For Hutch, shortstop has always been home. It’s where his father once played professionally, before injuries relegated him to watching games on TV instead of playing them. And it’s where Hutch himself has always played and starred. Until now. The arrival of Darryl “D-Will” Williams, the top shortstop prospect from Florida since A-Rod, means Hutch is displaced, in more ways than one. Second base feels like second fiddle, and when he sees his father giving fielding tips to D-Will—the same father who can’t be bothered to show up to watch his son play—Hutch feels betrayed. With the summer league championship on the line, just how far is Hutch willing to bend to be a good teammate?Mike Lupica returns to the big field for the first time since his #1 New York Timesbestseller Heatand delivers a feel-good home run, showing how love of the game is a language fathers and sons speak from the heart. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Lupica's (Travel Team) formula for success seems to be this: take a kid with big athletic talent and even bigger heart, mix in some conflict at home, add a lot of play-by-play action and end with a nail-biter game where the underdog prevails. Even so, Lupica does not fail to entertain. His latest protagonist, Hutch, is a gifted 14-year-old baseball player, devoted to his sport and even more to his team. His recent demotion from shortstop to second base, however, strains his relationship with his cocky, showstopper replacement, Darryl. Hutch also simmers with bottled-up resentment toward his former-baseball-star dad, yet he desperately seeks his father's approval, illustrating once again that what makes Lupica so good is that he not only knows sports, but he also understands how kids think. Hutch's raw passion for baseball-"the feeling that you wouldn't want to be anyplace else in the world"-and his integrity, not to mention Lupica's swift pacing, will have even reluctant readers following eagerly, hoping that Hutch pulls off another victory. Ages 10-up. (Mar.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 5-8-Lupica offers another heartwarming, action-packed, sports-savvy novel. Keith Hutchinson, 14, plays in the American Legion 17-and-under league with the Boynton Beach Cardinals. His dream includes taking his team to the Florida state finals and sharing his passion with his father, a local shortstop legend whose failed major league career has left him aloof, despondent, and incommunicative. After losing his beloved shortstop position to cocky, talented newcomer Darryl Williams, Hutch becomes a standout at second base and is elected team captain. However, when he finds his father working out with Darryl, jealousy and anger threaten to derail Hutch's dream, team, and family. On and off the field, the teen gains insights from his best friend and teammate, Cody; from his sympathetic and supportive Puerto Rican mother; and from fatherless, fierce competitor, Darryl. Vivid descriptions of pivotal innings and plays, snappy dialogue, and realistic conflicts propel the characters and the story toward the state finals and a father-son breakthrough. Baseball fans will revel in Lupica's exciting sports commentary and Hutch's competitive spirit and emotional highs and lows.-Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Sports journalist Lupica scores again with a baseball tale in the classic tradition. As his American Legion team works its way to the 17-and-under league Florida State championship series, team captain Hutch finds himself both locking horns with an arrogant, immensely talented new teammate and fuming at his father's long-standing emotional distance. Writing in typically fluid prose and laying in a strong supporting lineup, Lupica strikes the right balance between personal issues and game action. By the end, father and son have both taken steps toward each other; the team has endured a set of exciting, hard-fought play-off contests; and because Hutch is an uncommonly canny, conscientious student of the game, readers can't help but come away more knowledgeable about baseball's strategy and spirit.--Peters, John Copyright 2007 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.