Part of The Baby-Sitters Club, book 20
First published 1996
Kristy Thomas watches her younger siblings yearn to play softball like the older kids. The existing teams in Stoneybrook won't take players who lack skills, so Kristy decides to form her own squad. She calls them Kristy's Krushers and welcomes every kid who wants to join, including Jackie Rodowsky, whose tendency toward accidents earns him the nickname "walking disaster." The Krushers may not win games, but they play with heart and enthusiasm that makes up for their lack of athletic ability. Everything changes when Bart's Bashers, a competitive team with real talent, challenges the Krushers to an official game. Kristy faces a problem bigger than her team's inexperience. She finds herself attracted to Bart, the Bashers' coach, which complicates her competitive instincts. As the game approaches, Kristy must figure out how to prepare her ragtag players for serious competition while managing her confusing feelings about their opponent's leader.
Genres: family-life, contemporary, sports
Vibes: emotional, heartwarming, uplifting
Tropes: found-family, underdog
Setting: Stoneybrook
Period: 20th-century
141 pages · Paperback · Apple