Baseball Great
Twelve-year-old Josh LeBlanc has moved a lot in his life; his father is a minor league pitcher hoping to make it to the majors.&#xA0;After his dad is abruptly dumped by his Triple-A team, Josh realizes that he has a chance to stay in one town and play baseball on his school team. His father, however, has other plans, signing Josh up for a traveling team, led by an intense and sometimes brutal coach. Josh eventually discovers that his coach&#x2019;s winning formula includes handing out steroids. With the help of Jaden, a school newspaper reporter, he manages to take a photograph of the coach receiving steroids behind a hospital. Green delivers a fast-paced story, told in short chapters that build to the exciting climax. He also doesn&#x2019;t sanitize the rough world of the locker room, showing the intimidation that often accompanies young people&#x2019;s sports. Add this to other novels that feature the temptations of steroids for young athletes, including Carl Deuker&#x2019;s Gym Candy (2007) and John Coy&#x2019;s Crackback (2005). Grades 6-8. --Todd Morning