by Joan Bauer
First published 2016
Jeremiah lives and breathes baseball. He knows every stat, every play, every legend of America's pastime. When doctors tell him his heart surgery means no more playing, Jeremiah refuses to give up on the sport he loves. He decides to coach instead. His father Walt takes a job in Hillcrest, a town famous for its championship baseball teams. Jeremiah expects to find a community as passionate about baseball as he is. Instead, he discovers a town torn apart by scandal and ready to abandon the game entirely. The team that once brought pride to Hillcrest now brings shame. Players have lost faith. Parents have lost trust. The whole town wants to forget about baseball. But Jeremiah sees possibility where others see only problems. He believes in second chances and fresh starts. Armed with his encyclopedic knowledge of the game and his unshakeable optimism, Jeremiah sets out to restore what scandal destroyed. He must convince a broken team they can win again and show a disappointed town that baseball still matters.
Genres: family-life, contemporary, sports, baseball
Vibes: emotional, inspirational, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, underdog
Setting: Hillcrest
304 pages · Hardcover · Viking