Reviewed by Katie Hayes for TeensReadToo.com
Keith "Hutch" Hutchison, the hero of sportswriter Mike Lupica's latest young adult sports novel, loved playing shortstop for his baseball team in Florida. Then Darryl Williams came along and took over at short, forcing Hutch to move to second base.
Worse than the sting of losing his old position, though, is the hurt Hutch feels at the absence of his father from his games. A former baseball player who saw his dreams crushed, Hutch's dad can barely bring himself to watch his son play. So when Hutch sees his father giving Darryl some playing tips, he has a whole new reason to dislike his teammate.
During a summer when their team is fighting to win the state championship and the chance to play on TV, Hutch's rivalry with Darryl threatens the team's chances, and he must come to grips with his father and his teammate to be the team player he needs to be.
While THE BIG FIELD doesn't bring anything new to the sports genre, this is an engaging read. Mr. Lupica throws in plenty of references to current baseball players, which brings even more realism to the story. The characters seem very true-to-life, and anyone who's ever played a sport or just loves baseball can relate to it.
Keith "Hutch" Hutchison, the hero of sportswriter Mike Lupica's latest young adult sports novel, loved playing shortstop for his baseball team in Florida. Then Darryl Williams came along and took over at short, forcing Hutch to move to second base.
Worse than the sting of losing his old position, though, is the hurt Hutch feels at the absence of his father from his games. A former baseball player who saw his dreams crushed, Hutch's dad can barely bring himself to watch his son play. So when Hutch sees his father giving Darryl some playing tips, he has a whole new reason to dislike his teammate.
During a summer when their team is fighting to win the state championship and the chance to play on TV, Hutch's rivalry with Darryl threatens the team's chances, and he must come to grips with his father and his teammate to be the team player he needs to be.
While THE BIG FIELD doesn't bring anything new to the sports genre, this is an engaging read. Mr. Lupica throws in plenty of references to current baseball players, which brings even more realism to the story. The characters seem very true-to-life, and anyone who's ever played a sport or just loves baseball can relate to it.
