By Jordan Sonnenblick
Scholastic, $17.99, 285 pages
If you enjoyed Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, you definitely need to read Jordan Sonneblick’s Curveball. Sonneblick is the young adult author of four previous books, and has the unique gift of writing books that make readers laugh out loud and cry in one sitting—while still appealing to his audience of teenage boys.
In Curveball, fourteen-year-old Peter Friedman heads into his freshman year of high school. As if that isn’t a difficult enough transition, he blows out his pitching arm during the summer following his eighth grade year. He’d always been known as a sports guy, but now he feels like he has no identity. To make matters even worse, Peter’s grandfather has been hiding a secret from everyone but Peter. He doesn’t want to betray his grandpa’s trust, but he fears not telling could result in tragedy.
Although Peter is no longer an athlete, he is becoming well-known at school for his skills as a sports photographer. He’s not handsome like AJ, but the girls are starting to notice him, even the beautiful Linnie Vaughn. With all the newfound attention, will Peter make the right decisions regarding his girlfriend, Angelika, and his grandfather?
Reviewed by Emily Davis
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