Free Radical

by Claire Rudolf Murphy

Luke McHenry loves baseball. After repeated disappointments, he is determined to make the All Star team. Then his mother makes an explosive confession: 31 years ago she was involved in an anti–Vietnam War protest that went horribly wrong, and a student was killed. Mom has been in hiding ever since, but now she is ready to turn herself in. While her whole life in Alaska has been a masquerade, for Luke it is his only reality. Suddenly, everything—from the baseball season to his very identity—is in jeopardy.
As Luke witnesses his mother’s struggle to face up to the mistakes of her youth, he begins to understand his own hopes and fears—and who he really is. Free Radical is both a contemporary coming-of-age story and a moving depiction of a parent’s guilt and need for forgiveness.

Genres: Young Adult

192 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 2002

About the author

Claire Rudolf Murphy has loved history since she was a young girl; in fact she majored in it at Santa Clara University. Murphy is the author of fourteen books for children. A former middle and high school teacher, she is a member of the faculty of Hamline University's Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults. She lives in Washington.

Reviews

[Cindy Binkley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this in 2009. I like that it's set in Fairbanks, AK. It's a powerful read with themes of redemption and forgiveness.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a boy named Luke McHenry, and all he wants is to make his All-Star baseball team in his home town of Fairbanks, Alaska. But things change when his mom reveals her strange past and what she has to do to lose the guilt she's been keeping for 31 years.

Target Audience: 12-19 year old, mostly for boys
Purpose: Entertainment
Medium: Novel
Genre of setting: Sports, and coming of age
Genre of plot: Action
Genre of style: Idealism

There are multiple parts in this book I would change like when Luke is talking to Amy and they seem to be angry at each other. I would have made them happy to be together, and have there be not so much tension in the air. However everything that happened in the book happened for a reason. it was a good book, and everything had a purpose but, I didn't agree with some of the things that happened in the book.

[Brian Schneiderman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a boy named Luke McHenry, and all he wants is to make his All-Star baseball team in his home town of Fairbanks, Alaska. But things change when his mom reveals her strange past and what she has to do to lose the guilt she's been keeping for 31 years. I really liked this book because it kept me intrigued the whole time during the story. I have a question for the author about this book. Why would they pick Alaska as their hiding place. I connect with Luke because I play baseball as well and have always wanted to be a professional baseball player. All and all I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to people who enjoy thriller books and sports. This book made me never want to stop reading.

[Kristen R. 8 Rdg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luke McHenery has a lot going on in his life. Number 1, he is really close to making the all-star team. Number 2, he was getting closer with a pretty girl named Amy. And another thing, his mom has just told him a huge secret... one that she has been keeping for 31 years. This secret has the potential to change Luke's life. Read the book to see how everything works out!