A Book Review: ‘Bunt!: Striking Out On Financial Aid’ by Ngozi Ukazu

Molly Bauer is excited to attend the school of her dreams. She turned down a full-ride scholarship to a more notable university for this college! Things are not always what they seem, though, and Molly finds out the hard way that giving your best effort doesn’t always equal favorable results. Ngozi Ukazu takes us on quite the journey in Bunt!: Striking Out on Financial Aid. 

Get ready … Set … Nope!

Molly is excited to begin Freshman Year at PICA. The school is known for its creative student body and for allegedly restoring historic landmarks around town. Molly is fired up about orientation day only to find that her name is not on the list of incoming students. She later learns that, due to mistakes made in the financial aid office, her full-ride scholarship has been revoked. 

Where There Is A Will, There Is Softball

Devastated, Molly decides to use the lemons she’s been given to make lemonade. She reads the fine print and discovers a way for her to get another scholarship. Per PICA’s rules, she only has to assemble a softball team and win one game to qualify for a full-ride athletic scholarship. 

PICA leans heavily into art, though, even to the degree that the majority of those who volunteer to play softball are horrible at the sport. Winning one game may not be as easy as Molly thinks.

Best Efforts Don’t Equal Success

One takeaway from this story is the reality that a person’s best efforts may not always lead to success. Ngozi Ukazu does not give a happily ever after ending in Bunt!: Striking Out on Financial Aid. The author instead delivers the truth about life, which is sometimes things do not turn out as we hope. How Molly and we as readers handle the disappointments shapes the future.  

For Kids and Teens

Bunt!: Striking Out on Financial Aid by Ngozi Ukazu is about college life but written with younger readers in mind. High School and Middle Grade students can certainly find lessons in this fun yet meaningful story. The plot is also ideal for young readers as it moves along without lingering on one aspect of the storyline for too long.