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Over the Wall
Tyler's temper is out of control. If he isn't careful, he'll blow his chances of making the All-Star team and being noticed by a scout. But Tyler's coach, a Vietnam War veteran, has seen anger destroy enough people. He knows that if Tyler is ever going to fulfill his dreams, he'll have to learn to fight his battles with his glove, his bat, and his love for the game. Not with his fists. But it all comes down to Tyler. Does he care enough about his future to work through the past?
"A grand slam." (The ALAN Review)
"An ambitious mark that predents a compelling, multilayered story." (School Library Journal)
"A grand slam." (The ALAN Review)
"An ambitious mark that predents a compelling, multilayered story." (School Library Journal)
312 pages, Paperback
First published May 8, 2000
18 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
About the author
John H. Ritter
8 books19 followers Novelist John H. Ritter (born October 31, 1951, in San Pedro, California) grew up in the summer-dry hills east of San Diego. "I grew up in a baseball family," says John. "But we were also a family of musicians and mathematicians, house painters and poets. My dad was a sports writer in Ashtabula, Ohio, who moved the family out west, just before I was born, to become Sports Editor for The San Diego Union."
Growing up in a sparse, mountainous region also helped stretch John's imagination. "Out in that country," he says, "there was a real sense of the spirits who walked the land in the centuries before. And being so cut off from other kids, I roamed the hills a lot, following hawks and eagles, climbing boulders, sitting in Indian caves. Rattlesnakes never bothered us much. But I felt the spirits everywhere. I think my mom, who was part Blackfoot Indian, had a lot to do with that."
When John was only four, however, his mother died of breast cancer, leaving his father to raise four small children on his own. John still recalls his mother and her songs. "One thing I remember about my mom is that she sang to us constantly, making up a song for each of her four children that fit our personalities perfectly. So from her, I got a sense of how to capture a
person's spirit in a lyrical phrase."
Over time, his musical interests continued to grow and in high school, the social commentary of folksinger Bob Dylan inspired him to write his own songs, hoping to pursue a musical career. He was, however, a “wild student,” he admits to English professor Chris Crowe in an interview for The ALAN Review, and was torn between his love of baseball and writing, calling himself both “a high achiever and a rabble rouser,” noting, for example, that in 1969 he was voted Senior Class President and the Senior Class Clown. Teachers did, however, recognize his writing talent, although his work was so often read out loud in class that he also admits to growing complacent and somewhat lazy about having to improve his skills.
At the University of California, San Diego, John studied communications while playing for the UCSD baseball team, all-the-while continuing to write Dylan-style songs. But by his sophomore year, he recalls, “I was anxious to get on with my life. And for the vision I had in mind, college didn’t have much to offer me. I knew I had to walk the streets, touch life, embrace life, gain experience.” So like his literary heroes before him, i.e., Dylan, Jack Kerouac, and Mark Twain, John quit school, taking a job as a painter’s apprentice, and set about traveling the country. He learned to live so cheaply that he could earn enough in three or four months to allow him to travel and write for the rest of the year. He did that for several years, until he married his wife, Cheryl, whom he had met in college, and they had a baby daughter. With a family to support, John needed to work nine months a year, painting houses, but the rest of his time went into writing, an artistic lifestyle he later spotlighted in his song-laden socio-political novel, Under the Baseball Moon.
In 1994, after publishing several short stories, John received the Judy Blume Award and a cash grant from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) for a novel in progress. In 1996, he submitted his manuscript through the Curtis Brown Agency to Philomel Books where it became the first acquisition of junior editor, Michael Green. Since then, Green has risen to become Editorial Director and Publisher of Philomel Books and has edited all six of John’s novels.
In 1999, John’s first novel, Choosing Up Sides, won the International Reading Association Children’s Book Award for Older Readers and was designated an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. This hard-hitting work of ... [To see more of this bio, go to John's website or his Wikipedia entry.]
Growing up in a sparse, mountainous region also helped stretch John's imagination. "Out in that country," he says, "there was a real sense of the spirits who walked the land in the centuries before. And being so cut off from other kids, I roamed the hills a lot, following hawks and eagles, climbing boulders, sitting in Indian caves. Rattlesnakes never bothered us much. But I felt the spirits everywhere. I think my mom, who was part Blackfoot Indian, had a lot to do with that."
When John was only four, however, his mother died of breast cancer, leaving his father to raise four small children on his own. John still recalls his mother and her songs. "One thing I remember about my mom is that she sang to us constantly, making up a song for each of her four children that fit our personalities perfectly. So from her, I got a sense of how to capture a
person's spirit in a lyrical phrase."
Over time, his musical interests continued to grow and in high school, the social commentary of folksinger Bob Dylan inspired him to write his own songs, hoping to pursue a musical career. He was, however, a “wild student,” he admits to English professor Chris Crowe in an interview for The ALAN Review, and was torn between his love of baseball and writing, calling himself both “a high achiever and a rabble rouser,” noting, for example, that in 1969 he was voted Senior Class President and the Senior Class Clown. Teachers did, however, recognize his writing talent, although his work was so often read out loud in class that he also admits to growing complacent and somewhat lazy about having to improve his skills.
At the University of California, San Diego, John studied communications while playing for the UCSD baseball team, all-the-while continuing to write Dylan-style songs. But by his sophomore year, he recalls, “I was anxious to get on with my life. And for the vision I had in mind, college didn’t have much to offer me. I knew I had to walk the streets, touch life, embrace life, gain experience.” So like his literary heroes before him, i.e., Dylan, Jack Kerouac, and Mark Twain, John quit school, taking a job as a painter’s apprentice, and set about traveling the country. He learned to live so cheaply that he could earn enough in three or four months to allow him to travel and write for the rest of the year. He did that for several years, until he married his wife, Cheryl, whom he had met in college, and they had a baby daughter. With a family to support, John needed to work nine months a year, painting houses, but the rest of his time went into writing, an artistic lifestyle he later spotlighted in his song-laden socio-political novel, Under the Baseball Moon.
In 1994, after publishing several short stories, John received the Judy Blume Award and a cash grant from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) for a novel in progress. In 1996, he submitted his manuscript through the Curtis Brown Agency to Philomel Books where it became the first acquisition of junior editor, Michael Green. Since then, Green has risen to become Editorial Director and Publisher of Philomel Books and has edited all six of John’s novels.
In 1999, John’s first novel, Choosing Up Sides, won the International Reading Association Children’s Book Award for Older Readers and was designated an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. This hard-hitting work of ... [To see more of this bio, go to John's website or his Wikipedia entry.]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
October 17, 2013
In his baseball-themed novels for young adults, author John H. Ritter frequently combines ball-field action with a kid's personal struggle with an issue that impacts his ability to play the game. In The Boy Who Saved baseball, the theme was "baseball and the choice between progress and tradition, or between business and the environment." In Choosing Up Sides, it was "baseball and the injustice of bigotry." And now, in a story about a thirteen-year-old shortstop with anger-management problems, the theme is "baseball and the problem of conflict and violence."
Tyler is a San Diego kid spending the summer with his New York City cousins. His cousin Louie is especially excited to play summer-league baseball with him, because Tyler is a terrific athlete, in spite of his short build. Unfortunately, Tyler has an even shorter temper, and when he lets it get out of control, he almost gets kicked off the team in the first week. In order to have a shot at making the All Stars team, Tyler must rein in his angry impulses and show signs of sincere good-sportsmanship. It's a tall order for a kid with a short fuse.
Just making the painful apology and begging for a second chance is harder than anything he has done before. Before he has a chance of winning the battle against the berserker within, Tyler will need to dig down to the roots of his anger problem—and the causes of conflict in general. This connects naturally with his family history, including a war-hero grandfather who died in Vietnam, and an anti-war father who died inside the day he (accidentally) took a human life. As Tyler visits the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C., the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in New York, and other monuments in both cities, he learns to look at battlegrounds—including the athletic kind—in a different way. And when he has an idea on how to honor the victims of war with fairness and justice, it brings out a different kind of warrior in him.
All this, of course, is never far from the context of a youth baseball game, with the rivalries and razzing between kids who may be opponents one week and teammates the next. Tyler makes some dumb mistakes: some will make you laugh, while others will lead you to share his grief and shame. You might not agree with where his brainstorming leads him, but you will enjoy the adventures of this passionate, impulsive, thoughtful, good-hearted kid. And as he thinks and learns about war and courage and self-control, you may be challenged to do some thinking and learning too.
Author Ritter's other titles include a prequel to The Boy Who Saved Baseball titled The Desperado Who Stole Baseball; a book about baseball and luck titled Fenway Fever; and a book about music and baseball called Under the Baseball Moon.
Tyler is a San Diego kid spending the summer with his New York City cousins. His cousin Louie is especially excited to play summer-league baseball with him, because Tyler is a terrific athlete, in spite of his short build. Unfortunately, Tyler has an even shorter temper, and when he lets it get out of control, he almost gets kicked off the team in the first week. In order to have a shot at making the All Stars team, Tyler must rein in his angry impulses and show signs of sincere good-sportsmanship. It's a tall order for a kid with a short fuse.
Just making the painful apology and begging for a second chance is harder than anything he has done before. Before he has a chance of winning the battle against the berserker within, Tyler will need to dig down to the roots of his anger problem—and the causes of conflict in general. This connects naturally with his family history, including a war-hero grandfather who died in Vietnam, and an anti-war father who died inside the day he (accidentally) took a human life. As Tyler visits the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C., the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in New York, and other monuments in both cities, he learns to look at battlegrounds—including the athletic kind—in a different way. And when he has an idea on how to honor the victims of war with fairness and justice, it brings out a different kind of warrior in him.
All this, of course, is never far from the context of a youth baseball game, with the rivalries and razzing between kids who may be opponents one week and teammates the next. Tyler makes some dumb mistakes: some will make you laugh, while others will lead you to share his grief and shame. You might not agree with where his brainstorming leads him, but you will enjoy the adventures of this passionate, impulsive, thoughtful, good-hearted kid. And as he thinks and learns about war and courage and self-control, you may be challenged to do some thinking and learning too.
Author Ritter's other titles include a prequel to The Boy Who Saved Baseball titled The Desperado Who Stole Baseball; a book about baseball and luck titled Fenway Fever; and a book about music and baseball called Under the Baseball Moon.
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September 26, 2014 Over the Wall by John H. Ritter is a great book if you love baseball. Or, even if you love sports. The main character, Tyler Walter, goes through any problems during the course of this book. The main one being, keeping his temper. It is a great book to make connections to.
Tyler goes from his home in San Diego to New York with his cousins every summer. His cousin and him play baseball in a very advanced baseball league for 13 and 14 year-olds. In Tyler's first two games, he gets thrown out of the game in both of them and nearly gets kicked off his team. His coach had the same problem when he was younger. When he was in Vietnam he showed Tyler how to control his anger. But, he want to be on the All-Star team. After one bad decision, everything could go all wrong. He learns about the Vietnam War and realized that Americans only care about the people who die on their side not the other side.
I relate to this book in many good ways. Especially because I play baseball and my grandfather used to tell me stories about when he was in the Vietnam war. This is a truly great book to me, because I know what Tyler is going through. But I have also learned some valuable lessons. Like, you need to see both sides of every story.
Tyler goes from his home in San Diego to New York with his cousins every summer. His cousin and him play baseball in a very advanced baseball league for 13 and 14 year-olds. In Tyler's first two games, he gets thrown out of the game in both of them and nearly gets kicked off his team. His coach had the same problem when he was younger. When he was in Vietnam he showed Tyler how to control his anger. But, he want to be on the All-Star team. After one bad decision, everything could go all wrong. He learns about the Vietnam War and realized that Americans only care about the people who die on their side not the other side.
I relate to this book in many good ways. Especially because I play baseball and my grandfather used to tell me stories about when he was in the Vietnam war. This is a truly great book to me, because I know what Tyler is going through. But I have also learned some valuable lessons. Like, you need to see both sides of every story.
October 17, 2019
The overall story about Tyler was good. I think that the book will teach you about how to control you temper. Tyler is a kid that at the beginning has a family of four, but when his sister dies, his dad becomes depressed for years. Finally Tyler got tired of it and that's when his temper was created. Whenever something didn't go his way or didn't go as planned, he would rage and cause fights which would cause him to get thrown out of baseball game. He would get mad because everyone underestimated him and he tried to do something great. He would mess up and cause him to rage. His coach talks with him to try and fix his problem by giving him more chances to change. Towards the end, he realizes that when he is out there playing baseball, that's what heals his temper or makes him feel good.
December 18, 2017
I thought this book was a great young adult realistic fiction novel about how tragedy could affect your life. I like how Tyler got over his anger problems in the story. I also like how Tyler ultimately got better than what he wanted at the end. This novel has some vary powerful scenes and life lessons. Tyler does some vary bold things in this novel. Towards the end of the story Tyler made me think about the way I act. I do think Tyler and Breannas relationship was wired.
November 7, 2018
This book was a good one to read.It was about a average teenager who played sports and would deal with everyday problems like bullying. Also it talked about problems with family and relationship life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2023
really good book and I liked the plot
February 26, 2013
Over the Wall
John H. Ritter
Realistic-Fiction
312 Pages
This book is about a kid named Tyler who goes to New York every summer to visit his cousins and play baseball. When Tyler was younger his sister was playing a joke on their dad and she was trying to scare him, but their dad was pulling his car out and his sister fell and got run over. She didn't die immediately, but in the hospital a vein burst under her eye which did kill her. Tyler's dad was never the same man. So, in New York Tyler is playing baseball with his cousin, and Tyler is a very strong hitter, his goal for the season is to get a home run, thats why the book is titled Over the Wall. Tyler's grandpa on his paternal side was fought in the Vietnam war as a pilot, but his career came to a tragic and sad ending when his plane was shot down. So when Tyler is in New York, his aunt takes him to The Vietnam War memorial in Washington D.C. Tyler comes up with the idea of getting a ton of bats and braking them in half so there is two pieces, and he is planning on writing the names of 50 Vietnamese soldiers who died in the war because, unlike the monument in D.C, where the American soldiers get recognized, the Vietnamese don't. So on the 4th of July, his cousin and him got to D.C and behind the monument they lay down ceramic birds that his cousin made, and all the bats he made and set up a monument for the Vietnamese, but they attract the attention of some police officers, and the monument is taken down and Tyler's picture appears in the newspaper, which causes him not to be able to join the All-Star team because the league commissioner didn't like what he did and so he couldn't join.
This was a very good book about not only baseball, but life. Because in the story Tyler gets very angry a lot during games and he gets into some fights leading him to suspension, but he later learns to control his anger, which some people including myself need to learn how to do. This book also talks about the war, and taught me about some things I didn't know, like it goes into a lot of detail about the anti-war marches and things like that didn't happen over seas but in our own country, and also that more veterans committed suicide, than people died in the war, so I learned quite a bit about the Vietnam war.
John H. Ritter
Realistic-Fiction
312 Pages
This book is about a kid named Tyler who goes to New York every summer to visit his cousins and play baseball. When Tyler was younger his sister was playing a joke on their dad and she was trying to scare him, but their dad was pulling his car out and his sister fell and got run over. She didn't die immediately, but in the hospital a vein burst under her eye which did kill her. Tyler's dad was never the same man. So, in New York Tyler is playing baseball with his cousin, and Tyler is a very strong hitter, his goal for the season is to get a home run, thats why the book is titled Over the Wall. Tyler's grandpa on his paternal side was fought in the Vietnam war as a pilot, but his career came to a tragic and sad ending when his plane was shot down. So when Tyler is in New York, his aunt takes him to The Vietnam War memorial in Washington D.C. Tyler comes up with the idea of getting a ton of bats and braking them in half so there is two pieces, and he is planning on writing the names of 50 Vietnamese soldiers who died in the war because, unlike the monument in D.C, where the American soldiers get recognized, the Vietnamese don't. So on the 4th of July, his cousin and him got to D.C and behind the monument they lay down ceramic birds that his cousin made, and all the bats he made and set up a monument for the Vietnamese, but they attract the attention of some police officers, and the monument is taken down and Tyler's picture appears in the newspaper, which causes him not to be able to join the All-Star team because the league commissioner didn't like what he did and so he couldn't join.
This was a very good book about not only baseball, but life. Because in the story Tyler gets very angry a lot during games and he gets into some fights leading him to suspension, but he later learns to control his anger, which some people including myself need to learn how to do. This book also talks about the war, and taught me about some things I didn't know, like it goes into a lot of detail about the anti-war marches and things like that didn't happen over seas but in our own country, and also that more veterans committed suicide, than people died in the war, so I learned quite a bit about the Vietnam war.
May 9, 2013
Over the Wall by John Ritter is a book that I really enjoyed. The main character, Tyler, is definitely a dynamic character. As a dynamic character, he goes through a huge internal change. This book may look like a book that is based solely on baseball, but it's not. I would not recommend it to anybody who is looking for a good baseball book to read. This book hones in on how Tyler finds his own opinions on certain things in life. He finds a way to look past the way other people view things. I know that Maggie would be very proud of him because he analyzes situations really well.
Tyler's character is put to the test when he is faced with a big, complicated issue that most thirteen year old's wouldn't be able to understand. He goes back and forth on picking a side, and ultimately goes with the opinion that most people in his country would refuse to accept. He backs up his decision by publicly demonstrating it, which takes a lot of courage by him.
John Ritter's characterization of Tyler is phenomenal. None of it is direct, so it allows the reader to figure out how they feel about Tyler on their own. I was really surprised at how complex Tyler's character was in the book. He wasn't the typical sports book kid, where you know his family, friends, and who he likes. Tyler had feelings for issues that he probably shouldn't have under stood. Then again, this isn't the typical sports book.
Tyler's character is put to the test when he is faced with a big, complicated issue that most thirteen year old's wouldn't be able to understand. He goes back and forth on picking a side, and ultimately goes with the opinion that most people in his country would refuse to accept. He backs up his decision by publicly demonstrating it, which takes a lot of courage by him.
John Ritter's characterization of Tyler is phenomenal. None of it is direct, so it allows the reader to figure out how they feel about Tyler on their own. I was really surprised at how complex Tyler's character was in the book. He wasn't the typical sports book kid, where you know his family, friends, and who he likes. Tyler had feelings for issues that he probably shouldn't have under stood. Then again, this isn't the typical sports book.
March 29, 2008
Actually, it took us two months to read this as this was our nighttime reader and we didn't always have time. It's fun to read with Alex now because he is moving into books with deeper topics. We'd read The Boy Who Saved Baseball also by Ritter and really really loved it. The author has the extra draw for us of being from San Diego and he finds a way to weave in our fair city in his books. This one seems like it is about baseball, but it really isn't. It's much more about a 13 year old boy at a turning point in his life when he learns how to understand more about the world around him - that moment when kids realize that they really are not the center of the universe. The author tells the story around a summer baseball league, but also brings in aspects of the aftermath of the Vietnam War and the turmoil in the nation just after. Given the current situation in Iraq, for me it was a great way while reading with Alex to talk about the full impact of war. I reminded him as the media marked the 4000th US soldier killed that was really a drop in the bucket of the lives lost in this conflict and that we should never think it is only the lives lost on our side that should be remembered. IOW - the timing was really good to read this!
June 11, 2014
I rated this book 2 stars because the ending of this book was not really what i was expecting. I didn't feel that the ending was what should have happened and that it didn't feel right. The book didn't flow very smoothly and just felt as if it jumped from one problem to another with one big resolution at the end that didn't really resolve anything. The resolution actually got Tyler in some more trouble. I did like how the conflicts throughout the book arose and how he tried to fight them but the resolution was not much of a resolution.
Also I would change the ending of this book almost 100%, Tyler's anger issues, I felt weren't actually resolved which was one of the bigger conflicts. So I would change that. This book wasn't 3 stars mainly because of the ending, otherwise i believe the book was pretty good but one of the most important part of the books is the ending which this book severely lacked. This book wasn't one star because the heart and beginning of the book were pretty strong. Overall I would not recommend this book to a friend.
Also I would change the ending of this book almost 100%, Tyler's anger issues, I felt weren't actually resolved which was one of the bigger conflicts. So I would change that. This book wasn't 3 stars mainly because of the ending, otherwise i believe the book was pretty good but one of the most important part of the books is the ending which this book severely lacked. This book wasn't one star because the heart and beginning of the book were pretty strong. Overall I would not recommend this book to a friend.
September 10, 2014
In this book there is a lots of emotion. The way there is powerful feeling in how little 13 year old Tyler realizes anger is not the way to handle all your situations, especially in baseball. When he goes to visit his cousin Louis he gets interested in playing baseball with him. His coach opens up to him about his past and about him being a veteran from Vietnam. He tries to show Tyler that anger is not the way too solutions by taking him on a walk and his Aunt shows him the Vietnam monument in D.C. As he tries to correct his anger he also learns about his family's past and how his dad grew up in New York City. This was a very interesting and I love how Ritter planned out the history and the story line. I also like how he incorporated baseball in the story to make this book enjoyable for kids. If your not going to give this book more than four stars then read another book because this book is awesome.
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December 18, 2014 Over the wall by John H. Ritter tells a story of one kids ruff life due to his older sister Alyssa's death. And his dream to make the all stars but his bad anger issue keeps getting him into trouble.
the begning of over the wall takes place in California at there family home. Alyssa and Tyler was trying to pull a prank on their dad, by hooping into the back of their dad's truck. as Alyssa hooped in, her dad pull the truck in revrse. and by doing this she fell out and hit the ground with a great amount of fource. but due to the fall just a few cuts and scraps. but hiden deep in her brain was a blood vessel that had burst, and later that night she was found dead. after the death his dad broke down. And later that year Tyler went to New York to his ants and uncles to play baseball over the summer. where his anger was getting the best of him on and off the fild.
the begning of over the wall takes place in California at there family home. Alyssa and Tyler was trying to pull a prank on their dad, by hooping into the back of their dad's truck. as Alyssa hooped in, her dad pull the truck in revrse. and by doing this she fell out and hit the ground with a great amount of fource. but due to the fall just a few cuts and scraps. but hiden deep in her brain was a blood vessel that had burst, and later that night she was found dead. after the death his dad broke down. And later that year Tyler went to New York to his ants and uncles to play baseball over the summer. where his anger was getting the best of him on and off the fild.
February 24, 2012
This is an excellent YA read. I'm not really a sports fan but I do believe that I will look for other books written by Ritter. He writes so well capturing the angst of being a boy growing up and facing both his own problems and those handed to him by life over which he has no control. This is a wonderful story. I haven't watched baseball games for many years but I felt as if I were beside this angry young boy who was dealing with his feelings about his father and his sport. The two were twisted together and once Tyler understood both himself and his father his life and his sport became better for him. I recommend this read to those who wish to understand a growing boy with dreams of fame and/or hurting for many reasons. It's outstanding.
July 27, 2014
The book was good for a lesson of baseball and what to do is you have some anger.
Tyler's temper is out of control. If he isn't careful, he'll blow his chances of making the All-Star team and being noticed by a scout. But Tyler's coach, a Vietnam War veteran, has seen anger destroy enough people. He knows that if Tyler is ever going to fulfill his dreams, he'll have to learn to fight his battles with his glove, his bat, and his love for the game. Not with his fists. But it all comes down to Tyler.
Thirteen-year-old Tyler, who has trouble controlling his anger, spends an important summer with his cousins in New York City, playing baseball and sorting out how he feels about violence, war, and in particular the Vietnamese conflict that took his grandfather's life.
Tyler's temper is out of control. If he isn't careful, he'll blow his chances of making the All-Star team and being noticed by a scout. But Tyler's coach, a Vietnam War veteran, has seen anger destroy enough people. He knows that if Tyler is ever going to fulfill his dreams, he'll have to learn to fight his battles with his glove, his bat, and his love for the game. Not with his fists. But it all comes down to Tyler.
Thirteen-year-old Tyler, who has trouble controlling his anger, spends an important summer with his cousins in New York City, playing baseball and sorting out how he feels about violence, war, and in particular the Vietnamese conflict that took his grandfather's life.
July 23, 2013
I was skeptical when I saw this book, with its cover of a boy swinging a bat, but after reading it, I am glad I did. I picked up the book because a student is reading it for his summer assignment, and I wanted to understand the story to better assist him in writing his analysis. I finished the book because it presents a powerful story of a young boy coming to terms with the horrors of the Vietnam War that have affected his family. This is a book that should be on summer reading lists everywhere.
May 24, 2011
This Book was good. I liked this book so much. Over The Wall is a great book. Its about how this is trying to bring back baseball in his town. Which it works out great and baseball is back.
Once the kids team strted on there first game and when it was coming to the end and they needed a hit score and he struck out and made his team lose there first game.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. Because it was a really good book.
Find out more about the book by picking it up and reading it.
Once the kids team strted on there first game and when it was coming to the end and they needed a hit score and he struck out and made his team lose there first game.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. Because it was a really good book.
Find out more about the book by picking it up and reading it.
December 7, 2008
This is an all-star book. Tyler is a very talented baseball player who could expect great accolades for his abilities. His explosive temper is completely short circuiting any chance of success he has on the field and to some degree, with his friends and family. A summer in New York with a coach who sees a lot of his younger self gives Tyler a chance to think about the choices he wants to make.
May 29, 2010
As with all of Ritter's books, there is a story within the story and then some. I love the mix of baseball, Vietnam, and finding out who we are as themes. The story that isn't told is often (to me) the most important story in Ritter's books. This is a quick read, and not only will teens like, I think it will appeal to many adults as well. Check it out!
May 15, 2011
It's pretty good right now. The story engages the reader. It combine's the character's fight to deal with anger at baseball, and the war, both sides. Surprising ending. He's trying to get into the 'all stars' and you'd think it would be something expected, like he deals with his anger, then gets in.
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December 5, 2013I think the book was a well written book. The book made me as a reader feel loke I was actually in the book. I realted to the story because I really like baseball. Baseball is my favorite sport and I love to play it so the book kept me interested the whole time.
Want to read
June 5, 2016Thirteen-year-old Tyler, who has trouble controlling his anger, spends an important summer with his cousins in New York City, playing baseball and sorting out how he feels about violence, war, and in particular the Vietnamese conflict that took his grandfather's life.
September 17, 2007
Solid but not spectacular young adult fiction about baseball, the Vietnam War, and growing up. More for middle schoolers than high schoolers.
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September 21, 2010could not get into it! i was glued to it at first but i lost interest.
September 28, 2012
Great book, just a little disappointed in ending. Could've been better.
May 26, 2013
This has enough sports-related action to keep kids reading, but my favorite part was the surprising connection to the Vietnam War.
July 8, 2013
It is a great book.
Read
November 19, 2013This book was fantastic, because I can relate to the main character through his baseball experiences, and his experiences in his daily life
March 13, 2014
It was a good overall book I liked almost anything about
November 7, 2014
Dis is nice
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews