First published 1995
Danny Boles steps off the train in Highbridge, Georgia, his voice stolen by violence during the journey south. The seventeen-year-old shortstop from Tenkiller, Oklahoma has come to play for the Hellbenders, a Class C team fighting for a pennant in the summer of 1943. War has drained baseball of its stars, creating opportunities for players like Danny and his new roommate, Jumbo Hank Clerval. Hank towers at seven feet with yellow eyes, a scarred face, and fingers thick as sausages. He speaks with surprising eloquence and crushes baseballs with frightening power. As the Georgia heat intensifies and the pennant race tightens, Danny realizes his teammate harbors secrets that defy explanation. The mute boy and the mysterious giant form an unlikely friendship built on their shared hunger for the major leagues and their desire to understand manhood. Their bond deepens as the season progresses toward a violent climax that will test whether ambition can corrupt even the gentlest hearts.
Genres: fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, sports, baseball
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Georgia, Highbridge, Oklahoma, Tenkiller
Period: 1943
528 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Bantam