The Brooklyn Nine

"One family, nine gererations.

One city, nine innings of baseball."

I'm always on the lookout for sports books for boys. I have boys that have read virtually every sports book in the library and are always on the prowl for more. This really tends to keep me on my toes trying to find books for them to read.

That's the reason I picked up The Brookyn Nine: A Novel in Nine Innings by Alan Gratz. I was expecting the usual sports fare, but I actually got a lot more. Gratz carefully crafts his story to fit into nine "innings" highlighting nine generations of a family obsessed with baseball. Not all of the family members are male; Gratz includes a member of the All-American Girls Professional Ball League in one of the innings. All, however, are from Brooklyn.

Gratz brilliantly blends well-researched historical events with the fictionalized characters' obsession with America's favorite passtime. While a knowledge of history may be helpful, it really isn't necessary to understand the plot of the novel.

Just as every generation of a family has a few "shady" souls, Gratz's characters are not all perfect. They are well-realized, three dimensional, believable characters. His descriptions of time and place are impeccable. There's a movie-like feel to the stories.

I think this one is a grand slam homer!