Screwball by Keri Mikulski

Ashley Clarke is a sports girl through and through. She’s a great pitcher for her fourteen and under softball team, and she also plays soccer and basketball. Then her friend Kate persuades Ashley to join a different softball team, this one for sixteen and under. But adjusting to this new team is tougher than Ashley expected, especially because the other pitcher Christy seems to want to ruin Ashley’s life. Ashley tries different methods of appeasing Christy but realizes she has to settle for just ignoring her, which is a little tough, considering her hot football-player boyfriend Andrew sometimes hangs out with Christy. Screwball is Ashley’s story as she tries to figure out a balance to her life between sports, boys, and not-so-nice girls.

Screwball was a very fun and cute summer read. I really liked Ashley’s character; she was a little immature at times but also witty and hilarious. It was interesting to watch her mature through the book, and I did notice it had something to do with the guy she was with. Ashley is a really lovable character because many girls can probably relate to all the “injustices” she faced during her first year of high school, and her coming out the other end just fine made me like her even more. Though I am not a sports or softball fan at all, reading along as Ashley played was really exciting; I could really feel her energy and enthusiasm through each game. You don’t even have to understand anything about the game to get into Ashley’s story. Screwball was definitely a very enjoyable book for me.

Screwball was a very fast, fun, and easy read. The story is more suited for younger teen girls, but older readers looking for a cute story may enjoy it also. I look forward to continuing Ashley’s story in later novels.

Rating: 4.0

Review copy from author Keri Mikulski