On the Fourth of July, The Aurora County All-Stars baseball team plays its one and only game of the year. This year, a pageant to celebrate the town's birthday is scheduled for the same day and time. All of the team has been signed up by their mothers to be in the pageant. (How could their mothers do that to them?) The director of the pageant is a tiresome girl ('Just call me Finesse.') who broke the elbow last year of House Jackson, star pitcher and team captain. Because he couldn't pitch, House spent the year sitting with and reading to a dying old man, Mean-Man Boyd, who would have a big impact on House's life. House needs to think of some way to end the stand-off if he wants to play ball. Welcome to small-town America where everything and everyone are inter-related and everyone has a story to tell.
Awards nominated: Bluestem Award 2011
Date read: 6/2/2010
ISBN-10: 0152060685
ISBN-13: 9780152060688
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