Club Kick Out!: Into the Ring (Club Kick Out, 1) Paperback – September 5, 2023

Steph Mided is a real talent, and I am thrilled to see their work. This book is fantastic with charming art and great characters.

Uau! This is so cool. I wish I had these friends and a club that combines sports and storytelling. I was really excited to read this one. 13-year-old Sasha is starting 7th grade and she is hoping that this is the year that all is going to be better. Kids are often mean to her, she is not very confident or stands for herself and she is very shy ao maybe if she can become the Gaming Club president things can change. But the new principal shuts down all art programs and a lot of kids now don't have a way to express themselves... until... Sasha sees a pro-wrestling match between two amazing fighters and she has an idea to create their own at school.It's so awesome, fighting to get her club approved promotes union, friendship, and teamwork. Later it helps them face fears and doubts. They get to create their background stories, make their characters' costumes and stand up for something they love. More than that, they make a place where they love and belong. Their hard work is recognized by parents, builds support from the community, and puts up an exciting show for those who become fans. All focused on safety and rules firsts, like any other sport. We even learn some basics and rules about pro-wrestling and the choreographs.My favorite chapter is how they decided to introduce the club to the entire school, in the cafeteria. That was ingenious and super fun. Points for inclusiveness and for not expecting that girls only have to be cheerleaders and that all are girls.The artwork and colors make the story uplifting, energetic, and vibrant. Great humor also in their expressions. Although the main character struggles with confidence, there are a lot of amazing colors, cute costumes, awesome poses, other characters, and go-forward, never give up vibes around them.Even if you aren't into pro-wrestling, they make it like cartoon characters good vs evil and their stories are really cute. Also, this is about friendship and building confidence. Learning to stand up for others is important, but standing up for yourself is a stronger lesson. (I'll use my own words, but they say something like this: Never give up, always face fear and doubt... and kick out!)Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this eArc. My opinions are my own and honest.Posted on Amazon on pub day.

Thank you HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperAlley, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this great book. This is a fast-paced, action-packed sport based story about friendship, confidence building, fitting in, and being who you are. Fun art with manga elements, great, realistic characters, and important lessons of working together to accomplish a goal and standing up for yourself and others make for an entertaining read. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys realistic graphic novels in school setting, like those of Svetlana Chmakova.

The story is really funny and well done. The art was colorful and engaging. Loved it