Waiting on Wednesday: The Right Call by Tommy Greenwald

Image: Author's FB Page

The Right Call by Tommy Greenwald. 272 p. Game Changer series. Abrams, April 15, 2025. 9781419772856

Oops! Wednesday is almost over and I forgot to post my Waiting on Wednesday book. Waiting on Wednesday features books that I am excited for and that will soon be published. This week features The Right Call by Tommy Greenwald. I learned about this companion novel to his Game Changer series from his Facebook page last week and am super-excited because I have enjoyed reading his books ever since Ms. Sidrow told me about his Charlie Jackson books!

The Right Call won't be out until April, but you can enjoy any of his books including the Game Changer books at TMS library before then. Here's the publisher synopsis: From award-winning author Tommy Greenwald comes a thrilling companion novel to Game Changer that explores the growing pressures in youth sports, and the lengths some parents will go to make sure their kid comes out on top

Cal Klondike’s life revolves around baseball. He’s the Walthorne Baseball Academy’s star pitcher, and everyone from his coach to his dad to the town sports blogger is telling Cal he has an unlimited future in the sport. But with all this attention comes a lot of added stress, especially as the season kicks into high gear and college and pro scouts start to show up at the games. Inevitably, tensions that have been bubbling under the surface finally boil over, culminating in a confrontation that could change Cal’s relationship to baseball forever.

Told through a combination of transcripts, articles, texts, and emails, The Right Call is a gripping, fast-paced story about our split-second decisions, facing the consequences, and the courage it takes to forgive.

Happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday: Fast Pitch by Nic Stone

Welcome back! Did ya miss me? I took a week off of blogging last week. When I post here, I also post to my Library Group in our school's learning platform as well as our town's public library FB page. I didn't think anyone would notice that I went AWOL, so I was touched when students would stop by the library to ask where the book talks were. They were very understanding when I said I needed to take a short break. So sweet. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. Mine was quite hectic, but I managed to get some reading in. I hope you did too. 

Image: Penguin Random House

Fast Pitch by Nic Stone. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~3.5 hours. Read by the author. Listening Library/ Penguin Random House, August, 2021. 9780593413760.

Middle Grade Monday features Fast Pitch by Nic Stone. Shenice is captain of her fast-pitch softball team. The team is very good and so is she, but it is also the first all-black team in their Georgia League and not everyone is welcoming. The girls and their coach deal with microaggressions and blatant racism as they play their way to the championships.

Shenice's father played some serious baseball, as did her grandfather, but no one ever talks about him until she visits her great-uncle in a nursing home. Great-uncle Jack is elderly and somewhat forgetful, so it takes a while for Shenice to piece together the mystery, and once she does, she decides she's going to find the evidence to clear her grandfather's name.

This fast-paced story is a nice blend of sports and mystery. It depicts racism past and present and shows what little progress has been made. The history of the Negro Leagues and the slow integration of Major League Baseball was also well done. Shenice is an appealing character, thoughtful, bright and athletic. She takes her role as captain seriously and wants to be a good leader. 

Ms. Stone did a fine job narrating. She sounded authentically tween when depicting Shenice and she sounded appropriately adult while voicing the adult characters. The performance was engaging and well-paced.

If you enjoyed Ms. Stone's MG debut, Clean Getaway, which was featured here last year, or her YA novels, Dear Martin and Dear Justyce, you will enjoy Fast Pitch. 

Middle Grade Monday: Strike Zone by Mike Lupica

Image: Penguin Random House

Strike Zone by Mike Lupica. Unabridged e-audiobook. ~6 hours. Read by Anthony Rey Perez. Listening Library/ Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, September, 2019. 9780593106228. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Middle Grade Monday features Strike Zone by Mike Lupica. There are quite a few Lupica fans at TMS. They sure do have plenty of titles to choose from! Strike Zone is a companion/ sequel of sorts to High Heat. You need not have read High Heat to enjoy Strike Zone, but it is wonderful to know Michael Arroyo's backstory. Strike Zone is about another pitching ace in Bronx, New York. Nick Garcia is pitching for the Blazers this summer He's preparing for the Dream League championship and hoping to pitch well enough to earn MVP. The league MVP gets to throw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium. He's also worried about his father being deported by ICE. ICE has been making a lot of raids in his neighborhood and his dad has an outstanding warrant. 

As usual, Lupica serves up fantastic baseball action along with timely topics. There is true suspense around Mr. Garcia's situation. Though there's quite the "after-school-special vibe" here*, especially the ending, middle grade fans will eat this up.

*That is not necessarily a bad thing during these weird times.

Fact Friday: More Than a Game: race, gender and politics in sports by Matt Doeden

Image: Lerner

More Than a Game: race, gender and politics in sports by Matt Doeden. 64 p. Lerner Publishing, September, 2020. 9781541540941. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher/ SLJ Leadership Conference.)

Fact Friday features More Than a Game: race gender and politics in sports by Matt Doeden. Colin Kaepernick is not the first athlete to make a political statement on the playing field, nor will he be the last. 

Doeden focuses heavily on racism and racial discrimination in this intriguing overview. He provides important historical context which underscores the resilience and bravery these athletes such as boxers, Jack Johnson and Muhammed Ali. Johnson dared to become the first Black heavyweight champion and Ali dared to defy the draft during the Vietnam War resulting in his heavyweight title being stripped. Tommie Smith and John Carlos' Olympic medals were revoked when they raised their fists in a Black Power salute on the winner's podium in 1968. 

The narrative is informative and the plentiful, well-captioned photographs are engaging. If you are a fan of sports history, this brief overview of athletes who fought to make a difference and a statement is for you. Doeden provides plenty of resources for further reading in the back matter. More Than a Game is a worthy addition to any library collection.

#tbt: Heat by Mike Lupica

Image: Penguin Random House

Heat by Mike Lupica. 224 p. Philomel/ Penguin Young Readers Group, 2006. 9780399243011. (Own)

#tbt features Heat by Mike Lupica. Heat is the story of Michael Arroyo, a twelve-year-old pitching phenom with an 80 mph pitch. Coaches don't think he's twelve and want him to produce his birth certificate only that's not easy because it's in Cuba and investigation by the authorities will reveal that Michael's father died and his not-quite-eighteen-year-old older brother has been caring for him. Lupica was a sports journalist who wrote a column for the New York Daily News. He wrote several biographies of sports figures and novels for adults before making his middle grade debut with Travel Team in 2004. Heat is his second book for young people published in 2006. Lupica published a sequel to Heat recently called Strike Zone.

Teen Tuesday: Pop by Gordon Korman

Pop by Gordon Korman. 263 p. HarperColling Publishers, August, 2009. 9780061742286. (Own)

Marcus Jordan is a quarterback. He has moved to a new town and hopes to join the football team as a quarterback. He spends some time at the park hoping to meet some football players. Instead, he meets Charlie. Charlie is middle-aged and a bit of an oddball but boy, does he know football and the two strike up a friendship. Once school starts, Marcus finds that he isn't being welcomed with open arms, especially by the reigning QB, who happens to be Charlie's son. This fast-paced novel has great football action, humor and some sadness. It happens to be one of my favorite Korman titles. 

Non-Fiction Monday: My First Book of Hockey by the Editors of SIKids

My First Book of Hockey by the Editors of SIKids. A Rookie Book. 48 p. Liberty Street/ Time Inc. Books, September 20, 2016. 9781618931771. (Review from finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

My First Book of Hockey is the third in the Rookie Book series and the second of which I've read. I enjoyed My First Book of Baseball, so when I opened the package containing My First Book of Hockey, I was psyched, especially because I know very little about the game. 

As in My First Book of Baseball, a young player provides color commentary starting on the end-papers as he suits up. Design and organization are similar in that each section is color coded and corresponds to the period of play. Full-color photographs, often accompanied by humorous speech bubbles, of a variety of teams and players (not identified) illustrate positions, equipment, shots, etc. Fundamental terminology, such as face-off, pass, check and icing are explained. 

Quite a few action shots are highlighted with helpful arrows such as the physics of a slap shot or the split-second dynamics of a rebound. 

This series is sure to be popular among young fans as well as would-be fans. Entertaining as well as educational. Surely every collection needs this series.

Non-Fiction Monday: Babe Conquers the World: the legendary life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Babe Conquers the World: the legendary life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias by Rich Wallace and Sandra Neil Wallace. 272 p. Calkins Creek/ Boyds Mills Press, March, 2014. 9781590789810.

Mildred Ella Didriksen was born on the same day a barge exploded in Port Arthur, Texas. She was the sixth child of Ole Nickolene Didriksen (Babe later changed the spelling) and his wife, Hannah Marie. Ole immigrated to the United States from Norway and struggled to earn a living for his wife and seven children. Babe was the sixth. It wasn't long before Babe began challenging the boys for a place on the sandlot.

In nine chapters, named rounds, the Wallaces chronicle the hurdles Babe overcame as she challenged notions of gender in sports. The final hurdle she faced was colon cancer. While she eventually succumbed, she proved the doctors who said she would never play golf again, wrong.

The stuff of Babe's life is legend and the storytelling pretty much lets the legend speak for herself. The authors provide historical context and comparisons that help young readers, who have grown up seeing women compete in sports, understand just how courageous Babe Didrikson was. A pleasing font, plenty of white space and tons of photographs enhance the interest. I also loved the many quotes by Babe, her friends and family. "Babe never saw a person in her life, male or female, she was afraid of."

The volume concludes with a timeline, FAQ pages, numerous source notes and nearly three pages of bibliography. A fantastic addition to the biography collection!


Be sure to visit the Non-Fiction Monday blog for more notable non-fiction titles.

Play Makers by Mike Lupica

(Game Changers #2) 201 p. Scholastic Press, February, 2013. 9780545381833. (Finished copy courtesy of publisher for review.)

"Just like that, it was basketball season." Within two weeks of winning the football championship, Ben finds himself facing a new rival at a pre-season basketball scrimmage. Chase Braggs seems to have all the moves and, what's more, seems to anticipate all of Ben's moves. Ben can respect that and is determined to work on his skills to get better, but Chase is cocky and confident and likes to strut his stuff. Ben lets this get under his skin, especially when Chase sets his sights on Lily, Ben's best friend.

Book #2 in this middle grade series can stand alone but Lupica's many middle grade fans will not want to miss any of it. Ben is a likable sixth grader and a consummate competitor. He's quite self-aware and analytical about most aspects of his life, but most especially the three sports he loves, football, basketball and baseball (#3, Heavy Hitters, due out in February, 2014). The dialogue flows smoothly and the sports action is brisk. Two small quibbles: First, Ben and Lily's friendship/ conversations sound a bit too old, like old married couple old. Second, Ben's a bit small for his age and the player on the cover and in the interior shots does not appear to be a small eleven-year-old. He's a bit too big, a bit too bulky for eleven.