Reviews

Peter's whole life was baseball, until he irreparably injured his arm. Peter doesn't know who he is without baseball. His best friend and best rival, AJ is sure that Peter will play again. If Peter can't play baseball, what will he and AJ talk about. Peter relies heavily on his grandfather, a famous photographer. It is through photography that he begins to find a new identity. However, this added closeness to his grandfather allows Peter to see several scary warning signs of his grandfather's possible dementia.

This is a perfect book for young boys, whether they are sports fanatics or not. It addresses the issues of growing up and finding your own identity, especially when it is threatened/taken.

resslesa's review against another edition

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4.0

Excellent book for girls and gals alike -frost in high school plus deals with issues but v funny!

pelicaaan's review against another edition

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3.0

Very sweet book, good for younger teens.

hgraybrown's review against another edition

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3.0

Sonnenblick's books are always a pleasure to read. Though this wasn't my favorite of his (it is "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie"), I did enjoy it. I love his sense of humor.

shighley's review against another edition

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4.0

Really wavered between a 4 and 5 here. There are so many things to like about the book. I listened to the audio version, and Luke Daniel did a great job with the different characters. AJ is hilarious, even if a bit over the top. The relationship between Peter and his grandfather is well-documented, and very special. In addition, they undergo parallel disappointments: Grandpa loses his photography, and Peter loses baseball. My main quibble is with the delay in dealing with Grandpa's Alzheimer's. In this day and age, there are treatments (admittedly, some experimental) that can be administered ASAP, so by denial (by Peter to his parents, and the parents to him), maybe some opportunities were missed. How could the parents think, with Peter spending more time with Gramps than anyone else, that they could keep it from him? The pitfalls and tensions of keeping secrets are well-done, although I don't get why Angelika had to be so mad at Pete for not telling AJ the severity of his injury. There are so many truly funny scenes in the book: the party, photographing the swimmer, the pitch and catch, and many more. The scene with Peter almost passed out but eavesdropping was a nice plot device as well.
One other bone to pick: I don't know of any science classes that use specimens with formaldehyde anymore. I started teaching science over 30 years ago, and other preservatives were used soon after that. I enjoyed the parts about photography as well; I learned some things, but it was not too technical to be overwhelming. Sonnenblick included some elements to make this more attractive to older teens, without having to be too edgy or including language that might make some libraries hesitate to include it. I can't remember when I've read a book with so much vomiting, either, but it was all understandable!

jackie_u's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.5

I started reading this last year. I Didn't finish, but I picked it up again and completed it. Surprisingly I remember whats in the first half of the book. Its not bad, but I feel like it was missing something. The other half wasn't bad either, but it needed a little more of a push. I think you get where I'm getting at. I almost shed a small tear at the end.

Spoiler

poor grandpa. Wish him well

Anyways it was good but could've been great.

"But" count- 3

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