RIVALS

Josh, the amazingly gifted baseball player introduced in Baseball Great (2009), finds new intrigue. This time, a retired Major League player turned actor is flamboyantly supporting his son, the pitcher on a rival team. Right from the beginning, Green makes plain the mishaps and pain that are involved in serious dedication to a sport. Cheating, once again, is the focus, with Josh’s daring, Benji’s humorous brash talk and Jaden’s journalistic dedication all combining to uncover the wrongdoing. Although this is not an especially difficult plot to understand, there is yet a complexity of interconnecting factors that draws the reader in, along with some Hollywood-type glitz and folderol. Some little-known aspects of the sport are shown, but the focus is less on the actual games than on the off-the-field activities and influences. Not much of the plot is realistic, and peripheral characters are stereotypes. Dedicated fans who delight in the details will appreciate the sleuthing, but many will long for more play-by-play time. (Mystery. 11-15)