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Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!
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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
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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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
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

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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“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 ...more
“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 ...more

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
“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

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
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

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

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 ...more
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 ...more

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

Aug 06, 2020
Brenda Kahn
added it
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

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 ...more
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 ...more

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
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

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

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!

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!

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.

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.

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

Jan 01, 2021
B
added it
I have decided not to rate books this year—but I loved this!

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!

CW: Ableism, bullying, concussion

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

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
...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

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
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

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