Plunked

by Michael Northrop

When a young slugger gets hit by a pitch, he needs more than practice to get back his game.

Sixth grader Jack Mogens has it all figured He's got his batting routine down, and his outfielding earns him a starting spot alongside his best friend Andy on their Little League team, the Tall Pines Braves. He even manages to have a not-totally-embarrassing conversation with Katie, the team's killer shortstop. But in the first game of the season, a powerful stray pitch brings everything Jack's worked so hard for crashing down around his ears. How can he explain to his parents and friends why he WON'T be playing? Readers will root for Jack as he finds the courage to step back up to the plate.

Genres: Sports, Realistic Fiction, Baseball, Fiction, Childrens, Juvenile, Middle Grade

247 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

Michael Northrop is the New York Times bestselling author of 13 books for kids and teens, including the middle-grade adventure series TombQuest and the hit graphic novel Dear Justice League. His first young adult novel, Gentlemen, earned him a Publishers Weekly Flying Start citation, and his second, Trapped, was an Indie Next List selection. His first middle-grade novel, Plunked, was named one of the best children's books of the year by the New York Public Library and was selected for NPR's Backseat Book Club. He is originally from Salisbury, Connecticut, a small town in the foothills of the Berkshire mountains, where he mastered the arts of BB gun shooting, tree climbing, and field goal kicking with only moderate injuries. After graduating from NYU, he worked at Sports Illustrated Kids magazine for 12 years, the last five of those as baseball editor.

Reviews

[Eliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book gleefully focused on baseball, with a charming cast of young main characters whose passion for their sport gives a whole lot of momentum to the narrative. Also, some of the most authentic boy-speak I've seen in literature recently. Highly recommended!

[Brendan Shader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading the book, Plunked, by Michael Northrop. To understand my review, you need to know a little about the book. In this book, there's a kid named Jack Mogens who is twelve years old in 6th grade and is playing little league baseball. Jack thinks since he is in 6th grade, he has a starting spot n his little league team but it isn't guaranteed. If Jack can also not embarrass himself around the killer shortstop, Katie, then he thinks his life will be perfect. But when Jack is thrown a curve ball, he discovers that it's going to take a lot more than his love for the game of baseball to get back his game.

I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars. Throughout this whole book, it left me wondering what was going to happen next and it made me just want to keep reading it to see what would happen. throughout the whole book, the author went into deep detail about what was going on at certain times, For example, "I watch Manny camp out under the lazy fly ball,squaring himself to throw. It looks so harmless in the air like that, but I don't want to see it at the plate. Manny makes the catch, and Time pounds his fist into his glove, waiting to get the throw. It's on-line, and he catches it cleanly,spins, and throws a one-hopper over the mound and into the plastic trash can." This is only a short potion of the book but based off of this text, you can tell hoe descriptive the author is with whatever he is trying to describe or say. from this section of the book, the reader can tell what Manny was doing before he caught the ball and how he prepared himself to throw it. the reader can also tell what Tim does to get ready and what the trajectory of the ball is when it is thrown.

The reason I gave this book a 5 out of 5 stars is because it is about my favorite sport which is baseball. If you are someone who is a baseball lover like myself or love some suspense in your books, I highly recommend this book for you.

[Richie Partington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richie's Picks: PLUNKED by Michael Northrop, Scholastic Press, March 2012, 256p., ISBN: 978-0-545-29714-1

"But that was just a dream
Try, cry, why, try
That was just a dream
Just a dream, just a dream"
-- REM, "Losing My Religion"

"There's something I would like to say, like, officially: Ooooooooooowwwww!
"I'm lying there at home plate, looking up at all the people standing over me in a circle. Their catcher has his mask pushed up on top of his head. The ump's mask is totally off, and he has this weird look on his face, like he's about to start laughing or crying. Then there's Coach and someone I don't know. And they're all still talking. I know it's about me, but I'm not catching most of it.
"I'm looking up at the sky, and it feels like the whole world is vibrating. I have that feeling you get after you drop something, like you need to bend down and pick it up. Except I'm already down, and the thing I want to pick up might be my head."

As a young person, I was never much for involvement in organized sports. Sure, I loved goofing around shooting basketballs, and participating in games on our street that involved a harmless pink ball. I even survived (barely) a season of freshman wrestling in high school so I'd have it on my transcript. But hard baseballs were...well...really hard, and were something I always avoided. One of those things would really hurt...

Sixth grader Jack Mogens has a bedroom filled with baseball memorabilia -- cards and bobble heads and posters and balls. He has parents who have always been enthusiastic in their encouragement and support of his baseball "career" since back when he played T-Ball as a little kid. Now he's in the Little League Majors and is fighting for the starting left field spot on the team. His team, with all of his long-time friends.

But, having beaten out a teammate for the starting spot, he is accidentally hit in the head by a poorly thrown pitch on Opening Day, during his first at-bat of the season. PLUNKED by Michael Northrop is the story of Jack's dealing with the resulting doubts and bad dreams as he finds himself suddenly afraid of pitches. This is a tale of a boy going through a serious reconsideration of his desire for what has always been his passion.

"'Two thousand six hundred and thirty-two,' I say.
"'Yeah,' says Dad. 'With three thousand one hundred and eighty-four hits and four hundred and thirty-one homers.'
"Most fans don't know those stats, except maybe Orioles fans.
"'Unbelievable,' I say.
"'Believe it,' says Dad. 'I saw a few of them.
"But that's not what I mean. I mean, all those games...
"How many times was he hurt or injured? How many times did he get hit by a pitch, not just off the thigh or butt, but somewhere it hurt? And he never missed a beat.
"Right then, I know two things. One: If Cal Ripken got hit in the head by a pitch, he would pick himself up and head down to first base. There wouldn't be a cloud of people hovering over him and tears in his eyes and a pinch-runner who got thrown out at home. And he definitely wouldn't bail out on inside pitches three days later. Just the thought of it is ridiculous. I mean, please: Inside pitches would bail out on him!
"And so that's the other thing I know. Two: I'm not like Cal Ripken. I'm not a baseball player like him. Now I'm not smiling at all."

There is a lot to like in this sports story for middle grade readers that, in equal parts, takes place on and off of the field. There is Jack's innocent obsession with his team's cracker jack shortstop, pony-tailed Katie Bowe. His coach and his parents are really positive, good-hearted adults. And he has some great true-to-life friends. I like that no one is calling him a pussy. Everyone knows what I knew at that age: a hardball is hard and it makes perfect sense to be nervous -- especially if you have been plunked in the head by one.

A really thoughtful sports tale.

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
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[Barb Middleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I toss the softball straight up, eye its descent like a hawk, before swinging the aluminum bat hard while pivoting my hips; a satisfying thud shatters the silence as the ball sails into the net. I repeat the cathartic motion again and again: toss, smash, toss, smash, toss smash. I love sports... especially baseball. I got a chance to play slow pitch last Tuesday and had a blast just tossing the ball up and clobbering it into the pitching net. A peacefulness settles on me like dust on the field when I hit or play catch. Reading Plunked is like reliving the joy of playing ball all over again from the author's description of the pitching machine making "fa-chunk" noises to the excitement of coming from behind in a close game. If you don't love baseball, you won't love this book, so don't bother picking it up if you are expecting more. The story is somewhat short on plot, and the interesting parts take place on the field.

Jack Mogens is a sixth grader who plays baseball with his friends and has a crush on a girl on their team. He's trying to win a starting spot on the team against another player and his best friend, Andy, plays for the team as well. Malfoy used to be his friend but he's become a nasty piece of work that hates Jack.  When Jack gets hit by a pitch he has serious issues with being afraid of the ball and wonders if he'll ever play again. He starts to lie to others rather than deal with the problem and while he's trying to hide the fact, everyone seems to know what is going on. Or they are giving him time to deal with it.

This light-hearted novel has a great voice in Jack who sounds like a doofy 6th-grader as he tries to talk cool with his friends calling each other "dingus" and other dumb names. Readers will laugh at the "jerk-butts" and middle school humor. The friendship between Andy and Jack is quite real and I liked how Andy tells him to "deal with it" and move on but doesn't overtalk the problem. Malfoy is one-dimensional. I thought more would happen with him in the story or the two would confront each other but that never materializes.

I would have preferred more tension and depth, but some will like the simplistic plot. I thought the chapters were too short with not enough tension or depth added. When Jack is sitting with his family I got bored and didn't see how it advanced the plot. Maybe if there had been some foreshadowing to crank up the tension? I wanted more from the story. More about Jack's fear. More about working as a team. More about the friendships. Sport stories tend to focus on characters overcoming obstacles, the emphasis of team over individual glory, good sportsmanship, and so on. While this touched on that it didn't go as deep as I wanted. That said, I am an adult looking at a story for children and the topics I'm interested in are going to be different than a child's; I don't think students will care that the story isn't complex but will enjoy it for what it is.

At first I thought Jack's injury wasn't really serious enough, but then I thought about how fast and hard pitchers can throw in Little League and it is entirely possible for Jack to get that scared. My husband was 10 years old and had to lie immobile, in a hospital bed for a week, after a pitcher hit him in the eye. He almost lost his eye. I took a  fall off the high bars in gymnastics as an 11 year old that terrified me. I only knocked the wind out of my lungs but I'll never forget trying to suck in air and not being able to. I've knocked the wind out of my lungs many times since then, but it has never been as bad or as frightening as that high bar experience, and like Jack, I had nightmares about it. Sports force athletes to face fears in many ways, whether from accidents or learning new skills, and sometimes, those fears can be irrational. But they are very real and can be very crippling. This book explores that theme in a way that is satisfying and different, and for that reason, I highly recommend it.

Reading Level 4.5

[Keenan Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about a child named Jack Mogens who is a baseball player and is in the sixth grade at Tall Pines Elementary. Jack is competing with another good baseball player to get on the team. Jack wants to make the starting lineup on the team since this is his last year in Little League. The team shortstop is Katie, a girl, who Jack likes and he is not able to have a conversation with her without getting embarrassed in the past. All is going well for Jack until he is hit by a wild pitch. After getting hit by the ball he is embarrassed and afraid to play baseball. He lies to his parents and his coach, making excuses why he doesn't want to play. He is too sacred to tell the truth about playing baseball so he thinks quitting is the best way out.

I recommend this book to boys and girls who play sports. Sometimes we have accidents that make us afraid to play sports. But if we are honest with your parents and coach they can help you work through the problem. The book tells you that everyone can be afraid, but when you can talk to your friends they can help you. I learned that it takes courage not to lie and it is important to have a best friend who can help you through things.

[Mitch Mcdunnah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a boy named Jack that has a passion the game of baseball. Jack never liked inside pitches when he was hitting. He always looked forward to practice until one day he got hit. This changed the way he looked at the game. This book is a very entertaining book and has a bunch of suspense in between chapters. You don't have to love baseball to read this book. Will Jack quit in the middle of the season or will he stay with the team until the end of the year. You will have to read Plunked to find out.

[Greatgus11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book, it is about a boy named Jack Mogens. This boy loves the game of baseball, until he gets plunked in the head. Will this affect his love for the game? I can read this book all day, it is 2 of my favorite things baseball and comedy.

[Logan Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I don't know if you've ever watched the Little League World Series, but you know how most of the teams have one kid who's just, like, a monster?” Jack Mogens is a sixth grader at Tall Pines Elementary School. It's late March as he begins his sixth season playing Little League baseball for the Tall Pines Braves. He is hoping not to have an embarrassing conversation with his crush, Katie Bowe, the Braves killer shortstop. Jack is hoping to impress the coaches so he can start for his Little League team. He does good and makes the team, but in the first game, Jack gets "plunked" on the side of his head while batting. The hit shakes his confidence to the point where he's now afraid of inside pitches. Jack's challenge is the "revenge pitch" he takes during the team's following practice. His nemesis, Kurt "Malfoy" Beacham, heard him talking "smack" about him in school and throws a pitch, hitting him in the ribs. Nightmares haunt Jack, where a faceless pitcher is throwing balls at him, while glued to the batter's box. His anxiety builds, forcing him to fake an injury to avoid playing in next weekend's game."Family emergency" is Jack's excuse to why he missed Saturday's game. His teammates and buddies aren't buying it in the cafeteria Monday morning. Jack finds his deceptions becoming harder to conceal. We all grow fears based on the events in our lives. Jack is no different than any other, which is why it is easy to relate to what Jack is going through in the novel. I really enjoyed reading this book, as Northrop was able to develop a character, leading the reader on a journey to discover both sides of the game.
Northrop was especially good at starting with a character and changing the character emotionally with one pitch, literally. Jack was a confident hitter, having fun playing his favorite game in ease. He was batting fifth on his team, and even started in left field. His confidence grew as the season started, and the coaches helped to perfect his skills. However, not every story for an athlete always has a happy ending. Being “plunked” by the ball to the head washed away all the confidence that flowed throughout Jack. He gains an immense fear for the ball, as his injuries scare him to step foot back on the plate. The changes he goes through to become almost an opposite person really stood out to the reader, not to mention the changes in him as a growing boy.
Although the book only spans across a season of baseball, the reader can see the manlihood growing in Jack. He begins to like a girl, wanting to date her. She’s the shortstop on the team, and besides Jack catching fly balls in the outfield, he is also catching an eye from Katie. His friends give him helpful pointers on how to get a girl, such as puffing his chest and talking in a deeper tone. Andy, Jack’s best friend, even tells him to ask her if she wants to feel his “guns” but Jack doesn’t take it that far. Their relationship begins to grow, both enjoying baseball, the dandelions that sprout on the field, and even going to McDonald’s after their games. The ability to relate to these characters also contributes to how Northrop organizes his story.
The author really made this story something that anyone can relate to. You don’t have to just be playing baseball. Any sport, club, school, or job are all elements shown in the book, and the characters demonstrate how they handle the problems they face. It shows us that their will always be someone you don’t like that you have to get along with, them being a teammate or co-worker, like Malfoy. You’ll also have a person that will catch you when you fall, and help you back up, like Andy. This novel even demonstrates how quickly a person can change, just like your life could.
Overall, this book was a pleasure reading. Because I play baseball too, the book intrigued me. But after finishing it, I realized it could be for anyone. It is a short-read with a whole lot of meaning. Sometimes, reading a chapter over again helped me to understand the significance and what the author was trying to show. This book would appeal to anyone who enjoys sports, realistic-fiction, or just wanting to read a good story. I would give this book a four out of five stars. It was able to accomplish so much within a single protagonist, reflecting on me as a reader.

[Wyatt Hofbauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story “Plunked by Michael Northtrop" is about a boy named Jack Mogens who loves playing baseball. He is excited for his little league games and he plays confidently during each one. Then during a game he gets struck in the head by a pitch which causes him to become hesitant and scared. Towards the middle he is still scared and tries to avoid having to bat again because he doesn't want it to happen again. His friends/teammates try to encourage him but fail because of how stuck the moment is in his mind. By the end he faces his fear and proves to himself and everyone that he can do it.
I can really connect to Jack’s story because I have had to do something that made me feel nervous to try again. I’ve felt that kind of conflict before when you want to do something you love but you don't have the confidence to do it. Jack’s struggle reminds of how people deal with the struggles that happen due to injuries or something happening that affects you mentally. It also connects to the real world by showing mental health or even confidence can affect someone's performance. Just like Jack, people learn to face their fears every single day.
I really liked how realistic Jack’s character felt. The author did a great job showing his thoughts.emotions. I also liked that the story had a deeper meaning than just a game of baseball or a season. However, towards the middle of the book it was a little repetitive. I think it would’ve been better if the author showed Jack with his friends more to show how they started the book as friends to how they ended the book as friends. Overall, I liked the book’s message about courage and facing your fears and how you can overcome your fears.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Mogens is a Little League baseball player, an outfielder and a good hitter. He goes through the spring tryouts and is named the starting left fielder. Since everyone plays in Little League, this means that he will get the majority of the playing time. He has several close friends on the team, and he has a special eye for Katie, the team’s talented shortstop.
There is an incident where Jack experiences the innate fear of baseball players, getting hit in the head by a pitch. While there is no serious injury, he becomes a little fearful of inside pitches. Unfortunately, before he can recover psychologically from the hit, another pitch hits him in the ribs. Painful and scary, but with no serious injury.
The remainder of the story describes how Jack battles his personal demons in trying to get himself to stand in at the plate and not flinch from the inside pitches. Even though he lies about things, he never really fools his friends, family or coaches. They stand by him as he works through and overcomes his fear.
This is a good adolescent sports book, for it is not about the game so much as it is about dealing with the adversity of a bad incident. All batters get hit at some point, some in the head. To get back up and stand in tight is something many people have to do. Jack does it eventually and produces a valuable lesson.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with a 4th grade reading group at work. We did not get to finish it in class before the teacher was ready to move on, so I finished it on my own - I was invested and wanted to see how the story played out.
I have never been majorly into baseball - I've gone to a couple of games, and tossed a ball with my kids, but I've never been super excited about it. This book did an excellent job of piquing my interest, and for the first time, I could see how fans feel about baseball. The terminology, the emotions, the team...I'm starting to get it! For that, I appreciated this book.
I thought the main character in this book acted and thought more like a young adult than a 6th grade boy, but maybe he's just different than the 6th grade boys that I know. Maybe it helps 6th grade boys see things differently than they normally would. The 4th graders that I was reading with, had a hard time understanding many of the references (like the jokes about his parents going to an 80's concert) or some of the baseball terminology and slang, which luckily I knew enough about to explain to them. Generally I think I would recommend it for older kids, even though it was an option for the 4th graders to choose.

[Stephen Critelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sixth grader named Jack Mogens has a problem about whether he is going to get the position in left field, but instead he gets worried about the inside pitch because he gets hit with one on the first practice. After he gits hit again at another practice by his teammate. Fear starts to seat in and he keeps backing gout of pitches, but he doesn't want to be embarrassed and remembered as the kid that backs out of pitches. After some time passes Jack gets a concussion and starts to consider is life long dream. Over all I think that it is a good book and it do recommend it.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my second time reading this - I read it years ago with my older son, and now it is my younger son’s turn. I remember liking more before - this time it didn’t as much. Maybe all the “dinguses”? Maybe just because I thought it took a while to get to the “minor concussion”, and then seemed to race to the ‘now he is back to competition’? Not sure, but it didn’t wow me this time around.

However - both my kids really liked it when they were 4/5th grade - and since that is probably the target audience more than me :)

[Allie Bayer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started off fine. Typical middle grade male protagonist sports story. But it never felt like it *got* anywhere, and there was really only resolution for one conflict. There were subplots about Katie and Malfoy that just…ended. Felt like missed opportunity for me. The second half was heavier on the practice, game, and at bat play-by-plays than anything else so (even for me) it got boring. Another JP will surely enjoy reading though!

[WKPL Children's/YA Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Lori read and really enjoyed this story. Perfect story for middle school boys, but also girls (especially if they play softball). Good friends, a strong family relationship, good old competition makes this a fun and easy read.

[Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was about sports and had a lot of action that kept me wanting to read on. in the book a young boy liked to play basketball during one of his game he took a pitch to the head. after he got hit in the head he had to learn how to do some things again because he got a concussion from the hit to the head

i liked this book because it had a lot of action that kept me wanting to keep reading on. it was really easy to read and under stand the information that was given in the book.

[Drew B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great book for anybody that loves the game of baseball. The idea of this story is all true and has also happened to me.

[Brenden P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a good book if you like baseball

[Mynda Camphouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of BB lingo. Sometimes hard to follow. Overall good story.

[Alec Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how this book is mostly focused on baseball because baseball is my favorite sport, but I feel like it is for a younger person than me.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked everything about this book.

[Gordon Gracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked the book it was fun to ready.

[Alistair · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book I think it is a good sports book for people who play baseball

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a kid's book but it is very good. I enjoyed it.

[Alana/MiaTheReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giving this five stars based on how much my 11-year-old, baseball-crazed son loved it.

[Megan Bourque · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read aloud with Ryan. We both really enjoyed it. Highly recommend for all the baseball mamas.

[Brody Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its about a little leauger who's trying to start in the outfield, he went to a teamates house and broke a vase, but his friends parents didn't tell on him so he's not in trouble.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a chapter book about baseball makes its way to your library reserve shelf it’s pretty awesome. When the book has a cool cover, it’s even better. When your seven year old son is begging to read it before you’ve walked through the library door, well, its pretty near nirvana.

Such was the case with me. It took me a few pages to get comfortable with the writing of the book (thankfully it wasn’t the editing this time). It’s written in the first person singular and, really, who wants to be inside the head of a sixth grade boy? The stream of consciousness and continued use of the edifying phrases “like” and “seriously” were almost enough to convince me to put the book down. Alas, my boy is dying for a good, fun, book to read and while Jack is somewhat annoying, he’s not a bad kid. Geesh, I have neighbors like that.

But Jack proves to be a liar, too. He and his friend lie to his friend’s mother. And when that results in the smashing of Waterford Crystal (and the spilling of Irish Whiskey) he lies about who did it. While the boys are yelled at (and his friend loses the privilege of his X-Box) no real consequence ensues for Jack. And when Jack decides he is too afraid to play baseball but too embarrassed to admit it, he lies about hurting his wrist to get out of playing the game. His parents are aware of the truth, his coach suspects the truth, but no adult addresses the fear, or helps him to deal with it in a more suitable manner. Rather, Jack wrestles with his fear through the use of video games (killing soldiers); “pigging out” at McDonald’s, and isolating himself from his friends.

Now, I certainly understand the fact that men and women approach and resolve issues differently (my daughter and I would have talked endlessly about it), but what good is the “coming of age” part of the book if the protagonist doesn’t mature in the process? Jack needs a father who will show him there are better ways to deal with being hit by a baseball than pretending to hurt your wrist. Fine. Sit out a game – but be a man about it and sit out the game because you go plunked with a baseball, not because you lied about your wrist. I’m not convinced that Jack won’t lie about the next uncomfortable situation he finds himself in. Or that his parents would object to the falsehood.

And you know what else I’m not convinced about? That Katie is on his team. A girl shortstop on a boys Little League Team?

**For the sake of this review, I’m going to completely ignore the bathroom humor. In the wars that rage between the pages of books, when it comes to bathroom humor battles I find myself firmly planted in the “grudgingly-tolerate-it-in-small-doses” camp. The book makes use of the deep affinity young boys have for such humor but, in my opinion, didn’t make it a point of going overboard

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the start of Little League season, sixth grader Jack Mogens is eager for the chance to be a starter on his team, the Tall Pines Braves. When he gets hit in the head with a pitch during the first game of the year, however, he becomes spooked. Suddenly, he is terrified of inside pitches and convinced he'll never be able to play baseball again. Afraid to admit his fears, Jack begins to orchestrate elaborate escape plans to get out of attending games.

For elementary school boys who live and breathe baseball, this book will certainly have great appeal. Unlike other sports books which often have side plots, this book is all baseball from beginning to end. (Even the girl Jack likes is on the team!) The characters discuss both little league and major league baseball, and there is much talk of stats, historic players, baseball cards, and improving one's own game. The boys also talk like sixth graders, calling each other "loser" as a term of endearment and making jokes at each other's expense. There is also one player on the team whom none of the kids like because he is a bully, and they call him Malfoy, after Harry Potter's wizarding nemesis. These details make it easy for kids to relate to the book, as it feels very contemporary and speaks to them in the language of their own world - even if the Harry Potter reference feels out of place.

While kids are likely to be satisfied with the baseball-heavy plot of the story, parents will also be pleased to note that the author uses Jack's baseball injury as a vehicle for telling a story about building character in the face of adversity. Though Jack initially wants to lie his way out of having to face inside pitches ever again, he soon realizes this is not the way to be true to his team, or to be fair to himself. Because the story has a moral that can be extrapolated to life beyond the baseball field, this book is a great read-alike for Fred Bowen's many sports books, and it would be an especially good choice for kids who are beginning to feel that Bowen's books are too easy for them. Plunked seems like it would be a good bridge between shorter sports novels and YA sports stories by authors like Mike Lupica, Tim Green, Robert Lipsyte, and Chris Crutcher.

[Courtney Rodkey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Plunked
Michael Northrop

I read the book Plunked, by Michael Northrop. I am definitely not a fan of sports books, especially not baseball. If I am being honest, this book was not terrible. I didn’t find it very interesting but I got through it. Plunked is about a boy named Jack Mogens who is in the 6th grade, and plays little leagues baseball. His best friend, Andy and him have played together since t-ball. Jack’s goal- and his other 6th grade team mates- is to be a starter, since this is their last year in little leagues, and since they are the oldest on the team. Mogens and his parents love baseball and have a passion for the sport.
Jack plays outfield, and his starting position should be pretty secure. His only competition is one other player. The first game comes around and Jack and his best buddy Andy are starters. They had impressed their coach at practices and now their dream was coming true. When it’s their team’s turn to hit, Jack is up to bat against the other team’s giant pitcher. Jack is taking his 4 mini warm up swings, and then the pitcher throws the ball. The pitch is inside and Jack can see it coming in, but he can’t move. The pitch hits him in the head, and there’s nothing he can do about it. Mogens is on the ground and suddenly everyone is swarming him. Next thing he knows, he’s in the E.R. with his parents getting checked out by the doctor. Luckily he is just bruised and can go back to practice as soon as he wants.
The external injury was not near as bad as the internal one though. Jack is now afraid to play. He’s terrified that he’ll get hit again. He has nightmares, and tells lies, and tries to get out of practice. How can he overcome his fear of something he had loved so much just days ago? Will he be able to come forward to his parents and coaches? You should read this book is you enjoy reading about baseball. Plunked by Michael Northrop is 256 pages long of the story of a young boy who has to overcome his fear to continue doing something he loves.