A Ballplayer's Choice

In his first novel, A Ballplayer's Choice, Reed Lengel gives young adults special lessons in dealing with ethics and honesty in this well-written, fun story. Mike Mazar loves baseball; he eats, drinks and sleeps it, but an unusual summer challenges Mike and his best friend, Rafa Ortega. Coach Chew, head coach of Tampa's Little League All-Star Team, wants Mike and Rafa on his team. Desperately. Both are exceptional players, but Mike isn't old enough to meet the age qualifications. Chew amends Mike's birth certificate so that he qualifies for the team. Mike plays along, after all this is his dream. Mike begins to feel that all isn't right when he watches Chew cheat an elderly couple out of a few dollars for a couple of doughnuts. Then during the big game, Mike misses second base. What does he do? Go on to third and win the game or go back and risk losing the championship? Mike's decision is met with a meeting with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and a change to the batboy at a Yankees pennant game.Even non-baseball lovers of the sport will enjoy watching Mike's decision-making process and come to grips with events that will change his life. The story is fast-paced and the characters are exceptionally defined. The secondary characters, Rafa, his sister, Maria, and Mike's sister, Erin, lend an air of realism to Lengel tale. On the down side, Rafa's deceased father, who was considered the greatest player in Puerto Rico, is reminiscent of the late Roberto Clemente. Young readers probably won't make the connection, but parents, librarians and reviewers will probably see the resemblance. A Ballplayer's Choice is an excellent novel for both boys and girls who love the sport. While the lessons are obvious to adult readers, younger readers will identify with Mike and the problems he has to face, and long the way, will give them something to dream about.