John H. Ritter

Very good read. A YA book (pity the grownups that don't appreciate this section). It's 1881 and a 12 year old boy and Billy the Kid join forces to help the Dillontown baseball team.

What's not to love in a book that describes the people "The gruff-and-tumble founders of Dillontown, California, were a scrappy bunch. From fistfighting misfits and cattle rustlers to gold-digging drunkards and cardsharp hustlers. And that's just the women. The men were all that, plus they smelled bad."

Baseball is the only sport I even remotely understand, and I certainly wouldn't want to read about it. I feel obligated, as an English teacher, to read at least some of these books that would appeal to my sports enthusiast tweens, but it's a duty I can't actually fulfill because of the torturous conditions of the job. I HATE it. HATE IT.

When I realized that a fellow English teacher forces ALL of her 7th grade students to read this one, my first reaction was to feel sorry for them, and then show more to feel sorry for myself, as surely I'll need to actually read this one (for reals) since I may have some of those kids for 8th grade next year, and I ought to be familiar with its characters and plot for reference. So I bore up and prepared for the worst.

I never expected that I'd raise my voice at my boys when they dared to interrupt me at "the best part" or "a really important part"(which happened many times, not just the climax). I never expected to read every word with anticipation, to pause and reflect and predict in earnest, to smile at all of the baseball imagery in the rich metaphorical descriptions of people, animals, non-baseball movements, and the landscape, and definitely I did not expect to cry at the end. I loved the story, the author's craft, and in the end, I actually loved the baseball. Quite surprising. Quite pleasant. Thanks for the assignment, Ms. Parzych. show less

Andy, the son of two small-time local musicians, plays the trumpet in a 3-man jazz/Latin/blues/reggae band. He dreams of making it to the big time. Glory, who Andy knew as a child but didn't especially care for, moved away when she was younger, but is now back in town. She plays softball and also dreams of making it big. When the two cross paths again, there's not just a romantic attraction, but also a special music & sports bond.

This is a young adult novel, and I was initially attracted to show more it because of the title & yes, the cover art. It's currently the beginning of baseball season & I felt this was a good book to pick up to help get me in the mood. I admit, the book description & plot seem a bit unconventional -- the combination of sports & music, but the author makes it work. While this probably would be best suited for a young adult audience, I enjoyed it. It's nothing really deep, but it's unique, and a good choice if you want a feel-good book. show less

"In the very big inning...The gruff and tumble founders of Dillontown, California, were a scrappy bunch. From fistfighting misfits and cattle rustlers to gold-digging drunkards and cardsharp hustlers. And that's just the women. The men were all that, plus they smelled bad." It's 1881, and Jack Dillon, age 12 is determined to play baseball for his uncle, Long John Dillon and the Dillontown Nine... the best baseball team in the West. Long John has challenged the owner of the Chicago White show more Stockings baseball team to a match in Dillontown, with the prize of $10,000 in gold to the winner -- and the title of Champion Baseball Club of America. On the way out west, Jack meets and befriends "Bill Henry" -- aka the outlaw Billy The Kid, who also has potential as a ballplayer. Together, they bring an arsenal of new tricks and ideas to the Dillontown Nine, including Jack's newfangled suicide squeeze play and "HEW-TA": "Hit 'em where they ain't!" A rollicking old-west story of baseball, outlaws, inlaws, honor, and cheating, this is one of the most fun historical fiction-sports combinations I've seen yet. If you haven't read The Boy Who Saved Baseball, read it after this one, as this is a long-ago-and-far-away kind of prequel to that one. 6th grade and up. show less