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Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip



by
Jordan Sonnenblick

Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Scholastic
Imprint
Arthur A. Levine
ISBN
9780545320696

Awards and Honors
Booklist Top 10 Sports Books for Youth: 2012; YALSA 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Sexual Content: Mild Sexual Content/Themes, Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco: Underage Use
$21.59   $17.99
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QTY
Out of stock

Hitting a home run is like taking the perfect photo: “you can just tell” when you nail it. But Pete’s injury means he’s photographing more than hitting.

POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Sexual Content: Mild Sexual Content/Themes, Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco: Underage Use

Details

Format

Print

Page Count

304

Trim Size

5 1/2" x 8 1/4"

Dewey

F

AR

5.1: points 7

Lexile

800L

Genre

Fic

Scholastic Reading Counts

13

JLG Release

Jun 2012

Book Genres


Topics

Sports injuries. Baseball. Photography. Alzheimer's disease.

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Praise & Reviews

Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:

Publishers Weekly*, School Library Journal*

School Library Journal

[STARRED REVIEW]
Sonnenblick adds to his growing list of distinguished YA novels with this tale of a youngster whose dreams of baseball glory are crushed when an injury ruins his pitching arm. Realizing that his baseball career is over, Peter Friedman, 13, turns to sports photography, in emulation of his beloved grandfather, who was a professional photographer. It soon becomes evident, however, that Grampa is slipping into senility. Peter feels that his parents are unwilling to accept this reality, and so he attempts to deal with his grandfather’s growing impairment on his own, with near-catastrophic results. He also keeps the extent of his arm injury secret from his best friend, the popular and outgoing AJ, who continues to make plans for their mutual success on the diamond. With the help of wise and sassy Angelika, a fellow photographer, Peter confronts the evasions and equivocations he has used to avoid dealing with the difficult issues in his life. Peter’s development flows naturally out of the action of the novel, and the lessons he learns seem like an integral part of the characters’ interaction. The dialogue sparkles, and Peter’s conversations with the randy, politically incorrect AJ are often laugh-out-loud funny. Another winner that can be confidently recommended to readers, athletes or not.—Richard Luzer, Fair Haven Union High School, VT

Praise & Reviews

School Library Journal

[STARRED REVIEW]
Sonnenblick adds to his growing list of distinguished YA novels with this tale of a youngster whose dreams of baseball glory are crushed when an injury ruins his pitching arm. Realizing that his baseball career is over, Peter Friedman, 13, turns to sports photography, in emulation of his beloved grandfather, who was a professional photographer. It soon becomes evident, however, that Grampa is slipping into senility. Peter feels that his parents are unwilling to accept this reality, and so he attempts to deal with his grandfather’s growing impairment on his own, with near-catastrophic results. He also keeps the extent of his arm injury secret from his best friend, the popular and outgoing AJ, who continues to make plans for their mutual success on the diamond. With the help of wise and sassy Angelika, a fellow photographer, Peter confronts the evasions and equivocations he has used to avoid dealing with the difficult issues in his life. Peter’s development flows naturally out of the action of the novel, and the lessons he learns seem like an integral part of the characters’ interaction. The dialogue sparkles, and Peter’s conversations with the randy, politically incorrect AJ are often laugh-out-loud funny. Another winner that can be confidently recommended to readers, athletes or not.—Richard Luzer, Fair Haven Union High School, VT

Grades 5-8
Sports Middle Plus
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Interests
Biographies,Chapter Books/Novels,Diversity,Fiction,History,Nonfiction,Reluctant Readers,Realistic Fiction,Sports
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