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Singled Out: x
There was a time when all was right in Taylor Dresden's world―that is, as long as she was on the baseball diamond, pitching with all her heart. But that was years ago. Now, there's no competition in her New Jersey high school, and summer league is not much better. With the scouts losing interest due to her poor grades, and with the challenge of the game gone, Taylor has made a difficult she won't be playing her senior year. Everything changes when a local, elite, all-boys prep school recruits Taylor for its own baseball team. But the Hazelton School is a rich boy's world, its student body run by the Statesmen, an organization determined to force Taylor and the other girls out of their school. Taylor knows she's a great pitcher, but can she be a great student? Can she succeed in the face of devious boys who will stop at nothing to get rid of her? Will she rise above them, sink to their level, or will she be gone before she can do either? Singled Out, the exciting sequel to Thrown a Curve, will answer these questions as Taylor struggles to find her place beyond the pitcher's mound.
- GenresYoung Adult
192 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 22, 2011
I enjoyed this story of the first girl to attend a boys' private school. She was offered a scholarship because she is very good at baseball. Of course, there is also something political. The school is facing a discrimination suit from a female teacher who was fired. But Taylor is using them too. This is her shot to improve her grades and be noticed by college baseball scouts.
Taylor has a lot of things to face. She has to get used to being away from home and family. She also has to deal with hostility and harassment from a secret Clique - the Statesman - who don't want a girl at their school.
Taylor was one of three girls who began the year. The first - a black basketball player - was framed for stealing and went home. The third was a shy math genius who left when she came under pressure from the boys. Taylor is determined to survive. She has done hard things before. She does feel alone and isolated. She has noticed and been noticed by Sam Barrett. He offers to tutor her in Trig which is her worst subject but she just doesn't trust him.
It takes quite a while for Sam to convince Taylor that he is no longer part of the Statesmen. The Statesmen plan and execute a number of bullying and harassing activities. When Taylor goes to her mentor and the Headmaster both dismiss her accusations and leave her on her own. She does have a sympathetic teacher - the Trig teacher. He helps her get around the tricks of the Statesmen. Along with Sam's tutoring and the teacher's assistance in seeing that her papers aren't tampered with, Taylor manages to raise her grade to a B.
This year at school was a growing one for her. She improved her skills at baseball, became a better student, and stood up to bullying to get to her goal.
This story was told in the first person from Taylor's point of view. While this gave us a clear vision of Taylor, it did make Sam's apparent sudden change of heart seemed to happen rather quickly and with no build up. Also, the tight first person didn't let us see what the adults who seemed to dismiss Taylor's concerns were actually doing. As a teacher, I couldn't see why a school that prided itself on being honorable would so quickly dismiss a student's accusations.
Beyond those little quibbles, I found the story to be successful and entertaining. I liked Taylor and wanted the best for her. Readers who like boarding school stories, sports stories, and stories of people facing challenges will enjoy this one.
Taylor has a lot of things to face. She has to get used to being away from home and family. She also has to deal with hostility and harassment from a secret Clique - the Statesman - who don't want a girl at their school.
Taylor was one of three girls who began the year. The first - a black basketball player - was framed for stealing and went home. The third was a shy math genius who left when she came under pressure from the boys. Taylor is determined to survive. She has done hard things before. She does feel alone and isolated. She has noticed and been noticed by Sam Barrett. He offers to tutor her in Trig which is her worst subject but she just doesn't trust him.
It takes quite a while for Sam to convince Taylor that he is no longer part of the Statesmen. The Statesmen plan and execute a number of bullying and harassing activities. When Taylor goes to her mentor and the Headmaster both dismiss her accusations and leave her on her own. She does have a sympathetic teacher - the Trig teacher. He helps her get around the tricks of the Statesmen. Along with Sam's tutoring and the teacher's assistance in seeing that her papers aren't tampered with, Taylor manages to raise her grade to a B.
This year at school was a growing one for her. She improved her skills at baseball, became a better student, and stood up to bullying to get to her goal.
This story was told in the first person from Taylor's point of view. While this gave us a clear vision of Taylor, it did make Sam's apparent sudden change of heart seemed to happen rather quickly and with no build up. Also, the tight first person didn't let us see what the adults who seemed to dismiss Taylor's concerns were actually doing. As a teacher, I couldn't see why a school that prided itself on being honorable would so quickly dismiss a student's accusations.
Beyond those little quibbles, I found the story to be successful and entertaining. I liked Taylor and wanted the best for her. Readers who like boarding school stories, sports stories, and stories of people facing challenges will enjoy this one.
May 14, 2011
Singled Out is the sequel to Thrown a Curve where Taylor Dresdon was a star pitcher her junior year of high school. That New Jersey high school no longer has competitive sports, leaving Taylor with only the unchallenging summer leagues. Plus, with her grades plummeting, the scouts are no longer interested in her astonishing pitching skills. Then Hazelton School for Boys offers Taylor a scholarship. Gabby (basketball), Kwan (math whiz) and Taylor become the first girls to ever attend Hazelton, a private school primarily for rich boys – and rich boys’ elitist attitudes. It does not take long for the Statesmen (a group of arrogant boys who bully-run the school), to run Gabby and Kwan out of Hazelton. Taylor is next.
That is as far as I am going with this well written story. Taylor’s senior year at Hazelton, whether she completes the year or is run off by the Statesmen, and if she wins a spot on the varsity baseball team, is up to you, dear reader, to find out. Usually I go into the story, sometimes too much so, but this one you must read. It is a fun, mysterious, romantic and fast spaced story, with characters that are easy to root for or against. Taylor is a tough, resilient girl in an even tougher high school with years of elitist history, yet the story could never be labeled feminist.
Girls and boys alike will enjoy this sequel to Thrown a Curve even if they have not read that first book. Singled Out can stand on its own. Everything you need to know about the first book is told in the first few pages. Taylor wants to go to college on a baseball scholarship and Hazelton is her last chance to wow the scouts, with both her pitching skills and her grades – if she can hone her study skills and survive the Statesmen’s wrath. Finding out if Taylor can do all this will keep you turning pages till the very end. You won’t want to put Singled Out down.
Note: received from netgalley, courtesy of the publisher
That is as far as I am going with this well written story. Taylor’s senior year at Hazelton, whether she completes the year or is run off by the Statesmen, and if she wins a spot on the varsity baseball team, is up to you, dear reader, to find out. Usually I go into the story, sometimes too much so, but this one you must read. It is a fun, mysterious, romantic and fast spaced story, with characters that are easy to root for or against. Taylor is a tough, resilient girl in an even tougher high school with years of elitist history, yet the story could never be labeled feminist.
Girls and boys alike will enjoy this sequel to Thrown a Curve even if they have not read that first book. Singled Out can stand on its own. Everything you need to know about the first book is told in the first few pages. Taylor wants to go to college on a baseball scholarship and Hazelton is her last chance to wow the scouts, with both her pitching skills and her grades – if she can hone her study skills and survive the Statesmen’s wrath. Finding out if Taylor can do all this will keep you turning pages till the very end. You won’t want to put Singled Out down.
Note: received from netgalley, courtesy of the publisher
June 27, 2011
Let me start out by saying that I love stories about a girl playing a guy's sport. It's got so much potential for good conflict and even better and more interesting romance possibilities. This book was no exception.
Taylor is an amazing baseball player who basically has exhausted all possibilities of any serious competition from her local teams. So she gets recruited to an exclusive all boys school to play baseball with a really competitive team. The catch? The boys don't want her there, nor the other two girls that have been selected, one for academics and the other for basketball. These boys will, and do, go to any lengths to try and get these girls out. Taylor isn't so easily overthrown though. She's smart enough to realize what's going on and take steps to protect herself.
Her academics are suffering, but she does what she has to in order to keep them up so that she can play baseball. Enter Sam. Once a bad guy, but maybe not anymore. The growing relationship between these two was very nice.
My favorite part of the story though? Taylor playing baseball. Her scenes playing baseball were entertaining and I loved watching her best the boys. Thinking someone is a joke and then getting your butt handed to you (so to speak) on the baseball field was so funny.
This story had romance, a little intrigue, and just the right amount of mystery to make it really interesting. A very enjoyable read.
Taylor is an amazing baseball player who basically has exhausted all possibilities of any serious competition from her local teams. So she gets recruited to an exclusive all boys school to play baseball with a really competitive team. The catch? The boys don't want her there, nor the other two girls that have been selected, one for academics and the other for basketball. These boys will, and do, go to any lengths to try and get these girls out. Taylor isn't so easily overthrown though. She's smart enough to realize what's going on and take steps to protect herself.
Her academics are suffering, but she does what she has to in order to keep them up so that she can play baseball. Enter Sam. Once a bad guy, but maybe not anymore. The growing relationship between these two was very nice.
My favorite part of the story though? Taylor playing baseball. Her scenes playing baseball were entertaining and I loved watching her best the boys. Thinking someone is a joke and then getting your butt handed to you (so to speak) on the baseball field was so funny.
This story had romance, a little intrigue, and just the right amount of mystery to make it really interesting. A very enjoyable read.
November 29, 2011
Singled Out
by Sara Griffiths
When Taylor receives a baseball scholarship to pitch for an all-boys prep school, Hazelton, she’s willing to give it a try, even if it is mostly to please her dad. But when she arrives, she realizes that she is less than welcome on campus—and begins to suspect a conspiracy that threatens to ruin her academic and baseball career. Readers will like Taylor’s character; she comes off as a tough, self-sufficient, long-wolf type, but with a heart. When her housemate, Gabby, also on a scholarship for basketball, ends up the target of the bullying “Statesmen,” Taylor reaches out to her, unable to see Gabby so distraught. The tension in the novel is admirable; it’s difficult to know who Taylor should really trust all the way up to the last few chapters. Ironically, despite the girls-at-boys-school conflict, the author stereotypes the girls’ characters. Taylor is a white baseball player, Gabby a black basketball player, and Kwan the smart, Asian math student. Additionally, the story comes off a bit rosy, making it appear that right choices are always rewarded and bad ones always punished, when in reality, that is not always the case. However, the themes of bullying and broken families are timely, and the subtle romance not too heavy handed. Overall, a good choice for sport’s readers, or readers who hesitate to pick up a book.
by Sara Griffiths
When Taylor receives a baseball scholarship to pitch for an all-boys prep school, Hazelton, she’s willing to give it a try, even if it is mostly to please her dad. But when she arrives, she realizes that she is less than welcome on campus—and begins to suspect a conspiracy that threatens to ruin her academic and baseball career. Readers will like Taylor’s character; she comes off as a tough, self-sufficient, long-wolf type, but with a heart. When her housemate, Gabby, also on a scholarship for basketball, ends up the target of the bullying “Statesmen,” Taylor reaches out to her, unable to see Gabby so distraught. The tension in the novel is admirable; it’s difficult to know who Taylor should really trust all the way up to the last few chapters. Ironically, despite the girls-at-boys-school conflict, the author stereotypes the girls’ characters. Taylor is a white baseball player, Gabby a black basketball player, and Kwan the smart, Asian math student. Additionally, the story comes off a bit rosy, making it appear that right choices are always rewarded and bad ones always punished, when in reality, that is not always the case. However, the themes of bullying and broken families are timely, and the subtle romance not too heavy handed. Overall, a good choice for sport’s readers, or readers who hesitate to pick up a book.
October 21, 2011
not bad, not bad at all.
senior girl with an amazing skill at baseball gets accepted to an all-boys private school with an excellent baseball program--but how did she get accepted with her barely-getting-by C-grades?
Good question. watch how the story unfolds, as she experiences ostracism, serious pranks intended to get her and the other two girls thrown out of the school, and a seriously distracting attraction toward the "captain" of the bad boys.
senior girl with an amazing skill at baseball gets accepted to an all-boys private school with an excellent baseball program--but how did she get accepted with her barely-getting-by C-grades?
Good question. watch how the story unfolds, as she experiences ostracism, serious pranks intended to get her and the other two girls thrown out of the school, and a seriously distracting attraction toward the "captain" of the bad boys.
February 10, 2012
I won this book on goodreads, and plan on sharing it with my kids now that I am done. It was a quick easy read that addressed many of the problems facing teenagers today like bullying. It also had a fun undertone with the baseball aspect. I think this book has a little something for everyone.
March 2, 2012
What a cute, fun read. While it's aimed at middle school to high school students it definitely has something for the adult reader too. With an underlying message about the threat of bullying, and overcoming obstacles I definitely plan on passing this down to my kids to read and enjoy.
December 7, 2011
It was interesting to read about a girl pitching baseball. Also, I loved the conspiracy thread in the story.
May 3, 2012
It is definitely a good book to read to remind us to be strong in our own personal times of stress.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews