cover image Beanball

Beanball

Gene Fehler, . . Clarion, $16 (119pp) ISBN 978-0-618-84348-0

Poet and baseball enthusiast Fehler should attract a crowd with his first YA novel, related by 28 narrators in free-verse monologues. When high school star athlete Luke “Wizard” Wallace gets hit in the head by a wild pitch, he falls into a three-day coma, from which he emerges blind in one eye. The author raises the stakes for the other characters, sometimes a little too much: the rival team's pitcher hangs up his uniform (even though he's being scouted by the major leagues), infuriating his unrepentant coach (who ends up blaming Luke: “If he'd just gotten out of the way..../ he ruined our whole damn season”). Luke's selfish semi-girlfriend visits him only once (“When I saw his face.../ I thought I'd barf right there”). What makes this brief novel believable and rewarding are Fehler's clear grasp of the dedicated athlete's mind and his ability to imagine what it feels like to be suddenly and seemingly permanently sidelined. Fehler does an excellent job in pacing his shifts of perspective, and the central story, of Luke's friendships and eventual recovery, comes through with drama and clarity. Ages 12-up. (Feb.)