• Age: 9 to 13
• Grade: 4 to 8
• Reading age: 7 to 10

The inner-city Blues baseball team is having a lousy year. Shortstop Nash and the Blues can't seem to win. They especially hate losing to their archrivals, the rich kids of the Parkhill Pirates. When all-star player Jock joins the team, it looks like the Blues might be able to turn the season around. The only problem? When the Pirates find out that Jock is gay, they ambush Nash and Jock, and Nash has to decide if he wants to stand by his teammate.

JOYCE GRANT is a freelance journalist and the author of numerous books for children, including the Sports Stories novel Tagged Out. She is also the co-founder of TeachingKidsNews.com, which provides free, kid-friendly news. She lives in Toronto.

Joyce Grant's profile page

• Commended, Best Books for Kids & Teens -- Canadian Children's Book Centre

"The book is mostly about bullying. I definitely gained more compassion for Gnash when I found out about his home life... As much as I disliked him at the beginning, his jerkiness is endearing by the end. He's still a jerk, but he asks permission before getting revenge on behalf of Jock... and doesn't do it when Jock says no. Not a bad start."

Netgalley Reviewer

Well-written and full of relevant kid friendly information, Tagged Out, is an excellent read. I especially enjoyed Grant's description of the action during the games. Reading it made me feel like I was right there watching the game and feeling what the kids feel in success and in failure. Every ball game is a combination of both success and failure and that is what makes watching and playing fun and challenging. Grant reflects the attitudes and behaviours of today's young teens and made each of her characters real. Middle school kids will really enjoy reading this novel.

<em>CM Magazine: Canadian Review of Materials</em>