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Library | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... Monmouth Public Library | J Fic Lupica, M. 2015 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Can a young baseball star maintain his love of the game after the loss of his brother? Find out in this start to the Home Team series about a small town with high hopes, from New York Times bestselling author and sportswriting legend Mike Lupica.
Jack Callahan is the star of his baseball team and sixth grade is supposed to be his year. Undefeated season. Records shattered. Little League World Series. The works. That is, until he up and quits.
Jack's best friend Gus can't understand how Jack could leave a game that means more to them than anything else. But Jack is done. It's a year of change. Jack's brother has passed away, and though his family and friends and the whole town of Walton thinks baseball is just the thing he needs to move on, Jack feels it's anything but.
In comes Cassie Bennett, star softball player, and the only person who seems to think Jack shouldn't play if he doesn't want to. As Jack and Cassie's friendship deepens, their circle expands to include Teddy, a guy who's been picked on because of his weight.
Time spent with these new friends unlocks something within Jack, and with their help and the support of his family and his old friends, Jack discovers sometimes it's more than just the love of the game that keeps us moving--and he might just be able to find his way back to The Only Game .
Author Notes
Michael Lupica (born on May 11, 1952 in Oneida, New York) is an American newspaper columnist. At the age of 23, Lupica began his newspaper career covering the New York Knicks for the New York Post. In 1977, he became the youngest columnist ever at a New York newspaper when he started working for the New York Daily News. He has also written for numerous magazines during his career including Golf Digest, Playboy, Sports Illustrated, ESPN: The Magazine, Men's Journal and Parade. In 2003, he received the Jim Murray Award from the National Football Foundation. He has been a television anchor for ESPN's The Sports Reporters and hosted his own program The Mike Lupica Show on ESPN2.
Lupica has written both fiction and non-fiction books. His novels include Dead Air; Limited Partner; Jump; Full Court Press; Red Zone; Too Far; Wild Pitch; and Bump and Run. He also writes the Mike Lupica's Comeback Kids series. He co-wrote autobiographies with Reggie Jackson and Bill Parcells and collaborated with William Goldman on Wait Till Next Year. His other non-fiction works include The Summer of '98; Mad as Hell: How Sports Got Away from the Fans and How We Get It Back; and Shooting from the Lip.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Much to his parents' surprise, Jack Callahan decides to quit baseball, even though he's the best player on his team. His best friend, Gus, doesn't understand what is going on with Jack either. Jack just hasn't been the same since his older brother was killed in an accident. He doesn't stray far from the game though. Instead he finds himself working with star softball player Cassie Bennett and extends his friendship to a boy named Teddy who is picked on for his weight. His time with these two kids eventually leads Jack back to playing baseball but also helps him understand the value of friendship and helping others. Though conversations are stiff at times, Keith Nobbs's ability to express characters' feelings will make listeners care about the characters. Steeped in details about baseball, this is more for the true fan who doesn't mind play-by-play action. VERDICT Best for baseball fans, this novel will also be enjoyed by those that appreciate stories about the importance of friendship.-Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Seventh grader Jack Callahan is his team's star pitcher and shortstop, so everyone is shocked when he quits baseball during the lead-up to the Little League World Series. "My heart's not in it," he tells his disappointed parents, before spilling the real reason he's abandoning the team: "Baseball won't bring my brother back." Lupica thoughtfully explores Jack's belief that he could have saved his daredevil older brother, Brad, who died the previous year in a dirt-bike accident. While Callahan sorts out his life and the events of the past year, he slowly finds a new crowd of friends at school who show him a life beyond baseball. Nobbs reads with a strong narrative voice that has good emphasis, timing, and tone, especially when delivering the weight of emotionally tense scenes. But when it comes to providing the voices for the colorful slew of other characters, Nobbs's narration is either flat or overly caricatured. Ages 8-12. A Simon & Schuster hardcover. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Everyone is shocked when seventh grader Jack Callahan quits his baseball team. Jack spends time helping coach new friends, softball standout Cassie and baseball-challenged Teddy. These friendships allow him to deal with his brother's fatal accident. Lupica's game-time segments come later in the novel, allowing an emotional story of loss, friendship, and love of baseball to unfold. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In the opener of a four-book series about kids in the baseball-loving town of Walton, 12-year-old Jack Callahan struggles to square his personal sorrows with his deep love of the game.Gifted baseball player Jack and buddy Gus, whose family roots in the Dominican Republic partly inform his aspiration to the Little League championships in Williamsport, have played since T-ball. Jack's sudden announcement on tryout day that he won't be playing this season angers Gus and bewilders his own parents. But the town's softball superstar, classmate Cassie, steps up to offer simple, straightforward friendship to Jack. She persuades Jack to keep connected with the game by helping her dad coach her team. A new friendship with another classmate, Teddy, allows Jack to reveal that he blames himself for his risk-taking older brother's accidental death the summer before. Adults are admirable: Coaches emphasize sportsmanship; parents set aside their own troubles to support their children. The baseball narrative is terrificLupica recaps these fictional games with brisk, exciting clarity. The friendship story is solid, kind and reassuring, and even if most of the young characters demonstrate unlikely maturity rather than depth, readers will only notice the qualities that are best in them. A lovely nod to Derek Jeter rounds out a winner of a sports novel. (Fiction. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Best friends Jack and Gus have dreamed of their chance at the Little League World Series for years, so when Jack quits the seventh-grade team after the first practice, everyone is astonished. Down their star player, the Rays including Gus turn on Jack, who finds friends in the funny, overweight Teddy Bear Madden and Cassie Bennett, the confident star of the girls' softball team. These new alliances help Jack confront the true reason he gave up the sport he loves, and a loving family environment helps Jack get back into the swing of things. Though the supportive nature of Jack's family and friends verges on saccharine, and the seventh-graders are often too wise for their years, many will find comfort in a story where community and friendships reign supreme. Readers will benefit from having a knowledge of baseball, as detailed plays feature in a narrative otherwise devoted to personal growth, grieving, and achieving your dreams. A natural choice for Matt Christopher and Tim Green fans.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2015 Booklist