Once again, I've run into the problem of a book running too long. It's 512 pages, but could have easily been wrapped up in about 350. I don't know what is so attractive about dragging a story out to the point of apathy. I found out after finishing the book that it took the author ten years to write. Yikes! The basic premise of the story is that a talented kid from South Dakota gets recruited to a college baseball team and is the new wonder kid of the team. Some things happen that shave a little bit of wonder off the kid and so the story proceeds. It is also very much about friendships and discovering who you are and who you are not. There is a lot of collegiate angst in this book. The uncertainty of the future is thick and appropriate for the age group of the characters.
I actually really enjoyed reading the book. I found myself reading without a care in the world. Oblivious to what was going on around me. The story was quite good and well written, in my opinion. I've seen some reviews that say the author writes like he just attended a writer's workshop, but it works so why chastise him for that? There were sentences in this book that I read and thought, "That is a perfect sentence." My only complaint is the length because I did reach a point where I didn't really care what happened anymore. Other than that, I thought it was a solid coming-of-age story.
