Waiting on Wednesday: The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat

Image: Scholastic Inc.

The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat. Illustrated by Joanna Cacao. 272 p. Graphix/ Scholastic Inc. September 6, 2022. 9781338741261.

Waiting on Wednesday features The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat. Honestly, is there any genre or format that Ms. Soontornvat can't write? She has written picture books, chapter books and novels. In fact, she won a Newbery Honor for A Wish in the Dark, which was featured here last December. Her latest work of fiction, The Last Mapmaker, is getting some award buzz. Her riveting account of the rescue of the Thai boys' soccer team, All Thirteen, won multiple awards. On September 6, her graphic novel, The Tryout, will publish. Here's the publisher's synopsis: 

Stand tall.

Be loud.

If you can make it through this, you can make it through anything.

It’s 1988 and Christina’s family has just moved to the small town of Weatherford, Texas to open the first Chinese food restaurant in the county. Christina’s mom is Texan and her dad is Thai, and it’s not easy being one of the only Asian American kids in town.

But with Nicole, an Iranian-American girl, by her side, Christina can almost handle the blatant racism her classmates direct at her and the micro-aggressions from adults, even teachers. Having a best friend protects her from a lot, but still, she knows she is far from being truly accepted.

So when cheerleading tryouts are announced, Christina and Nicole immerse themselves in the world of cheerleading to prepare. The cheerleaders at school are popular and uniformly well-liked. Could this be Christina’s ticket to fitting in, even being popular?

This multi-layered, personal story explores identity, racism, friendship, self-esteem, and staking a claim to the place you belong amidst heated competition and the Sturm and Drang of middle school. A rich contribution to the Graphix slate, as well as a breakout book for an outstanding talent, and also introduces the phenomenal artist, Joanna Cacao, in her debut!

We don't have to wait too long for this one! I can't wait and just know this one will be popular with TMS's many graphic novel fans. Happy reading!