My Thirteenth Season (edition 2005)

Baseball consumes Fran’s every waking moment, from the hundred pitches she throws every morning, to her imaginary Culler’s All-Stars who watch every play, to her signed Mark McGuire baseball that her dad spent way too much money on—Fran and her dad have shared custody of the ball. But now Fran is on a Junior League team that resents having to take a girl and openly harasses her (coach included). To make matters worse, since her mom died a year ago, her dad, once her coach and biggest supporter, hasn’t even attended a game and doesn’t want the Mark McGuire ball. Fran decides her only way to fight the harassment is to sabotage the team. But revenge flies in the face of all she supposedly knows about baseball.
This novel explores the effects of loss, the nature of winning, and the significance of teamwork—and all kinds of teams.

The book poignantly portrays the grief of losing a parent and its effect on the entire family, and in this way it transcends its setting. Fran is a compelling and believable character and her pain, determination, anger, hopelessness and, eventually, hopefulness will be aspects that many students will be able to relate to--whether or not they are sports fans. This book is appropriate for grade 5 to 10. ( )