Big Field

From Barnes & Noble

Everyone who ever saw Hutch play knew that he was a born shortstop. That's what makes the switch to second base seem doubly wrong. And what makes it even more maddening is that the new shortstop is receiving fielding tips from Hutch's own dad! Mike Lupica's first novel since his bestselling Heat puts a poignant new twist on playing second fiddle.

Lisa Von Drasek

…in The Big Field Lupica showed me the ardor of what it is like to live, eat, sleep and breathe the game…Without getting preachy, Lupica establishes a strong moral compass so that when Hutch acts impulsively there are serious consequences not only for himself but also for his team. Although this story has all the signposts of a coming-of-age tale, it is the "you are there" quality and Hutch's nonstop devotion, even when benched, that keep the pages turning.
—The New York Times

KLIATT

AGERANGE: Ages 12 to 15.

Skilled sportswriter Lupica, author of such YA novels as Travel Team and Heat, provides yet another strong tale about a young teen learning life lessons through sports. Here our hero is Hutch, age 14, who lives for baseball and dreams it will be his ticket out of blue-collar East Boynton, Florida. His team is aiming for the Florida State Championship, to be played on the big field at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, where the pros play. Hutch has always played shortstop, the position played by his father, a former would-be pro who only made it to Triple-A; Hutch wishes his dad would coach him, but his dad, now working as a caddy and a chauffeur, barely talks to him. A new player named Darryl has joined the team, and not only has he taken Hutch’s position, he makes it clear he considers himself the team’s star. Darryl’s goading and his father’s aloofness frustrate Hutch so much he lashes out at Darryl, which means he has to sit out a crucial game, but his ill-considered action also leads to some much-needed talk and reconciliation with both the shortstops in Hutch’s life. This warm, earnest, old-fashioned story has plenty of on-the-field action and baseball fans will eat it up. Lupica gets the teasing, close relationship between Hutch and his best friend Cody just right, too, and this novel is satisfying on several levels. A superior sports story. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick
March 2008 (Vol. 42, No.2)

Children's Literature - Norah Piehl

In several previous novels (including Travel Team and Heat), sportswriter Mike Lupica has demonstrated that he is just as adept at bringing sports to life for young people as he is at writing about them for Sports Illustrated and other publications. This newest offering, set in the competitive world of Little League baseball, is no exception. Keith Hutchinson (better known as Hutch) wants only one thing—to be a great shortstop like his idol, Derek Jeter, or like his father, who played minor league ball before graduating to a series of dead-end jobs during Hutch's childhood, since "the only job his dad ever cared about was baseball." Hutch, however, is forced to play second base to his superstar teammate Darryl's shortstop, and his dad seems to care less about Hutch's baseball dreams than about his own long-lost ones. This complicated father-son dynamic is at the center of Lupica's novel, and most readers will be hard-pressed to tell which aspect—the relationship dramas or the action-packed game summaries—provides the most tension and anticipation in this excellent sports novel. Reviewer: Norah Piehl

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8- Lupica offers another heartwarming, action-packed, sports-savvy novel. Keith Hutchinson, 14, plays in the American Legion 17-and-under league with the Boynton Beach Cardinals. His dream includes taking his team to the Florida state finals and sharing his passion with his father, a local shortstop legend whose failed major league career has left him aloof, despondent, and incommunicative. After losing his beloved shortstop position to cocky, talented newcomer Darryl Williams, Hutch becomes a standout at second base and is elected team captain. However, when he finds his father working out with Darryl, jealousy and anger threaten to derail Hutch's dream, team, and family. On and off the field, the teen gains insights from his best friend and teammate, Cody; from his sympathetic and supportive Puerto Rican mother; and from fatherless, fierce competitor, Darryl. Vivid descriptions of pivotal innings and plays, snappy dialogue, and realistic conflicts propel the characters and the story toward the state finals and a father-son breakthrough. Baseball fans will revel in Lupica's exciting sports commentary and Hutch's competitive spirit and emotional highs and lows.-Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC

Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Game by game, Keith Hutchinson's baseball team makes its way to the Florida state championships at Roger Dean Stadium. Playing on "the big field," on television, is Hutch's dream, and he'll be following in his father's footsteps. Carl Hutchinson made it all the way to Triple-A ball with the Twins, but his sad-looking eyes betray his hurt over not being quite good enough to make it all the way to the majors, and he doesn't want his son hurt the same way-by letting baseball matter too much. As in Lupica's Travel Team (2004), the father-son dynamic is at the heart of this story, a tale of baseball, dreams and what really matters most. Lupica's signature style-a weaving of long, meandering sentences and staccato bursts of sentence fragments-yields a fast-paced, completely involving story with excellent game sequences, conflicts with a fellow star player and the tension of making it to the big game and what that means for his relationship with his father. Another gift for the author's many fans. (Fiction. 10+)