A review by jessalynn_librarian
The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles

3.0

A warning: don't mope around and say "this one just isn't tugging at my heart-strings like Each Little Bird That Sings or Love, Ruby Lavender," because it can only end one way. In tears. Just have faith in Deborah Wiles; no matter what else she may do with the book, she WILL tug at your heart-strings (as the cover blurb on Kitri's just-picked-up-from-the-library copy of Ruby Lavender claims). This one has a slow start, and I didn't feel like I really knew House until quite a ways into the book, and his sister Honey was amusing but didn't really seem necessary to the story, and I still want to know why Cleebo went back on his word - these are all reasons why it didn't get that 4th star from me. But there are enough good things going on to balance it out and, yes, make me tear up. I loved the use of Walt Whitman and baseball quotes at the beginning of each chapter, and as usual in Wiles' books, the intergenerational friendships and quirky setting (maybe it doesn't seem so quirky if you live in the south, but it's quirky to me). Lots of baseball talk, boy and girl characters, humor, poetry - there's a lot to recommend this one. House is 12 but I think the book reads a lot younger.