Review: The Catch

Title: The Catch
Author: Rick Jasper
My Age Recommendation: 9+
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Read on: Advanced e-copy on Kobo
Publication Date: March 1st, 2012
Pages: 120
Rating: 1.5/5
Reviewer: Ben

Amazon Synopsis
When Danny makes "the catch," everyone seems interested in him. Girls text him, kids ask for autographs, and his highlight play even makes it on SportsCenter's Top Plays. A sports-gear executive tempts Danny with a big-money offer, and he decides to take advantage of his newfound fame. Danny agrees to wear their gear when he plays. But as his bank account gets bigger, so does his ego. Will Danny be able to keep his head in the game?

Ben's Review
I decided to read this short book because it reminded me of a series I read and loved when I was younger about British boys going to America and ending up being really good at U.S. sports like baseball and American football. Indeed, most boys have read some kind of junior sports book and that’s why I was excited (even now as an advancing adult) to see what kids get to read these days.

The answer? Not a lot. Though this baseball story is pitched at nine/ten-year-olds, it’s incredibly shallow and barely tells a proper story. Jasper doesn’t focus on one game, or even a series of games as far as I could make out. Instead he charts the egotism of a young player before he realises what sportsmanship really means.

There aren’t any real characters, the narrative is dull and disjointed. All in all, a massive disappointment. Die hard baseball fans might get something out of the play-by-play descriptions, but there’s not a lot else to recommend it. It’s part of a series called Travel Team, but you’d do best to ignore it and check out Michael Hardcastle’s books on Amazon. All about football, they only cost 1p each and they’re fab. This? Not so much.