Teen Fiction

Hard Ball

Name: Hard Ball
Author: Will Weaver
ISBN: 9780060271220

by Will Weaver

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Overview

Now they faced each other, King holding his shoulder, Billy holding his hand across his burning chest, then lurched at each other like crazed animals. They flailed, grunted, shouted, kicked, swore. Billy and King rolled in the choking, coarse dust

The bad blood between Billy Baggs and King Kenwood runs deep. Deeper than the feelings they both have for Suzy Langen, the best-looking girl in the ninth grade. Deeper than both of them wanting to catch the eye of their baseball coach, or that of a few college scouts. The bad blood has been there for so long no one is sure when it began.

After the horrible family tragedy on the farm, this year Billy's hoping he's finally getting his life back on track.And he is — until one summer night when his long-standing rivalry with King turns violent, shocking both boys' parents and the small-town community with its brutality.

Using baseball as his bargaining chip, Coach Anderson devises an extrodinary plan to keep the peace between Billy and King. Resentful at first, then startled, both boys come to realize that the problems between them begin much closer to home — with their own fathers.

Filed with passion for baseball, family and life, Hard Ball explores the mysterious complexities that begin between fathers and sonsAfter a family tragedy on the farm, Billy Baggs's life is finally back on track. He's starting high school. He's caught the eye of the baseball coach and even a few college scouts. He has prospects for a girlfriend—Suzy Langen, the catch of the ninth grade. But blocking Billy's path is King Kenwood, town rich kid and ace pitcher. As the two boys'rivalry turns violent, it is left to Coach Anderson to find a solution. In the process, both Billy and King come to find their real problems might lie closer to home—with their own fathers.

Author Biography: Will Weaver teaches English and creative writing at Bemidji State University. He has written two books for adults, Red Earth, White Earth and Gravestone Made of Wheat, and is the winner of both the McKnight and the Bush Foundations' prizes for fiction. His first two books for young adults, Striking Out, a 1994 Best Book for Young Adults {ALA}, and Farm Team, a 1996 Best Book for Young Adults {ALA} and winner of the 1996 IRA Distinguished Book Award for Young Adults, are about Billy Baggs, as well as Hard Ball.

Will Weaver lives in Bemidji, Minnesota with his wife and two children.

Fourteen-year-old Billy Baggs has to figure out how to get along with the arch-rival in his love life and on the baseball diamond, and both boys must learn how to deal with the unfair expectations of their fathers.

About the Author, Will Weaver

Will Weaver is an award-winning fiction writer. His latest novel is The Survivors, a sequel to his popular young adult novel Memory Boy. His other books include Full Service, Defect, Saturday Night Dirt, Super Stock Rookie, Checkered Flag Cheater, Claws, and the Billy Baggs books Striking Out, Farm Team, and Hard Ball, all of which are ALA Best Books for Young Adults. Formerly an English professor at Bemidji State University, he lives in northern Minnesota, a region he writes from and loves. He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hunting, fishing, canoeing, and hiking with his family and friends.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In this third novel (after "Striking Out" and "Farm Team") starring Billy Baggs, the farmboy with a mean fast pitch, sparks start flying on and off the diamond when the hero locks horns with archenemy and rival ballplayer Archer "King" Kenwood. Billy has the edge during heated games against the Town Team, but victories are less certain in the romance field, with pretty Suzy Langen making plays for both boys' attention. When squabbles over Suzy turn physical, Coach Anderson puts a lid on the action by forcing Billy and King to trade lifestyles for a while. For half a week, King bunks with Billy on the Baggses farm; then it is Billy's turn to try out town life at the Kenwoods' posh house. Although the boys are not destined to become bosom buddies, they do share one serious problem: hard-nosed, close-minded fathers who try to run their lives. The stereotyped casting of rednecked farmers and uppity townsfolk compromises the book's otherwise wide appeal. Similarly, the narrative is marred by strained rural references, especially with regard to the female characters: "Compared to Suzy Langen, as tall and graceful as a show cat, the Erickson girls were scrappy, barn cats.... His eyes were welded to Gina like it was a hot Fourth of July and she was a double-scoop ice-cream cone." Ultimately, the author's portrayal of town/country rivalry is as broadly and unconvincingly sketched as legends surrounding Billy's "rocket-launcher" of an arm.

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

Billy Bagg and his family are again featured in this new story. Billy and his archrival King are vying for the same girl and it leads to a fight. But there is more to this story, as readers learn more about the two families, the difficult father-son relationships, and a somewhat artificial solution to the relationships between the boys and in turn with their respective fathers. The rich boy's mother is an alcoholic, the father is driven to make his son a sports star. In contrast, the farm boy's father is taciturn and quick-tempered and his mother is almost too good to be true. Its a quick read and it will appeal to boys and girls, but the plot devices and formula characters do not leave a lasting impression.

Children's Literature - Susie Wilde

Billy Baggs takes on his arch-rival, King Kenwood, and tackles inner issues that pose an even greater threat to both boys. This is the third book in the series about the baseball star Billy Baggs. It is another powerful story.

School Library Journal

"Hard Ball" can stand on its own, although it's bound to be most popular with readers of "Farm Team" (1995) and "Striking Out" (1993, both HarperCollins). It's August as Billy Baggs steams into the final game of the 1971 summer season. His farm teammates, the skinny-dipping Erickson girls, are as sassy and saucy as ever. Suzy Langen, who has been coming to the games all summer, is too perfectly beautiful for words, but willing to take some risks. And King Kenwood, the privileged star pitcher for the town team, is competitive, hostile, and determined to keep his eye on her. Billy, yanked from the game in the third inning, accompanies Suzy to the loft of the barn, where they tentatively make out. King surprises them and he and Billy explode into a fight. An old farmer dismissively comments, "Just a couple of young bucks locking horns over a doe." Their school's baseball coach, who can see his spring season going down the tubes, takes the fight a bit more seriously. He negotiates a deal with the respective parents to have each boy stay half the week at the other's house. Predictably, they begin to see and understand one another, but the process is largely believable and satisfying. The action moves quickly and the characters are worth knowing. Engaging language is occasionally lyrical. There are loose ends enough to guarantee a sequel, which, like spring baseball, is something to look forward to. Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Jr. High School, Iowa City, IA