Title: Bunt! Striking Out on Financial Aid
Author: Ngozi Ukazu
Publisher: First Second
Publication date: February 13, 2024
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Summary
Molly Bauer is ready to start her first year at PICA, a prestigious art school. However, on day one, she learns that the full ride scholarship she was counting on has suddenly vanished! Now she has to scramble to figure out how to pay for school–ideally without taking out any loans.
Looking through PICA’s financial aid documents, Molly discovers a loophole. If she can gather together 9 other PICA students to start a softball team, they can get a sports scholarship. That is, if they can win at least one game of the season. Can a group of art students pull it together to win before the end of the season?
Review: Bunt!
Thanks to NetGalley and First Second for an advanced copy of Bunt! Striking Out on Financial Aid by Ngozi Ukazu to review. This is Ukazu’s first graphic novel since Check Please!, and I was so excited to check this one out. I am happy to report that it absolutely does not disappoint!
Let me start by saying this might be one of the funniest graphic novels I’ve read in a while. And I read a lot of graphic novels. The entire premise: a group of art students attempting to play softball to earn college tuition, is funny on its own. But then you add the cast that Ukazu has created and you’ll be hooked right from the beginning.
Ukazu doesn’t illustrate this one, but Mad Rupert does an excellent job bringing this story to life. The colors are vibrant, the art style fits the overall tone of the story, and brings a lot of life to the cast of quirky characters. I loved it from start to finish.
Underneath the silly antics of the characters is a slightly more serious tone about whether or not it’s really worth it to go to school to study art. Molly struggles with this, especially when she realizes she might have to pay for school herself. Her process and ultimate decision at the end of the book is one that I think teens will relate to, even if they’re not going to art school. It applies generally to college as well.
All in all, this was one of my most-anticipated graphic novels of 2024, and I’m so glad it lived up to my expectations. Definitely check it out when it comes out this February!
5/5 stars