Baseball Great written and read by Tim Green
YA fiction, Published 2009
Read Feb 2010
Challenges: Audio Book Challenge
3.5/5
Why do I have it?
I bought 6 audio books on CD from eBay, mostly for Mirror Mirror, but this one was included. I figured I would go ahead and listen to it before posting it on paperbackswap.
Verdict?
Enjoyable listen, the author does a decent job with all the character voices, except I was a little annoyed by his rendition of Jaden’s southern accent. I am a little hesitant to recommend this to anyone younger than 11.
From the Cover:
Josh feels like he’s starting to make it big! Jaden, the school reporter, says he’s going to take the baseball team to number one. Then his dad pulls him off the field and signs him up with Coach Rocky Valentine’s youth championship team, the Titans. He says Josh has what it takes to be a baseball great – and the Titans will help him get there.
Now Josh is gulping down Rocky’s “Super Stax” milkshakes to build muscle; and trying to fit in with his new teammates – older, tougher kids who can suddenly become violent. All Josh really wants to do is play ball, but as he gets in deeper with the Titans, there are questions he’s just go to ask! As Josh and his new friend Jaden investigate their suspicions, they find themselves in a dangerous struggle with a desperate man who doesn’t want them to expose the nasty secrets they uncover.
Tim Green played Little League baseball for many years before specializing in football in order to become an NFL player. But his love for the game lived on, inspiring him to coach his own sons’ baseball teams. After playing as a star defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons, Tim also earned his law degree with honors and has worked an an NFL analyst for FOX Sports and an NFL commentator for NPR. His other novels for young readers include the New York Times best seller Football Genius and Football Hero.
Review:
This book is geared toward boys ages 8-12 who are reluctant readers. Much of the action is when Josh is playing baseball and the game highlights. Toward the end of the novel, Josh and Jaden find themselves holding a secret that one person does not want to get out. BN.com suggests that the content is appropriate for ages 9 and up, due to consumerism of brand names, use of drugs, tobacco and alcohol, as well as violence. The book has short chapters (fifty something) and flows pretty steadily, building up to the finally mystery that Josh and Jaden have to solve. But how young is too young to talk about drugs or “gym candy” as it is called by the boys on the baseball team. How young are boys or any young athlete, for that matter, pressured to start taking steroids to become stronger players? These questions raised in the novel can allow a window for families to talk about these issues, like why steroids should be banned in sports and how they can negatively affect both your health and athletic performance.
