Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! - by Sarah Kapit

About the Book

Eleven-year-old knuckleball pitcher Vivy Cohen, who has autism, becomes pen pals with her favorite Major League baseball player after writing a letter to him as an assignment for her social skills class.

Book Synopsis

In this perfectly pitched novel-in-letters, autistic eleven-year-old Vivy Cohen won't let anything stop her from playing baseball--not when she has a major-league star as her pen pal.

Vivy Cohen is determined. She's had enough of playing catch in the park. She's ready to pitch for a real baseball team.

But Vivy's mom is worried about Vivy being the only girl on the team, and the only autistic kid. She wants Vivy to forget about pitching, but Vivy won't give up. When her social skills teacher makes her write a letter to someone, Vivy knows exactly who to choose: her hero, Major League pitcher VJ Capello. Then two amazing things happen: A coach sees Vivy's amazing knuckleball and invites her to join his team. And VJ starts writing back!

Now Vivy is a full-fledged pitcher, with a catcher as a new best friend and a steady stream of advice from VJ. But when a big accident puts her back on the bench, Vivy has to fight to stay on the team.

Review Quotes

Praise for Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!

Schneider Family Book Award Honor

★ "This vivid epistolary tale captures Vivy's growing sense of her own capabilities. . . . A satisfying baseball story that never minimizes the challenges of autism but celebrates skill, determination, and love for the game." --Kirkus, starred review

★ "A standout." --School Library Journal, starred review

★ "The story is so undeniably charming, the sports so exciting, the protagonist so sympathetic that readers will get sucked in. Kapit's debut is an exceedingly rare #OwnVoices account of an autistic girl--centered on that character--that gives a clear, authentic, and universally relatable representation of autism while telling a positive, upbeat, feel-good story about a girl's fight to play the game she loves." --Booklist, starred review

About the Author

Sarah Kapit lives in Bellevue, Washington with her husband and their goofy orange cat. She earned a PhD in history from the University of California, Los Angeles, and she's always happy to talk about the history of women, medicine, and any other history geek topic. She has a longstanding involvement in the disability rights and neurodiversity movements, and serves as chairperson of the Association for Autistic Community. Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! is her first novel.