Painting the Black

From The Critics

"Deuker, adept at capturing the thrills during the game, proves talented at dramatizing Ryan's torment in the face of his friend's deeds; the depiction of a boy coming into his own is resonant and inspring."

VOYA - Susan Dunn

In grade school, Ryan Ward was a pretty good baseball player. As he describes it, "I batted over .500, led the league in RBIs, and my coach told me I had the quickest wrists he had ever seen. I was going to be Ken Griffey, Jr." But when a summertime accident-he fell out of a tree, broke both legs and an arm and badly damaged his ankle-stole most of his natural ability on the ball field, Ryan gave up baseball for good. But along with sports, Ryan also more or less gave up on life. Since the accident he has coasted through school, never committing himself to studying, never making any close friends nor fitting in with a crowd, and not even choosing a college or thinking about what he wants to do with his life after his fast-approaching graduation. The summer before his senior year Ryan gets a new neighbor, Josh Daniels, an all-star athlete, who also will be a senior in the fall. Since there are no other people their age in the neighborhood, Ryan and Josh end up hanging around together. And since Josh's favorite pastime is baseball, Ryan finds himself-for the first time in five years -picking up a glove and ball and playing catch. Working out with Josh, a pitcher, Ryan builds up his strength and flexibility more than he had believed was possible. Convinced by Josh to try out for the school varsity team, Ryan makes the roster as a back-up catcher and eventually moves into the starting position for every game Josh pitches. The team mows over opponent after opponent, and Josh becomes a school hero. But one scholarly girl does not see him that way. She ridicules him to his face and in the school newspaper. When Ryan witnesses Josh and another boy assault this student in retaliation, he agonizes over whether to turn the two in, knowing that Josh probably will be suspended, which could cost the team the championship. As Ryan is forced to take a stand about something for the first time in his life, he finds it no longer so easy to escape to the small, safe world he has created for himself. As always Deuker hits the nail on the head. This is an excellent sports story, with a lot more to it than just the game of baseball. Ryan is a likeable, believable hero; readers will hope he makes the right decision but still will be disappointed when Josh's suspension does cause the team to fall apart and sacrifice the championship. Young adult sports fans will snap this one up, and if they have not already read Deuker's On the Devil's Court (Avon, 1991) or Heart of a Champion(Avon, 1994), make sure they take these titles home, too. The one complaint I have with the book is the cover art. The figure in the background (Josh) is strangely out of proportion with the catcher in the foreground. It certainly is not up to the high standard of the book. VOYA Codes: 5Q 4P M J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written, Broad general YA appeal, Middle School-defined as grades 6 to 8, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

Children's Literature - Bruce Adelson

In his wonderful book, Carl Deuker spins a marvelous, finely textured yarn whose appeal may prove to be timeless. This story focuses on Ryan Ward, a high school senior suffering from the emotional effects of a broken ankle. Set back by this long ago injury, Ryan drifts into melancholy, uninterested in school and home life until Josh Daniels moves in across the street. Josh is everything Ryan is not, tall, handsome, athletic, and magnetic. A two-sport star in football and baseball, Josh is the prototypical big man on campus. Through Josh, Ryan vicariously experiences the thrills of high school athletic stardom. Josh also helps Ryan overcome his shyness by prompting him to push himself athletically, to the point that Ryan tries out for and makes the school's varsity baseball team. As the story unfolds, we learn how Ryan's newfound confidence helps him mature and guides him through the pitfalls of a friendship built on hero worship. Eventually, Ryan is forced to choose between Josh, the baseball team, a state championship and the truth when he discovers his friend's involvement in an incident that rocks Crown Hill High School.

School Library Journal

Gr 8 UpDuring the summer before his senior year, Ryan Ward is thrilled when a kid his age moves in across the street. He's even more thrilled when he learns that Josh Daniels is a star athlete. The two play catch for hours and Ryan secretly dreams of catching for the varsity team in the spring. He watches in awe as Josh proceeds to become the school's starting quarterback and leads the football team to a terrific season, but he is unsettled by the aggressive side of his friend's personality. When baseball season finally arrives, Ryan makes the team as a third-string catcher. He eventually becomes a starter because he's the only one who can handle Josh's hard slider. Just before the championship game, Ryan stumbles upon and stops an assault on a girl in the school. He realizes that one of the masked assailants is Josh, but telling the authorities proves to be an agonizing decision. The book ends somewhat ironically, yet realistically, with Josh signing a multimillion dollar professional baseball contract and receiving a tap on the wrist for his crime. Ryan, meanwhile, enrolls in the local junior college. Rather than producing a stereotyped high school jock, Deuker portrays Josh as a complex and multidimensional character. Ryan is a player who succeeds with his head, rather than through sheer talent. And while he learns about the subtleties of baseball, he also learns about the subtleties of life. A well-crafted sports novel that delivers without becoming didactic or boring.Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL

Kirkus Reviews

For Ryan Ward, 17, the baseball diamond leads to much more than just a winning season in this exciting and moving novel from Deuker (Heart of a Champion, 1993, etc.).

Until Josh Daniels and his family move in across the street during the summer, Ryan seems destined for mediocrity at Seattle's Crown Hill High. Eager for a friend, Ryan tags after the charismatic, athletically gifted Josh, a pitcher; while they play catch, Ryan realizes that he enjoys catching and thinks of trying out for the varsity team. But Ryan's plans are put on hold when autumn rolls around and Josh concentrates on the football team. Throughout the novel, his single-minded, nearly ruthless ambition is shown as the opposite of Ryan's nagging insecurities. The image of himself as Josh's toady drives Ryan to begin working out months before baseball season. Josh's careful maneuvering during practice shows Ryan at his best, and he makes the varsity cut; the team's unprecedented success is achieved largely through the symbiosis between the boys as pitcher and catcher. There the connection ends: Josh, master of high school politics, grows more arrogant while Ryan blossoms with newfound confidence. A championship season seems clinched until Josh, in a wolf mask, assaults a female classmate who has embarrassed him. Ryan interrupts the assault and recognizes Josh. Deuker, adept at capturing the thrills during the game, also proves talented at dramatizing Ryan's torment in the face of his friend's deeds; the depiction of a boy coming into his own is resonant and inspiring.