December 14, 2015
In a novel filled with dramatic highs and lows, Bauer (Tell Me) introduces an irrepressible boy who finds a way to triumph over limitations. Twelve-year-old Jeremiah Lopper was abandoned as an infant, then caught a virus that weakened his heart. More recently, a heart transplant has left him frail. Jeremiah has remained optimistic through these rough times, but it's been hard for him to accept that he may never have a chance to play baseball, his favorite sport. Unexpectedly, Jeremiah gets an opportunity to become involved with the sport when he and his adoptive father move to Hillcrest, Ohio, a baseball-obsessed town whose high school and middle school teams have been destroyed by scandal. Jeremiah's enthusiasm for baseball is infectious, and he plays a major role in rebuilding and coaching a team at the middle school while lifting the sagging spirits of community members. Outgoing Jeremiah plays a humorous foil to his socially challenged father, and their mutual love and respect is evident. If the book contains a few too many convenient resolutions, most readers will feel that Jeremiah's victories are well earned and deserved. Ages 10âup.
Starred review from December 1, 2015
Jeremiah has a lot of heart, which is a little ironic, since the heart that beats in his chest is a transplanted one. For a sixth-grader, he's very wise. When his adoptive dad, Walt, has to make a temporary move to a small, baseball-fixated Ohio town, it seems like the perfect opportunity for Jeremiah to make use of his can-do attitude to revive the nearly defunct middle school baseball team. He's too sick to play, but he loves the game, and he's an incredible coach. He also brings those same brightly inspiring skills to bear on his across-the-street neighbor, Franny, who's suffering from a loss that involves her absent father. Meanwhile, the discovery that the championship high school baseball team's members have been using steroids rocks the town after the pitcher dies from the illegal drug, possibly provided by his win-at-all-costs coach. Jeremiah's voice is perfect: plucky, vulnerable, pragmatic, smart, and immensely endearing. Bauer masterfully manages the various plotlines: the inept middle school team's evolving proficiency, good-hearted Walt's bumbling efforts at dating, Franny's gradual acceptance of her father's abandonment, the town's adjustment to a new reality, and especially the way Jeremiah's uncertain health heartbreakingly colors all his efforts. Bauer writes her characters white as default, relying on naming conventions and description to indicate her characters of color. An outstanding, tender exploration of courage and the true nature of heroism and, for good measure, a fine homage to America's game, as well. (Fiction. 9-13)
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February 1, 2016
Gr 4-6-Sports, friendship, tragedy, and a love connection are all wrapped up in one heartwarming, page-turning story. Jeremiah lives and breathes baseball and wants nothing more than to be a professional player, but when he learns that he suffers from a severe heart condition, his dreams are put on hold. Soon after he and his single father move to a town that is something of a baseball capital, the entire community is shaken by the death of a beloved school baseball player-and a town scandal that is revealed in the aftermath. Jeremiah finds himself coaching and bringing baseball back to the local middle school and ends up motivating the entire town. When he and his father are faced with having to leave their new town behind, Jeremiah has to deal with the possibility of also leaving his heart in the very place that helped to make it stronger. This coming-of-age tale features a boy who is courageous and witty; readers-baseball fans or otherwise-will cheer on Jeremiah and this team. VERDICT The latest middle grade novel from this award-winning author is triumphant and moving.-Nikitia Wilson, Convent of the Sacred Heart School Library, New York City
Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from December 15, 2015
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Twelve-year-old Jeremiah is a baseball fanatic with two strikes against him: as a baby he was a foundling, and when he was 10, he had a heart transplant, which means he can't play baseball. Fortunately, he has a wonderful adoptive father, and now that they have moved to a new town, Jeremiah is determined to coach his middle school's baseball team, the Muskratswhich is only sort of a team since their coach was fired and there are not currently enough kids to fill the positions. But Jeremiah's energy is infectious, and soon he has gathered the right players. Then the town's varsity team is visited by scandal, and the town begins to lose faith in the sport. Perhaps Jeremiah has enough faith to make up for it? He renames the team the Eagles, and, indeed, they start to soar, though Jeremiah's problematic health remains a hurdle. Bauer's latest feel-good novel is distinguished by a largehearted warmth, its able characterizations, a page-turning plot, and winning humor. If Jeremiah sometimes seems too old and wise for his years, few readers will care. They will be too busy rooting for the Eagles . . . and their coach.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)