voice of a girl with a dream that almost nobody else wants her to have.

Like all the best baseball books, this one is about so much more than baseball. It's about dreams, relationships (good and bad), hero worship, family, and a very driven young girl determined to make her own choices.

I hope Kapit ...more

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Oct 11, 2018 Arianne Costner rated it it was amazing

Oh my gosh yessss. I got to read an early version of this book and it was SO charming. Vivy is a lovable protagonist with lots of passion/drive. There are enough sports in the book that it will interest kids who like sports, but not enough to discourage those who don't. A good balance. And the ownvoices aspect is really cool and needed in kidlit ...more

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Nov 21, 2019 Alison rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, contemporary, middle-grade

I LOVED this epistolary novel. Hope it wins a bunch of kid lit prizes so it will get a good wide distribution.

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May 15, 2020 Jen (Pop! Goes The Reader) rated it really liked it

Shelves: middle-grade, contemporary, realistic-fiction, read-in-2020

Did you find this review helpful? Find more of my reviews at Pop! Goes The Reader!

“I don’t know if I can be the first girl in the major leagues. (…) For now I will just keep throwing knuckleballs. And they are going to be very, very knuckle-y.”

When autistic eleven-year-old Vivian ‘Vivy’ Jane Cohen is asked to write a letter to someone for her social skills group, few could have imagined that this simple correspondence would change her life forever. Vivy chooses to write to Vincent James ‘VJ’ Cap Did you find this review helpful? Find more of my reviews at Pop! Goes The Reader!

“I don’t know if I can be the first girl in the major leagues. (…) For now I will just keep throwing knuckleballs. And they are going to be very, very knuckle-y.”

When autistic eleven-year-old Vivian ‘Vivy’ Jane Cohen is asked to write a letter to someone for her social skills group, few could have imagined that this simple correspondence would change her life forever. Vivy chooses to write to Vincent James ‘VJ’ Capello, a Black Major League Baseball player who taught Vivy the secret to his famous knuckleball during a chance meeting three years prior to the beginning of the novel. Since then, Vivy has become obsessed with perfecting her knuckleball and dreams of becoming a knuckleball pitcher and a professional baseball player, too. When Vivy’s unique talent is discovered by the coach of the Lakeview Flying Squirrels and she’s invited to join the team, her dream feels closer and more possible than ever, but she’ll be forced to confront bullying, ableism and self-doubt along the way. Will Vivy find happiness and contentment playing the sport she loves or will her mother’s doubts, a cruel teammate’s taunts and her own insecurities end her dream before it ever truly begins?

A warm, sensitive, big-hearted celebration of neurodiversity and a precocious girl whose passion and determination are sure to steal reader’s hearts, Get A Grip, Vivy Cohen! by Sarah Kapit is a moving story that touches upon universal issues like making friends, confronting bullies and self-doubt and standing up for oneself while also exploring the unique challenges faced by an individual on the autism spectrum.

Get A Grip, Vivy Cohen! is written in an epistolary format, as told through letters and emails between Vivy and VJ. This was a wonderful choice on the part of the author both because this particular writing style may make the novel more accessible to reluctant readers and because this format furthers the narrative and character development in the novel as the act of writing letters allows Vivy to learn a great deal about herself. Vivy often struggles to articulate herself verbally, but finds in writing an ease of expression previously unknown to her. However well-intentioned, Vivy’s mother’s fear for Vivy’s safety and well-being cause her to disregard Vivy’s desire to play baseball. When her mother’s anxieties threaten Vivy’s future on the team and the baseball field, Vivy writes a letter to her mom that allows her to say everything she felt too overwhelmed to articulate in-person. (“When you tell me I can’t do things because I’m a girl or because I’m autistic, it makes me feel really, really lousy. Like I’m less than other people. I know I’m not normal, but I still want to do the things that make me happy. And for me, that’s baseball.”) Letter-writing empowers Vivy and allows her to express herself in a way that makes her feel heard and understood. It also allows Vivy’s mother to better relate to and empathize with her daughter and to learn what the reader already knows: That Vivy’s voice is charming, funny, deeply-felt and a delight to spend time listening to.

Vivy’s mother’s ableism is only one of the many challenges that Vivy faces while following her dream of becoming a professional baseball player. Get A Grip, Vivy Cohen! bravely explores the many types of discrimination and microaggressions experienced by Vivy as a result of being on the autism spectrum as many of those around her are ignorant, condescending, or altogether dismissive in regard to her feelings and experiences. These moments were at turns frustrating, heartbreaking and illuminating, and it illustrates how those on the spectrum are often poorly and unfairly treated, even by those who love them most. It was discouraging to see Vivy’s mother and teammates consistently underestimate her abilities, though Vivy is ultimately able to find allies who do their best to support her, including her brother, her father, her new friend, Alex, and VJ. As a Black Major League Baseball player and also a member of a marginalized community himself, VJ has been the target of prejudice and racism and can relate to the pressure Vivy feels to ‘prove herself’ both on and off the field. While the challenges the pair faces are vastly different, VJ and Vivy are able to find in one another an empathetic ear and words of wisdom that help guide them through their respective darkest moments. Though VJ begins as Vivy’s hero and mentor, it isn’t long before their relationship evolves into a sincere friendship, and it is this connection that lies at the heart of the novel.

Author Sarah Kapit has hit a home run with Get A Grip, Vivy Cohen!, a sweet, heartfelt, empowering and incredibly moving portrait of one girl’s quest to make her dreams come true. It was exciting to read about a female character who’s engaged in and passionate about sports, and the enthusiasm and facts Vivy shares about baseball are fun and informative without alienating those unfamiliar with or uninterested in the pastime. The novel’s exploration of both universal and unique challenges ensures Get A Grip, Vivy Cohen! offers a little something special for every reader, particularly those on the autism spectrum, who are sure to find a loveable friend in Vivy. ...more

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Jan 08, 2021 Richie Partington rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction

Richie’s Picks: GET A GRIP, VIVY COHEN! by Sarah Kapit, Dial, February 2020, 336p., ISBN: 978-0-5255-5418-9

“When I was thirteen, I was told to quit baseball because I was a girl. The message was delivered by the coach of a ‘co-ed” youth league, which was only co-ed because I was still playing in it. I decided during that stilted conversation that I would play forever.
My experience was hardly unusual. About 100,000 girls play baseball at the youth level at some point. Only about 1,400 girls go on ...more

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Nov 05, 2020 Rachel Nelson rated it really liked it

Shelves: sophomore-year-of-college

A confession time in three parts:
1.) On Tuesday, I checked out this book from the library because I'd just finished three major research papers in the span of a week and thought I'd reward myself with another middle grade novel (since I loved Genesis Begins Again so much).
2.) Last night, I got an email saying I'd been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. So, I'm quarantined in my dorm until next Friday.
3.) I didn't have any homework tonight, so I basically finished this enti ...more

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Aug 29, 2020 M. Wolkenstein rated it it was amazing

I was really into this book. Over the course of the story, I was more and more engaged. The main character is complex and interesting, and features something I always look for in a MG novel: sympathetic and interesting adults. Vivy's parents struggle and provide a realistic and nuanced challenge for Vivy to navigate. The baseball content is clearly well researched and natural, and I found the epistolary style to work: Vivy's relationship with a professional baseball player with struggles of his ...more

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Mar 03, 2020 Anniek rated it it was amazing

Shelves: disabled, autistic, 2-middlegrade, 3-contemporary, 1-2020-releases

I don't often start reading a book the day I get my copy. But I just had to with this one.

This is honestly such an endearing book. There's something special about novels in letters, and it worked so well here. The entire correspondence between Vivy and the professional baseball player she writes to just oozes kindness, and it was amazing to read.

I can't quite put into words how important it is to me that I got to read this book. And because I'm saying this as an autistic adult, I can only imagin I don't often start reading a book the day I get my copy. But I just had to with this one.

This is honestly such an endearing book. There's something special about novels in letters, and it worked so well here. The entire correspondence between Vivy and the professional baseball player she writes to just oozes kindness, and it was amazing to read.

I can't quite put into words how important it is to me that I got to read this book. And because I'm saying this as an autistic adult, I can only imagine how important it is for autistic kids to be able to see themselves in this book.

We definitely still do have a long way to go when it comes to autism representation that actually centers autistic voices. And I'm so glad that this book does exactly that.

My absolute favourite thing was how unapologetically autistic this was, right from the start. I tabbed so many quotes because they resonated so much. There are explicit remarks on what it's like to be autistic, but also a lot of subtle ones that you might not pick up on unless you're autistic. This book just captures the essence of what it's like to be autistic so perfectly.

I loved to see Vivy stimming on the page, and engage in so many autistic behaviours. But I hated seeing her mother and her therapist trying to discourage her from that and encouraging her to mask. This felt really harmful to me, and while I was glad to see that Vivy herself didn't seem very impressed, I still would have loved to at least see more development here. It would have been good to have the mother realize this is not the way to support Vivy the best and to change. There was definitely some development when it comes to Vivy's mother, but I would have liked for it to be more focused on her realizing she hasn't completely given Vivy the support she needs.

When I was Vivy's age, 11 years old, I had no idea I was autistic. And I wouldn't have an idea for years to come, even though I did wonder. A lot. It was amazing to see a main character who's so sure of what it means to be autistic and who's so empowered. I can only hope that it will resonate just as much with other readers.

Rep: autistic Jewish MC, gay Jewish side character, Black side character

CWs: (internalized) ableism, autistic meltdowns, bullying, mentions of racism, concussion, hospital, medical examination ...more

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Oct 12, 2018 Kit rated it it was amazing

Shelves: disabled-rep, fiction

I've read through a pretty early version and later excerpts and it was delightfully written. I'm thrilled to have a well-written autistic protagonist hit the shelves, too! I especially enjoyed the strong voice of the character Vivy, and the struggle to prove oneself as disabled person is all too real. ...more

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Aug 06, 2020 Brenda Kahn added it

Shelves: baseball, autism, knuckleballer, epistolary, 2020-reading, 2020-debut

I enjoyed the baseball in this epistolary novel, though I couldn't totally buy into the idea that an MLB pitcher would spend so much time corresponding with a fan. ...more

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Dec 16, 2020 Hal Schrieve rated it it was amazing

Shelves: autism_ownvoices, jewish-books, middle-grade-girl-power, disability

A sweet middle-grade novel about an autistic eleven-year-old girl named Vivy.

This epistolary novel follows Vivy's letters to her role model, knuckleballer VJ Capello. Vivy has had a fixation on the knuckleball pitch since she met VJ on a trip with her social skills group to a baseball game three years ago; while she pitches with her brother Nate, she is only invited to be on a baseball team when the coach of a local boys' team sees her at the park throwing pitches. Vivy's parents would prefer sh A sweet middle-grade novel about an autistic eleven-year-old girl named Vivy.

This epistolary novel follows Vivy's letters to her role model, knuckleballer VJ Capello. Vivy has had a fixation on the knuckleball pitch since she met VJ on a trip with her social skills group to a baseball game three years ago; while she pitches with her brother Nate, she is only invited to be on a baseball team when the coach of a local boys' team sees her at the park throwing pitches. Vivy's parents would prefer she join a girls' softball team-- and are extremely overprotective and nervous about her playing a sport at all-- but after a meeting with Vivy's therapist and some convincing, they allow her to play. And something else miraculous happens-- VJ Capello starts writing back, and, after checking with Vivy's dad, they start exchanging emails.

Vivy's autism mostly presents via difficulties with verbal communication and meltdowns triggered by sensory overload, which occasionally interrupt her practice or school. She references her parents using meltdowns as an excuse to not allow her to do things, and gives the impression that her parents and therapist can often hold her autistic behaviors over her head as if she's doing something wrong, only allowing her "rewards" like social activities and sports if she masks her autistic behavior. In some ways, she's able to present as "high-functioning," but readers get the impression that interacting in person may be different than writing words online. Vivy has been in special education environments for her entire education, and speaks about feeling underestimated and bored in these settings even as she is unable to complete the meaningless tasks set for her, while also feeling isolated from kids outside of special education classrooms. Her direct communication style, as retold by her in dialogue within the emails, is off-putting for some people, and she also isn't sure what to say in response to a lot of questions or prompts--but in her letters to VJ, she is effusive, eloquent, and passionate about the sport she loves.

Problems arise when Kyle, a boy on her team, starts bullying her. She writes to VJ about it, and VJ compares the sexism and ableism she's experiencing from parents and teammates to the racism he's experienced as a Black pitcher on a mostly-white team. Vivy appreciates his reassurances, but does not take his advice of telling someone else about the bullying. VJ gets more and more frustrated in his responses. And then something else happens-- Vivy gets hit in the head by a baseball, and now her mom says she can't play sports ever again! To make things worse, Vivy's brother Nate seems like he's never around--and he's keeping secrets from their parents, too. Vivy is upset, and in an email, she references the fact that VJ's having a bad season. This upsets VJ, and after they argue about the meaning of the word "fortunate" (relatable as someone who has had MANY arguments about someone misusing a word), he doesn't write back.

Can Vivy get back into baseball--and make amends with VJ?

I love the depiction in this book of an older person trying to be a responsible friend to a younger person, but still being fallible and taking things personally sometimes/not knowing what boundaries to set with a child/how to apologize for missteps in a friendship with someone with much less agency and power. The friendship between VJ and Vivy is totally sweet, and also comes across as two people trying to communicate honestly across generational/ power lines about a sport they both love.

Vivy's Jewish background is woven into the story; she misses games on holidays and thinks about things her rabbi has said about forgiveness. Her brother, it turns out, is gay; Vivy doesn't take long to accept him when he comes out to her, and it's a really cute moment.

What really is compelling about this narrative is that it's from the perspective of an autistic kid, without othering or dehumanizing language-- and it shows how parents and therapists can make mistakes and often do make mistakes, even with the best of intentions. I've read so many books about kids with disabled siblings or children where the role of caregiver is the one in the spotlight-- this is different. It recognizes Vivy's agency and desire to play sports as central to her wellbeing, and shows us her perspective without any muddying information.

Go sports-playing girls everywhere, and yay for books with autistic protagonists! ...more

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Oct 25, 2020 Enne rated it liked it

Shelves: z-2020-reads, couldn-t-put-it-down, 3-and-a-half-star, pov-1st, genre-contemporary, cover-love, pov-female, reviewed, age-range-middle-grade, rep-neurodiversity

3.5 stars

This is an epistolary novel following an autistic girl who’s determined to be the first girl to make it to the major leagues and her correspondence with a major league baseball player.

Like any MG, I thought it was cute. I would 100% adopt Vivy and I loved seeing how much she grew over the course of the novel, especially in her relationship with her parents. I loved seeing her stand up for herself and I loved seeing her play baseball. I would give up my life for Vivy in a heartbeat.

I a ...more

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Dec 05, 2020 Maeve rated it liked it

Shelves: grade-elementary, genre-realistic-fiction, grade-middle, format-epistolary, format-chapter-book, fiction, diversity, age-tween, age-children

Vivy Cohen absolutely loves baseball. When she is out throwing with her brother, the coach from a local baseball teams approaches her about playing. Vivy manages to convince her parents to play, but she has a lot of obstacles to face: the coaches son is a bully, she gets nervous before throwing, and her mother is over-protective due to Vivy's autism. But through e-mail exchanges with a baseball pro, Vivy learns to trust her friends and to stand up for herself.

A sports book with a female main cha ...more

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May 29, 2020 Katie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020_books

I thought this was a wonderful book about family relationships, autism, and baseball. I really liked the format of letters and emails, especially because it was like the story was in 1st person for Vivy, but then there were other perspectives. I think this format is really great, because in books when the perspective changes each chapter I have to look back at who’s speaking. Here it was so straight forward so I didn’t have to question who was talking. Overall, this book was awesome!

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Jul 25, 2019 Gina Loveless rated it it was amazing

Shelves: cbmb-ba

I had a chance to read an ARC of this book and WOW. It delivers in every possible way. You want to get behind Vivy, let me tell you! Covers so many great topics for MGers to read about: team dynamics, bullying, autism, acceptance, verbalization. Sarah makes all of these topics accessible for the younger audience. Highly, highly recommend!

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Nov 29, 2020 Claire Lovegood rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, books-that-come-out-in-2020, read-in-2020, for-m-to-read, realistic-fiction

I really liked this book. I liked that the girl wanted to play baseball instead of softball which I can relate to and I don’t really see a lot of books about girls playing baseball. And it was cool that she was autistic as well. I liked the idea of this book and felt that it was done really well and the characters seemed pretty realistic.

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Sep 15, 2020 Hoover Public Library Kids and Teens rated it really liked it

Shelves: realistic, sports, 2020, childrens-books

Eleven-year-old Vivian Jane Cohen has autism but she also throws a mean knuckleball and yearns to play baseball. Written in letters and emails between Vivy and her MLB-playing, knuckleball-throwing idol who shares her initials -- VJ Capello.

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May 03, 2020 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: childrens, epistolary, contemporary, sports, fiction

I'm a sucker for epistolary novels. Add a charming, delightful neurodiverse protagonist and a love of baseball, and I am in. Vivy is a gem in this middle grade novel. ...more

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Oct 17, 2020 Jae rated it really liked it

All the overprotective “autism moms” NEED to read this book.

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Jan 01, 2021 B added it

I have decided not to rate books this year—but I loved this!

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Jan 07, 2021 Tori rated it really liked it

A great own voice MG novel that I can’t wait to get into the hands of readers!

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Jul 21, 2019 Rajani LaRocca rated it it was amazing

I was lucky to read an Advance Reader Copy of this book. GET A GRIP, VIVY COHEN is about a young autistic girl who can throw a mean knuckleball...and all she wants it to be able to play baseball. She writes to a Major League knuckleball pitcher, and to her surprise, he writes her back. This book is perfect MG combination of funny and heartfelt, and it made me tear up for the best reasons. I LOVE this book, and so will so many kids!

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Oct 26, 2020 Alex (Pucksandpaperbacks) rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, disability-rep, middle-grade, favorite-tropes, sports

CW: Ableism, bullying, concussion

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Oct 04, 2020 Rebecca rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-for-kids

Vivy Cohen is a kid with high-functioning autism, a love for baseball (particularly the knuckleball), and an over-protective, hasn't-come-to-grips-with-autism-not-being-awful mother. Also her therapist kinda sucks. (Can you tell I have multiple relatives with autism and strong opinions about how autism not needing to be cured?) When she sends fan mail to her favorite pitcher, they develop a (totally kosher, and presented with great sensitivity for being appropriate) friendship which helps them b ...more

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Apr 19, 2020 Juliko rated it really liked it

There's a lot of media genres that I don't really find myself gravitating to. Horror, romance, mecha, etc., and sports is no exception. I never liked watching real sports, and still don't, so reading a book on sports or watching TV shows centered around sports is usually guaranteed to bore the hell out of me. Mostly because many of them expect their audience to already know about the sport in question, never explaining any terminology, therefore alienating any fans who aren't as familiar with va There's a lot of media genres that I don't really find myself gravitating to. Horror, romance, mecha, etc., and sports is no exception. I never liked watching real sports, and still don't, so reading a book on sports or watching TV shows centered around sports is usually guaranteed to bore the hell out of me. Mostly because many of them expect their audience to already know about the sport in question, never explaining any terminology, therefore alienating any fans who aren't as familiar with various sports, like baseball or soccer. Honestly, the only sport I really care about is archery, and some debate whether one can call that an actual sport. Thankfully, despite how impossible it seemed, I actually did manage to find a book about a girl's interest in baseball that was actually interesting and is accessible to both sports fans and those who aren't as familiar with baseball. Also, it stars an autistic girl and is written by an autistic writer? Ladies and gentleman, Get A Grip, Vivy Cohen! is the book I just described, having discovered it via this article here. I honestly didn't think I'd like it, but I gave it a try, and it's definitely one of the best middle grade debut novels of 2020, and just a plain good book overall.

So the story centers on a young autistic girl named Vivy Cohen. She absolutely loves baseball, particularly throwing knuckeballs. Her dream is to become a professional baseball player, having been cultivated when a famous pitcher, Vincent James Capello, taught her how to throw a knuckeball some years earlier. Unfortunately, her overprotective mother is against the idea, thinking the sport too dangerous and stressful for her, dismissing it as an autistic fixation that she needs to be trained out of, and her therapist agrees. But when she and her brother are playing catch, the coach of a small baseball team notices her, and invites her to join his team. Seeing this as her big chance to do what she's always dreamed, she convinces her parents to let her join the Flying Squirrels. But the road to playing baseball is a bumpy one, and even when she gathers the courage to send letters to VJ Capello, finding a friend she can confide in, life isn't always forgiving towards girls like her.

The novel is written in what's called an epistolary style, where the story and chapters consist of a character writing letters to another, with the recipient responding sometimes. In the right hands, a style like this can work, but other times, it can be an absolute mess. This book manages to strike a relatively decent balance, and since Vivy is the central character, most of the story is told from her point of view, and we see the letters and emails she sends to her idol, VJ. I found the writing style to be okay, understandable enough for kids to understand, but not particularly thought-provoking or engaging, which isn't really a bad thing in this case. But there were some chapters that I felt were too short and didn't really add anything to the story, so cutting them out might have benefitted Get a Grip a bit. Plus, sometimes the emails seem too detailed for a twelve-year-old like Vivy to write. That I can attribute to the book being written by an adult writer, and it's a common problem among writers to not always know how children talk or write things. I'm guilty of that myself, so unless you're a parent or work closely with kids, it's not easy to be able to capture a child's voice realistically.

And speaking of a character's voice, what the book lacks in prose, it very much makes up for with its stunning lead character, Vivy. The authoress mentioned in the post I linked that growing up, she read about strong characters who were outsiders but still depicted as strong, caring, heroic people with a lot of personality and depth, and in response to the oft negative, stereotyped portrayals of autistic characters in media, she wanted to make an autistic character who was like the heroes she loved growing up and depict her autism in a positive light. With Vivy Cohen, I feel she really struck a home run with Vivy Cohen. Vivy is a determined, energetic, caring girl who has a ton of personality and spunk to her. She does make mistakes, sure, but they never define her, and all she wants to do is the very thing that makes her happy, which is play baseball. Her being autistic is never depicted as a problem, and the people in her life who treat it as such, such as her overprotective mother and unsympathetic therapist, aren't treated as being in the right. Not once does she ever do things like talk like a robot with no emotion, or constantly act like a two-year-old throwing tantrums all the time, nor is she depicted as a slob, a burden, or anything of the like. She feels like the kind of kid you'd meet in school. She loves baseball, she gets annoyed by her mother treating her like a precious porcelain doll who'll break at the slightest breeze, she's close with her dad, she doesn't always understand certain things or know her limits, she's smart enough to know when people are treating her like an idiot, and she doesn't want to let anything stop her from living her life. She's a fully realized, three-dimensional kid people can relate to, me included, even if they don't share her interest in baseball (Me being one of them). Seriously, more people need to write autistic characters like Vivy. An autistic person isn't solely their condition, nor does their personality consist solely of stims and meltdowns. Even as a kid, I knew that kind of portrayal of autistics is untrue and downright stupid.

While not as fully fleshed out as Vivy is, the side characters are an interesting bunch as well, save for a select few. Her father, older brother, her friend Alex, and her coach are the best ones of the bunch, as they all support Vivy in their own way and like her for who she is, flaws and all. VJ also gets his fair share of development and backstory, and his friendship with Vivy, a kid he doesn't really have any reason to talk to at all, really makes him shine as a human being. But I think one pet peeve I have with the novel is that it doesn't really address certain characters' actions. For example, Vivy has to deal with her coach's son, a kid named Kyle, who picks on her and bullies her. Vivy tries ignoring him, but his constant verbal abuse makes her doubt herself, and she does stand up to him at the end...but he never faces consequences for his actions. What even was the point of having him in the book? All he does is be mean to Vivy and nothing else. We never learn anything else about him, so he's just there to be a cliche bully character and that's it, and he's completely inconsequential to the story. Similarly, Vivy's mother is...kind of neurotic. It's made clear that she does love Vivy and wants to protect her, but when it comes to baseball, she doesn't want Vivy to get hurt or stressed out in any way, and seems to treat her more like a rare porcelain doll that absolutely needs to be locked in a glass box thinking that the slightest breeze could damage her. She never tries to support Vivy and is always trying to put her in a box and actively discourage her from doing things that make her happy because she thinks her obsession with baseball is just an autistic fixation that needs to be stamped out. There are parts where her worries are understandable, but other times she feels like a helicopter mom who thinks Vivy will break like a twig at the slightest breeze, which in-story is a point of contention for Vivy and the rest of her family. While Vivy's mother does receive some character development near the end, I think it'd work better if the authoress made her realize that being overprotective, constantly treating her like an accident-prone four year old, and not giving Vivy the support she needs isn't helping her daughter thrive. Also, the therapist was just kinda there to be an antagonistic adult (Not a villain per se, but wants Vivy to hide her stims and be more normal) and doesn't do anything else in the story, so she was kind of one-note.

Any conflict the book has is kept fairly down to Earth, with the biggest thing happening being Vivy getting hit with a baseball to the point of going to the hospital, which I think the book handled reasonably well, because stuff like that does have the chance of killing people, especially children. While the book does have a baseball theme going on, it's not the whole story, as it's all about Vivy and her desire to become a professional knuckleballer and dealing with her every day life. Even as someone who's not very well versed in baseball, I really liked this book, and I think others will do, and thankfully, the book is accessible enough to new readers that it won't alienate people who aren't as well versed in baseball as others. For example, I was made to read Shoeless Joe for college, and I absolutely hated it, because all the baseball terminology was thrown at me with little to no explanation, I couldn't understand what was going on most of the time, and I found the story to be rather pretentious. In stark contrast, Vivy Cohen is much more accessible, has a tighter story that doesn't try to be anything it isn't, and has a mostly great cast of characters that you can care about, with a great, non-stereotyped portrayal of an autistic person as an added bonus. I think those things in and of themselves make for a good book that I recommend to anyone who wants something nice to read.

Obviously, if you're not into slice-of-life middle grade books, you're probably not going like this book, whether you're a baseball fan or not, but it's a nice, genuine book with a wonderful lead character that deserves to be read. Vivy Cohen rocks!! ...more

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Dec 01, 2019 Ms. Yingling rated it liked it

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Vivy really wants to play baseball like V.J. Capello, whom she once met and who taught her how to throw a knuckleball. Her mother, however, is apprehensive. She doesn't think that baseball is safe for girls, and is concerned about how Vivy will do on the field, since she is on the Autism spectrum and occasionally struggles with talking to others and dealing with unaccustomed stimuli. Her social skills teacher has her write letters in order to help her learn to com E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Vivy really wants to play baseball like V.J. Capello, whom she once met and who taught her how to throw a knuckleball. Her mother, however, is apprehensive. She doesn't think that baseball is safe for girls, and is concerned about how Vivy will do on the field, since she is on the Autism spectrum and occasionally struggles with talking to others and dealing with unaccustomed stimuli. Her social skills teacher has her write letters in order to help her learn to communicate with others, and she decides to write to Capello. The two eventually exchange letters and even start to correspond through e mail, after checking with her parents about it. She does fairly well on the team, although the coach's son Kyle is very mean to her. Alex, the catcher, befriends her and helps her out. When she is hit by a baseball and suffers a concussion, her mother is against her playing, and Vivy talks to Capello about her problems. Her older brother Nate is more distant than usual, and Vivy finds out it is because he is dating a boy on his baseball but is afraid of what their parents will say. Vivy is eventually cleared to play, convinces her mother that she will be okay, gets help dealing with Kyle, and continues to write to Capello after clearing up a misunderstanding.

Strengths: I liked that even though Vivy's mother was against her playing baseball, the coach and the father didn't think it odd at all, and some recent girls who played baseball are mentioned. Alex is a kind teammate who does all he can to support Vivy. The sub plot with the brother was interesting and showed a positive family interaction. It is good to see an #ownvoices narrative!
Weaknesses: It seemed odd that Kyle was so mean when his father was so supportive, and that he was able to get away with it. I've coached a number of runners on the autism spectrum, and the teams were always understanding of their differences. Vivy's behavior on the field is not that unusual, and nothing like some of the meltdowns that I have seen during meets! My school has an Autism unit, so perhaps our students are more aware.
What I really think: This is not as much as a baseball story as I was hoping; more of it deals with Vivy's difficulties. I also found that the letter writing stretched my credulity. Since epistolatory novels don't do well in my library, I'm debating. ...more

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Jun 21, 2020 Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* rated it liked it

Shelves: elementary, middle-school, advisable

Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen by Sarah Kapit 326 pages. Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin, Random House), 2020. $18.

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS-ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

11yo Vivy Cohen learned to throw a knuckleball 3 years ago from VJ Capello. When Vivy is given an assignment in her social skills class to write a letter to someone, she chooses VJ Capello, and he writes back! Now VJ is in the major leagues and Vivy has been invited ...more

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Sep 24, 2019 Julie Christensen rated it it was amazing

I let my kids read this book before I got to it, and they loved it. They are 12 and 10, girl and boy. I'm posting their reviews here:

The 12-year old girl:
"I think that, first of all, the book was absolutely fantastic!! It was a very good and unique idea to write through the eyes of someone with autism. It was nice to have a different perspective. When I read the book, parts of it were sad, and since the book was so realistic, I was sad, too. The same sort of thing happened when parts of the boo ...more

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Oct 10, 2018 Rachel 007 rated it really liked it

Shelves: beta-read, pitch-wars

I beta read this during Pitch Wars 2017 and loved it. Middle school me would’ve appreciated seeing a girl with the same issues as me on page & #ownvoices! and would’ve loved the letter writing that Vivy does. (The whole book is written like that!) I can’t wait to read the final version

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Mar 20, 2020 Karen Gibson rated it really liked it

Shelves: special-needs, realistic-fiction, pisd-workshop-2020, 2020-200-book-project

NOTE: Sensitive material in this book.

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Tami Charles is a former teacher and the author of picture books, middle grade and young adult novels, and nonfiction. As a teacher, she made...

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“FROM: VJ CAPELLO DATE: APRIL 20 TO: VIVIAN JANE COHEN SUBJECT: THANK YOU Vivian Jane, I appreciate you defending me to Alex, although it’s hardly necessary. I only hope I can justify your faith in me with my performance on the field. Your emails have been a welcome distraction from the fact that I am now 0-3 on the season. I don’t think you understand your own gifts sometimes. I am also glad to hear you’re spending time with Alex outside of games and practice. His sister sounds like a real character, but possibly a friend for you as well. I wouldn’t get too bothered by her comments about you and Alex. Friends are most excellent. Now I really must go watch some videos before my next start. The team hasn’t been playing great lately, and I need to fix things. Hoping both of our knuckleballs knuckle, VJ FROM: VIVIAN JANE COHEN DATE: APRIL 22 TO: VJ CAPELLO SUBJECT: FINE-NESS VJ, Well, of course I am going to defend you to Alex!” — 0 likes

“practically have all the prayers memorized by now thanks to all the boring-ness.” — 0 likes

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