Freestyle: Book Review

Cory Tan, an 8th grader in New York City, is the main character in Freestyle, the new graphic novel by Gale Galligan. Cory belongs to Eight Bitz, a dance group training for the Bronx Kids Battle. Their last competition before these friends all graduate to different high schools. The demands of practice hurt Cory’s grades, so his parents ground him and hire Sunna, a girl at the top of Cory’s class, to tutor him. Sunna and Cory become friends and his schoolwork improves. One day, Cory finds Sunna practicing yo-yo tricks, and he starts to learn the yo-yo himself. But the Eight Bitz feel betrayed because Cory has less time for them. Will they be able to keep their dreams of winning the Bronx Battle alive? Kids who like action-packed graphic novels will enjoy Freestyle’s story of friends working through challenges together as well as its scintillating drawings.