Book Review
Publisher: Koehler Books
Publication Date: September 1, 2013 (originally released July 1, 2013)
Format: Paperback - 252 pages / Kindle - 469 KB / Nook - 942 KB
ISBN: 1938467590
ASIN: B00DMOO3RM
Genre: Young Adult / Baseball
BUY THE BOOK: The Pitcher
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by I Am A Reader.
Book Description:
“I never knew I had an arm until this guy called out, “Hey you want to try and get a ball in the hole, sonny?” I was only nine, but mom said, “come on, let’s play.” This Carney guy with no teeth and a fuming cigarette hands me five blue rubber balls and says if I throw three in the hole we win a prize. He’s grinning, because he took mom’s five bucks and figures a sucker is born every minute. That really got me, because we didn’t have any money after Fernando took off, and he only comes back to beat up mom and steal our money. So I really wanted to get mom back something, you know, for her five bucks.”
A boy with a golden arm but no money for lessons. A mother who wants to give her son his dream before she dies. A broken down World Series pitcher who cannot go on after the death of his wife. These are the elements of The Pitcher. A story of a man at the end of his dream and a boy whose dream is to make his high school baseball team. In the tradition of The Natural and The Field of Dreams, this is a mythic story about how a man and a boy meet in the crossroads of their life and find a way to go on. You will laugh and you will cry as The Pitcher and Ricky prepare for the ultimate try out of life.
Book Excerpt:
I never knew I had an arm until this guy calls out,
“Hey you want to try and get a ball in the hole, sonny?”
I am
only nine, but Mom says, “Come on, let’s play.”
This carnival
guy with no teeth and a fuming cigarette hands me five blue
rubber balls and says if I throw three in the hole, we win a prize.
He’s grinning, because he’s taken Mom’s five bucks and figures
a sucker is born every minute. This really gets me, because we
didn’t have any money after Fernando took off, and he only
comes back to beat up Mom and steal our money. So I really
want to get Mom back something, you know, for her five bucks.
I take the first rubber ball and throw it over my head and
wham!
The carnival guy looks at me and laughs. “Whoa! A
ringer. Let’s see you do it again, sonny.”
It’s like something
happens when I throw a ball. My arm windmills over the top
then snaps down like a rubber band. It’s like I’m following my
arm. So I throw the second ball and he mutters, “Alright, let’s
see you get the next ball in.”
I mean we’re Mexicans, and I think
this guy figures he’ll put one over on us.
I throw the next two balls and they go wild. I hit the top of
the wood circle with one and the other one flies completely over
the game.
The carnival guy is grinning again because he knows
I have only one more ball. I wind up like I had seen pitchers on
television and wham, right in the hole again. He hands Mom a
big white polar bear and takes the cigarette from his mouth. “That looked like a sixty-mile-an-hour pitch to me,” he says.
“I don’t know,” I reply, shrugging.
He nods and picks up the rubber balls.
“You should pitch, buddy,” he says with one eye closed. “You
have a hell of an arm.”
My Book Review:
The Pitcher is a heartwarming baseball novel about a young Mexican-American boy's dream of becoming a pitcher, a mother's unrelenting love and support, and a broken former major league pitcher who can't get past the death of his wife.
Author William Hazelgrove weaves a touching tale set in Jacksonville, Florida, and written in the first person narrative that follows the journey of fourteen year old Ricky Hernandez as he overcomes obstacles to chase his dream of becoming a pitcher on his high school baseball team. Ricky has a great arm but doesn't have focus or control over his pitches. Ricky's mother Maria is his biggest supporter and she wants him to achieve his dream, but she knows that he needs a pitching coach. Maria asks their reclusive neighbor, Jack Langford, a former MLB pitcher whose team won the 1978 World Series, to coach her son in preparation for the high school baseball team tryouts.
This is an emotional and inspirational story about growing up, chasing dreams, overcoming obstacles, letting go of the past, healing and moving forward in life. This captivating tale will tug at the heartstrings as the reader follows the intertwining story of a young boy who overcomes discrimination and lack of self-confidence to chase his dream; a single mother's love for her son and her unrelenting support to help him achieve his dream while battling health and financial issues; and a reclusive former major league pitcher who learns to let go of the past, regain some joy and move forward in his life by sharing the mutual love of baseball with the young boy and his mother.
Baseball fans of all ages will love reading The Pitcher. Author William Hazelgrove weaves an enjoyable story about following dreams that brings to mind the classic jingle ... "baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet."
RATING: 4 STARS ****
The Pitcher is a heartwarming baseball novel about a young Mexican-American boy's dream of becoming a pitcher, a mother's unrelenting love and support, and a broken former major league pitcher who can't get past the death of his wife.
Author William Hazelgrove weaves a touching tale set in Jacksonville, Florida, and written in the first person narrative that follows the journey of fourteen year old Ricky Hernandez as he overcomes obstacles to chase his dream of becoming a pitcher on his high school baseball team. Ricky has a great arm but doesn't have focus or control over his pitches. Ricky's mother Maria is his biggest supporter and she wants him to achieve his dream, but she knows that he needs a pitching coach. Maria asks their reclusive neighbor, Jack Langford, a former MLB pitcher whose team won the 1978 World Series, to coach her son in preparation for the high school baseball team tryouts.
This is an emotional and inspirational story about growing up, chasing dreams, overcoming obstacles, letting go of the past, healing and moving forward in life. This captivating tale will tug at the heartstrings as the reader follows the intertwining story of a young boy who overcomes discrimination and lack of self-confidence to chase his dream; a single mother's love for her son and her unrelenting support to help him achieve his dream while battling health and financial issues; and a reclusive former major league pitcher who learns to let go of the past, regain some joy and move forward in his life by sharing the mutual love of baseball with the young boy and his mother.
Baseball fans of all ages will love reading The Pitcher. Author William Hazelgrove weaves an enjoyable story about following dreams that brings to mind the classic jingle ... "baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet."
RATING: 4 STARS ****
The Pitcher - Book Trailer
About The Author
William Hazelgrove is the best selling author of five novels, Ripples, Tobacco Sticks, Mica Highways, Rocket Man and The Pitcher. His books have received starred reviews in Publisher Weekly, Book of the Month Selections, Junior Library Guild Selections, ALA Editors Choice Awards and optioned for the movies. He was the Ernest Hemingway Writer in Residence where he wrote in the attic of Ernest Hemingway’s birthplace. He has written articles and reviews for USA Today and other publications. His latest novel Rocket Man released on May 1, 2013 was chosen Book of the Year by Books and Authors.net. He runs a political cultural blog, The View From Hemingway’s Attic. A forthcoming novel, The Pitcher was released on Sept 1, 2013. He lives in Chicago.
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The Pitcher by William Hazelgrove ~ Virtual Book Tour Page
Tour Schedule:
October 11th
I Am A Reader, Not A Writer – Guest Post
A Book Lover’s Retreat – Spotlight
The Avid Reader – Review
Mel’s Shelves – Review
Ali’s Books – Spotlight
readalot – Tens List
October 14th
Bound4Escape – Review
Vonnie’s Reading Corner – Spotlight
Spellbindings – Tens List
Shelf Full of Books – Review
October 15th
Books and Needlepoint – Review
Victoria Simcox’s Blog – Spotlight
Lori’s Reading Corner - Guest Post
October 16th
Cuzinlogic – Interview
October 17th
Dalene’s Book Review – Spotlight
Reading in Twilight – Interview
Refreshing Riki – Spotlight
3 Partners in Shopping – Spotlight
October 18th
Sher A Hart: Written Art – Review
Deal Sharing Aunt – Spotlight
A Casual Reader’s Blog – Spotlight
October 19th
Reader Girls – Spotlight
Reviews by Karen – Review
Every Free Chance Book Reviews - Spotlight
October 21st
Jersey Girl Book Reviews – Review
Bookhounds YA – Interview
A Blog Hop Place for Books – Spotlight
October 22nd
StoreyBook Reviews – Review
“To See The World in a Grain of Sand” – Spotlight
Whole Lotta Mama – Interview
October 23rd
Books, Books, The Magical Fruit – Review
Sweeping Me – Spotlight
Indie Author How-to – Spotlight
FLY HIGH! - Guest Post
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