The Game Changer (Embassie Susberry)

This book transports us to the 1950s. Hettie Carlin is a journalist for Harlem Heights. She has recently committed a significant error, and her boss has graciously not fired her. Instead, he gives her a new challenge. He wants her to write pieces about the growth of African American tennis star Althea Gibson, who dislikes journalists and needs to get more positive coverage.

It is a struggle because Hettie knows very little about tennis. She also knows Althea, and their relationship hasn’t been great in the past. They have a history. Hettie will need to overcome this in order to gain Althea’s trust and keep her job.

I was unfamiliar with Althea Gibson, but this novel provided an excellent opportunity to learn about her as well as this period in American society, including how it could have felt to be a person of color in tennis at the time, what difficulties arose in daily life for simple things like getting a hotel room, what was going on with the civil rights movement, and the influence of personalities such as Martin Luther King.

It is fascinating to watch Hettie and Althea’s conversation and see their very different perspectives on the subject. Hettie wants Althea to become a societal symbol and voice for African Americans. Althea simply wants to be famous and dominant in her sport because of her talent, not because of the color of her skin. An excellent rally between the two, with informative insights on the subject and a fascinating expansion of mind for both ladies over time.

The book was sometimes a little slow for me, but it was extremely engaging and provided an excellent historical context. It was a fitting tribute to a strong woman and excellent athlete who was not only the first Black athlete to win the Grand Slam in 1956, but also became the first to compete on the Women’s Professional Golf Tour.