Comment

Jul 28, 2014
A patron review from the Adult Summer Game: "This book was suggested to me by my wife, knowing my love of baseball. This is a fast-paced tale of a startlingly good rookie ballplayer, coming up against a less than great rival. The resulting conflict is heartbreaking, and the denouement speaks to the power of forgiveness." A patron review from the Adult Summer Game: "The title of this novel refers to Joe Castle of Calico Rock, Arkansas. In 1973, he is thirty years old and a rising phenom in baseball. He plays for the Chicago Cubs and is loved and admired by many. The narrator of the story is Paul Tracey. He is the son of Warren Tracey, pitcher for the New York Mets and the man responsible for intentionally hurting Joe Castle during a game and ending his career. Warren is described as an abusive husband and unloving, disinterested father and recollections of the past and present events support his damaged character. Thirty years later, Warren has terminal pancreatic cancer and Pual is determined for his father to make a personal apology to Joe. At first Pual tries to achieve this through blackmail, but ultimately Warren agrees and a meeting is facilitated through Clarence Rook (the owner and sports editor of the Calico Rock Record.) This book has a great deal of baseball drama and includes game action, statistics, and baseball terminology. The story is told by alternating the past with the present and is narrated entirely through Paul Tracey. I enjoyed the book and enthusiastically recommend it."