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The Keeper

Soccer, Me, and the Law That Changed Women's Lives

Author Kelcey Ervick
Ebook
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Avery
On sale Oct 04, 2022 | 336 Pages | 9780593539194
Grades 9-12
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From the New York Times Book Review,

"[R]eaders will certainly want to linger on the beautiful depictions of birds, people and scenes from her life. She weaves in historical context in graceful and necessary ways."


A beautifully illustrated coming-of-age graphic memoir chronicling how sports shaped one young girl’s life and changed women’s history forever.

Growing up playing on a top national soccer team in the 1980s, Kelcey Ervick and her teammates didn’t understand the change they represented. Title IX was enacted in 1972 with little fanfare, but to seismic effect; between then and now, girls’ participation in organized sports has exploded more than 1,000 percent. Braiding together personal narrative, pop culture, literature, and history, Ervick tells the story of how her adolescence was shaped by this boom. Ervick also explores her role as a goalkeeper—a position marked by outsider status and observation—and reveals it has drawn some of the most famed writers of our time. With wit and poignant storytelling, The Keeper brings to life forgotten figures who understood the importance of athletics to help women step into their confidence and power—and push for equality. Full of 1980s nostalgia and heart, The Keeper is a celebration of how far we have come and a reminder of how far we have to go.
Kelcey Ervick was a goalkeeper for nationally ranked soccer teams as a girl. These days, she is an author, artist, mother, and professor of creative writing at Indiana University in South Bend. View titles by Kelcey Ervick
"If Alison Bechdel were a goalkeeper, this is the memoir she would have written—duelling bitter and sweet, The Keeper is a feminist anthem and a writer’s coming-of-age in a graphic disguise. It’s a book for the athlete in your house—and maybe for the athlete you were told you couldn’t really be." 
- KJ Dell'Antonia, New York Times bestselling author of, The Chicken Sisters.

"I am so glad to have read this marvelous book. I loved drinking in the paintings, and am so in awe of Ervick's artistry, and her amazing story as an athlete and writer, but also The Keeper helped me comprehend more deeply the women who organized and fought (and played soccer and took a knee) for rights and justice in our time. This book is profoundly great and necessary right now."
- Tom Hart, author and illustrator of the #1 New York Times bestseller Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir

About

From the New York Times Book Review,

"[R]eaders will certainly want to linger on the beautiful depictions of birds, people and scenes from her life. She weaves in historical context in graceful and necessary ways."


A beautifully illustrated coming-of-age graphic memoir chronicling how sports shaped one young girl’s life and changed women’s history forever.

Growing up playing on a top national soccer team in the 1980s, Kelcey Ervick and her teammates didn’t understand the change they represented. Title IX was enacted in 1972 with little fanfare, but to seismic effect; between then and now, girls’ participation in organized sports has exploded more than 1,000 percent. Braiding together personal narrative, pop culture, literature, and history, Ervick tells the story of how her adolescence was shaped by this boom. Ervick also explores her role as a goalkeeper—a position marked by outsider status and observation—and reveals it has drawn some of the most famed writers of our time. With wit and poignant storytelling, The Keeper brings to life forgotten figures who understood the importance of athletics to help women step into their confidence and power—and push for equality. Full of 1980s nostalgia and heart, The Keeper is a celebration of how far we have come and a reminder of how far we have to go.

Author

Kelcey Ervick was a goalkeeper for nationally ranked soccer teams as a girl. These days, she is an author, artist, mother, and professor of creative writing at Indiana University in South Bend. View titles by Kelcey Ervick

Praise

"If Alison Bechdel were a goalkeeper, this is the memoir she would have written—duelling bitter and sweet, The Keeper is a feminist anthem and a writer’s coming-of-age in a graphic disguise. It’s a book for the athlete in your house—and maybe for the athlete you were told you couldn’t really be." 
- KJ Dell'Antonia, New York Times bestselling author of, The Chicken Sisters.

"I am so glad to have read this marvelous book. I loved drinking in the paintings, and am so in awe of Ervick's artistry, and her amazing story as an athlete and writer, but also The Keeper helped me comprehend more deeply the women who organized and fought (and played soccer and took a knee) for rights and justice in our time. This book is profoundly great and necessary right now."
- Tom Hart, author and illustrator of the #1 New York Times bestseller Rosalie Lightning: A Graphic Memoir

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