Safe at Home

Comeback Kids #2

by Mike Lupica

#1 New York Times bestseller Mike Lupica continues his tribute to the underdog in his Comeback Kids series for young middle-grade readers

Nick Crandall feels like he doesn't belong anywhere. He never has felt like he belongs, really. He doesn't fit in this new family with his new foster parents, both of whom are professors. They don't know the first thing about sports, and he's not exactly a model student. It's only a matter of time until they realize he's not the right kid for them. And Nick certainly doesn't belong playing varsity baseball. He's only twelve years old! His teammates want a catcher their own age, not some kid. But Nick needs to prove something. He needs to prove that he belongs–to his parents, to his team, and to himself.

Praise for the Comeback Kids:
  
“Lupica portrays the action clearly and vividly, with a real sense of the excitement and unpredictable nature of the games. These are worthy additions to collections seeking to draw in middle-grade boys with an enthusiasm for athletics.” –School Library Journal
 
“These should score big with middle-graders looking for alternatives to Matt Christopher's titles.” –Publisher’s Weekly
 
“This title is a good choice for reluctant readers with a background in baseball.” –School Library Journal
 

Genres: Sports, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Baseball, Juvenile, Young Adult

192 pages, Hardcover

First published August 14, 2008

About the author

Michael Lupica is an author and American newspaper columnist, best known for his provocative commentary on sports in the New York Daily News and his appearances on ESPN.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nick Crandall is a talented seventh grade catcher on the JV baseball team. He is also a relatively recently adopted young man. . The story tells about his playing for his school teams during his seventh grade year. The variety of secondary kid characters was done nicely, and as for Nick, I particularly related to his response to pressure he puts upon himself. It was nice to see a boy with a girl best friend, as well as a thoughtful coach and loving parents. The story is gentle pleasure, a good book for intermediate grade or middle school baseball fan.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, definitely not as good as some of Lupica's other books. If you are a fan of Lupica, I would recommend this book to you.

[Juan]

Title : Safe At Home

Author : Mike Lupica

Nick Crandall is a seventh grade boy who faces many struggles throughout the whole book. Nick Crandall is an adopted child who is always expected to do well in school. His foster parent's are always on top of him on his grades because that's what mostly matters to them. Nick Crandall doesn't get to spend much time with his foster parents and they don't realize that Nick Crandall has a passion for baseball. His second biggest struggle is being a starting catcher for the Varsity Baseball team at the age of 12 and being made fun of. On the baseball field, is where Nick knows he belongs. It was tough for him to fit in in school and make friends.

Nick being the youngest kid on the Varsity team is teased and treated unfairly from the rest of the team. Nick is extremely talented and skilled playing as a catcher, but he fails to show any of those skills at practice. The whole team is concerned about how he would play in an actual game and Nick doesn't want to let them down. On the other hand, his foster parents are worried about his grades. His parents told Nick that if he doesn't get his grades up, they will not allow him to play anymore baseball. Nick knows he has to do something, so he asks his friend Gracie to tutor him and she assists him. In the end, Nick finally realizes that education is just as important as his passion for baseball. His parents allow him to play baseball and they learn the game of baseball as well. But most importantly, he becomes more committed and motivated to school and is always focused on his grades.

The book was very interesting to read about because Nick doesn't have many options and he doesn't know who to trust and who to talk to. He faces many challenges and no one understands what he is going through. I recommend this book for people who obviously like baseball and also for someone who has experienced these similar situations Nick goes through.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nick Crandall is a 12 year old who lives for baseball! However, his adoptive parents know nothing about it and are much more concerned with his grades. Just as his 7th-grade season is getting started he is moved up to catch on the Varsity team due to the 9th grade catcher being injured. Most people think this is a great thing, an honor – not Nick, and certainly not his new varsity teammates. Nick must work through his own nerves, his teammates harassment (at first, anyway), and getting his grades up. With the help of his friend Gracie, Nick learns to no longer feel sorry for himself and gain a broader perspective on his new life.

Many of the themes of Contemporary Realistic Fiction are present in this story – family relationships, self-discovery and growing up, interpersonal relationships, sports, and school. Because Mike Lupica books are very popular with boys 4th-7th grade, I can see this novel being used in an interest based literature circle. It addresses many issues that pre-teens & teens face: the desire to fit in, feeling like parents don’t understand their struggles, taking more interest in sports/hobbies and friends than in school work, and even bullying. In addition children who have been a part of the foster care system or are adopted can see themselves in this story, and relate to the emotions experienced by Nick.

[Daniel Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a seventh grader named Nick Crandall and how he wants to play for the baseball varsity team . Although he has to try to get to varsity he still has to try to fit in with his new parents because he is adopted and his parents are both professors and barely like sports.Nick had a chance to play for varsity once the varsity catcher was injured.Since he was a catcher he made the team and was playing for varsity.Nick was the first seventh grader to ever play for varsity.He was smaller than all the other players.Since he was the smallest and new the players in his team,his teammates were giving him a hard time by making nick feel unwelcome.Even tho he had these struggles he still continued to play baseball because it was the thing that made him feel like home.This story shows how people can get in the way of your plans and how you have to deal with it,this is why I liked this book and recommend it for other people to read.

[Charlie]

Safe At Home was a solid book by Mike Lupica. It was realistic fiction and appropriate for kids who like baseball. Nick Crandall does not get along with his foster parents. They know nothing about his favorite sport baseball. Nick does not do so well in school, but when he is just 12 years old the high school varsity team calls him to play for them. His teammates do not want him on the team, so throughout the story Nick tries to prove himself to his team, his parents and to himself. This book shows what it is really like to be in Nick's situation. "I have to get this runner out, he is my responsibility, and i will get him" Nick thought to himself. I would give this book an 8 out of 10.

[TJ C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Safe at home is about a 7th grader named nick. He was adopted at a young age and his parents were professors. Nick always loved to play baseball, but all his parents wanted to have was good grades. When nick was in 7th grade he made it on the varsity team, being the youngest baseball player to play on varsity. He had many challenges. He would get bullied by his teammates, while having a tutor to keep his grades up. I liked this book except the bully part. Why would a senior bully a second grader. I would recommend this book to all of the sports fans. Especially baseball fans. And this book reminded me of the book rivals by tim green.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good it is about a boy who loves base ball and wants to make the JV team but only gets in because Bobby broke a bone in his rist. His teammates need a catcher there own age because Nike is only 12 years old. But then his secret gets out that he is adopted. And Nike needs to prove that nike belongs to his parents and maybe young to play on a JV team but can be the best that he can ever be, him self.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because it was not all just good things that happened but there was not too much bad things that happened in it that would make it a bad story. Also that it was fast paced and had words that described the scenes good and did not make it boring. It did not have a lot of parts that were not important and tied the things that were happening to the character good together.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a great book and that this author is one of the best sports authors. This was a great story about how a boy named Nick Crandall felt like he didn't belong anywhere.

[Josiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

In classic Matt Christopher style, Mike Lupica presents the Comeback Kids series of junior sports novels, focusing on the realistic family issues and on-field action that make all Lupica's novels so electrifying. The Comeback Kids books are shorter than Lupica's regular novels, however, and seem to hone in more on a single central issue relevant to the plot. Though Safe at Home is my first experiment with this series of books linked not by shared story elements or characters but rather by fairly uniform length and common sports themes, I have to say Mike Lupica does an excellent job condensing his sweetly paced writing for slightly younger audiences than his regular books. The fifty to seventy-five pages less of story perhaps makes Safe at Home and the other books in the series more immediately appealing to reluctant readers, and this is the group, more than any other, to which Mike Lupica's writing is marketed.

Nick Crandall has had more family drama in his first twelve years than most kids ever face. His biological mother and father are both out of the picture, and until he was nine years old it didn't appear anyone was going to pick up the option on Nick and take a risk that he might be a solid prospect as an adopted son. Nick waited more than his share of years for a cup of coffee with a loving set of parents who would want to give him the kind of stable home life he'd always lacked, and there were some moments of heartbreak along the way when victory was snatched from Nick's grasp after a win in the family department seemed assured, but finally Nick's prayers were answered. When Mr. and Mrs. Crandall decided it was high time Nick be called up from foster care to have a permanent home with a real set of parents, Nick suddenly had everything he thought he could ever want.

Every boy likes baseball, according to Zane Grey, but not every boy has Nick's affinity for the game. Blessed with a bat capable of doing real damage on the scoreboard in a game situation and a throwing arm like a Winchester rifle, Nick has been a star catcher on his baseball team for years, continuing his dominance of opposing squads all the way to junior varsity play. Nick cuts down base runners contemplating moving up an extra ninety feet as if they ran in slow motion, or as if every time they went to steal, they got a bad jump on the pitcher's delivery. Nick's proficiency behind home plate is enough to change the entire complexion of a JV game, keeping runners out of scoring position and affording winded pitchers extra chances to get out of jams, which can easily mean the difference between victory and defeat in a game of inches like baseball.

But when an injury is suffered by the star catcher on the varsity high school team, a roster manned by teenagers some of whom are almost six years older than Nick, a challenge presents itself the likes of which Nick would have never dreamed. He will have the opportunity to make it up to the big time for a limited stint playing catcher with the high-schoolers, and it's all thanks to the impressive power of his rocket right arm. The varsity coach recognized in watching Nick play on the JV squad that he has all the tools necessary to compete both at the plate and behind it with guys several years older than he; however, that's a far cry from having what it takes to be immediately accepted by teammates who are so much older. Nick has a lot to prove to the skeptical players on his new team, and it's rarely easy to perform at one's best when the pressure is on to do it perfectly now, now, now, and those watching have little patience with a kid whose presence they consider a big mistake in the first place.

When Nick's marquee tools as a catcher fail him repeatedly under the pressure of the defining moments that seem to follow him around in practice and during games like an ominous storm cloud, he doesn't handle it well, but the varsity coach has a few lessons for Nick to take in before he's finished with this experiment. Nick's worst enemy to in-game success is thinking too much, trying in the moment to analyze and perfect the golden tendencies of his marvelous throwing arm, attempting to do too much with every ball that ends up in his hands with the responsibility of making a game-changing play. Nick isn't wired to plan and analyze before taking action; he's a natural player, one whose baseball IQ is higher than his general intelligence quotient, and good things happen only when he can calm the storm between his ears and get back to playing the game as he always has before. What does it matter who's watching or if they're privately hoping for Nick to succeed or fail? When he's cocked to fire a bullet and eliminate an opposing runner from the base paths, all that matters is what Nick's arm can do in that moment, and there's never been any question about his talent between the lines on the baseball diamond.

Even as Nick struggles to get a bead on performing up to expectations in his surprising new role as varsity catcher, trouble in his personal life slowly mounts. Nick has never been the most devoted student in school, and his adoptive parents aren't happy about that. Nick is intelligent, and capable of focusing on an activity such as baseball or collecting comic books and excelling at it, but he has no desire to increase his status academically. Nick sees little in common between his parents and himself. He always envisioned having a "baseball dad", one who could help refine his fundamentals and teach him more about the history of the sport, celebrate with him the days and dreams in the game's past and present, all while looking forward to whatever future Nick has as a catcher. But his father barely registers interest in the game, though he tries hard to act interested for Nick's sake. Deep down, Nick wonders how long it will be before his parents decide they made a mistake choosing Nick, that they want to take him back where they claimed him from three years ago and choose a new kid, one with interests more closely aligned with their own. Nick's dreams of having a family who understands and genuinely wants him seem to be breaking apart before his eyes, and there may be no one who can slow the entropy down and point out to Nick that he has a lot more going for him than he has allowed himself to see; that is, no one but his best friend Gracie, perhaps, who understands the game of baseball, understands Nick and most important of all, understands families, and knows what a kid like Nick would be willing to give up to find the right one. Are matters on the team and at home actually as bad as Nick perceives, or is he overthinking once again, seeing mountains of trouble where there is nothing but a few mounds of loose sand? Maybe Nick has it better than he realizes. Maybe the vision of a perfect family he's carried in his heart all these years is less than he already has, because no vision, no matter how happy, can stand outside with you on a warm summer's night and play catch with a real baseball, the smack of the ball in the leather and relaxed conversation between throws as familiar to anyone who loves the game of baseball as the crack of the bat and the glow of the lights on a professional field. Only a flesh-and-blood dad can do that, and a real dad is better than a fantasy version any day. Real may never be perfect, but there's nothing like the feeling of realizing one is finally, truly, home.

It was never any surprise to me that Mike Lupica writes sports action crackling with intensity and emotion, evoking all aspects of the real sporting experience just as it feels when watching the games on television or for anyone who picks up a bat and glove themselves to take a turn at America's pastime. Lupica has covered sports for decades, and knows exactly how authentic game action feels and how to write about it so it feels as intense as if the reader were on the field playing, too. But I'm also coming to expect Mike Lupica's remarkable sensitivity to more complex personal emotions, family trouble and identity confusion and the kinds of struggles that take place outside the lines for even the most decorated athletes who have ever lived. Nothing about life stays easy for long, and a level stretch for a time can be an enormous relief. I would probably give two and a half stars to Safe at Home, but I had no trouble deciding to round up to three stars because of how well Mike Lupica portrays the mounting self-discontent with the way being varsity catcher is going for Nick. What should have been one of the most thrilling times of Nick's life has gone sour ever since coach first announced a twelve-year-old was temporarily filling in for the regular varsity catcher, a star in his own right, and it's hard to decide where the blame for Nick's uncharacteristic struggles behind the plate should rest. Are Nick's less than encouraging new teammates to blame? Maybe, at least in part. The pressure building on Nick soon begins to feel uncomfortable even for those of us just reading along with the story, and as it increases and the stakes rise in Nick's mind to where he can't even do silly little tasks under pressure if they're at all related to baseball, the story's emotions grow exponentially, and readers aren't likely to forget that feeling anytime soon. Mike Lupica is at his best when leading his readers to feel strongly what the characters in the book are feeling, and that reaction is achieved on multiple levels in Safe at Home. For the avid sports fan or even those hesitant to pick out a book ostensibly about baseball, I never hesitate to recommend the works of Mike Lupica. Safe at Home is a novel I will carry in my thoughts for a long time, and it was worth every moment of the journey.

[Tony Lobdell]

Summary
I read Safe at Home for the reading challenge.This story is about Nick Crandall,a former foster child. Nick is a catcher for his school's junior varsity team, and is the best catcher on his team. Nick sees Coach Williams (the coach for the schools varsity team) watching him, so he decides to play better, but throws it over the second baseman's head. Coach Williams talks to Nick about how he has to play up because the varsity team catcher broke his wrist, and Nick says yes. The varsity team isn't happy with this, especially the star pitcher Gary, and first baseman Steve. The practice doesn't go well, with Nick doing bad at almost everything in baseball. When Nick gets home, he reads his Captain Marvel comics instead of doing his homework and talking to his parents about practice. The next day, Nick talks to his friend Gracie about practice and she says it will get better, but she is wrong. Practice is just as bad as the first, and Coach makes him stay for a longer amount of time to help calm Nick. Steve and Gary see this, and make fun of Nick because of it. The next practice starts a little better, but gets worse as it moves along, and Nick wishes he was in his comic books, and away from there.
Later at he school's carnival, Nick asks his friend Jack ( who is also on the baseball team) and Gracie why the team doesn't like him. Jack says it is because he was a ear younger, he was small compared to the other kids, and the coach is treating Nick "like a teacher's pet". Gracie decides to stop this conversation, and decides to make Nick go and try to dunk a teacher. right when Nick was going up, Gary and some of the other teammates see Nick and make fun of him so he walks away from the booth, and hears Gracie dunking the teacher. Later, Gracie catches up to Nick and asks about what happened, and he just says he was scared and leaves it at that.
Nick later talks to his dad about it, and ends up yelling at him for not knowing what to do, and says that he is failing at everything right now, school, baseball, and at being a good son.
The next day, was the first game for Nick's team against Valley Falls. Nick ends up hitting a sacrifice bunt to advance the base runners, and the next hitter hit them home. Later in the game, he tries to throw out a guy running to second base, and got the throw there, but the second baseman missed the ball, and Nick got blamed. He later throws one over the third baseman's head, and the other team had scored two runs. Later in the game, Gary makes fun of Nick for being young and bad at the game. Later in that inning, Nick's team scores and is winning by one. In the last inning, Nick helps the team win by tagging someone out.
The next night, Mr. Crandall shows Nick emails from his teachers about his grades ( which are bad ) and Mr. Crandell threatens to take Nick out of baseball if his grades don't improve.
The next game was against Thayer Academdy. Nick's team got off to a bad start, and the starting pitcher, Conor (who wasn't as good as Gary), told him not to worry and he was right. Nick's team wins by one run again, but Nick didn't do anything.
Gracie talks to Nick, and Nick puts himself down by saying he doesn't belong, and he says that he doesn't belong anywhere, especially with his parents. Gracie then says to walk around to her backyard and she talks to him about how stupid Nick has become. She talks about his parents, about they really care for Nick. She goes on telling Nick how lucky he is, and how Nick's parents could have picked anyone else, but picked him. She ends her talk by saying " But you've spent so much time in your life felling sorry for yourself, you don't know when it's time to stop."
The next day, Nick's team wins by ten runs, and Nick scored one.
After he got home,Nick worked on his homework, and his dad wants to show him something after he is done with his homework. When Nick is done, he sees that his dad got a new baseball mitt to play catch with Nick. They go outside to play, and Nick teaches his dad how to throw and catch a baseball.
When they go inside,Nick shows his dad that he had bought "King Author and the Knights of the Round Table" and they talk about it for a while. They get interrupted by the doorbell, which is Coach Williams, coming to tell Nick that the previous catcher was healed and he was ready to play, but if he wanted to, Nick could play one more game ( the biggest game of the season ). Nick says yes.
Nick's team had to face off against the Vikings and their star catcher, Zane Diaz. Before the game started Nick saw Gracie, and smiled at her. During the game, Nick had a good play by throwing somebody out, and help score a run, making the score four to three, Nick's team winning. At the top of the seventh ( they play seven innings) they had two out and three on base when Nick threw the ball to the second baseman, and he got out the runner and had won the game for his team. Gracie ran up next to him with the word " Shazam " on her shirt, which is what Captain Marvel says to make him have super powers. Gracie then asked where Nick would go next, and Nick said home.

A quote that I chose from this r was " You can pick your friends but not your family"
I chose this quote because this quote shows that you can have anyone be your friend, but you can only have one family.
I recommend this book to young, baseball fans because it is a short book with easy words and has a lot about baseball.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick audiobook about Nick, who just wants to play baseball. However, when he gets his chance to play Varisity, he panics. He starts playing the game badly. The stress and bullying get so bad that he starts hating the game. Then Gracie, his best friend, "talks" (more like lectures) him, and he realizes his life isn't that bad. He is then able to get the winning throw in the final game.

[Sean Matrose]

The theme of this book is that you can never give up even when things get hard.

[Zach Heitkamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel, Safe at Home, written by Mike Lupica is about a Junior Varsity baseball player named Nick, is seen doing good in practice and gets promoted to the Varsity team. Then when Nick gets to the Varsity team he needs to face some major challenges that are thrown his way. While on the Varsity team there are a few teammates that give him many challenges. This makes Nick feel no confidence in his baseball causing him to make mistakes. Because of this the coach ends practice early to help Nick get his confidence back. Then when things go wrong at the carnival he feels he can never play baseball again. After that, Nick does not only have troubles on the field and the carnival, it suddenly goes to school causing him to get in fights with his foster parents that are teachers. Will Nick ever get his confidence back to be able to play good, or will he have to give it up forever just so he can not get made fun of and fit in with the crowd.

One thing that is good in this book is how the author uses real life problems that most kids have to face when they are growing up. One example for that is when the older Varsity baseball players treat Nick poorly because he got moved up from Junior Varsity and is the new starting catcher. Also, something that impressed me is how there were some exciting events. One example of that was when Nick saw the Varsity coach watching him practice and Nick tried to throw the ball as hard as he could and he threw it over second base bouncing into the outfield. One last thing that I am impressed with is the dialogue. I liked the dialogue because it helps me visualize the fights and talks he had with the other characters. The ending to this book is a really exhilarating feeling and ecstatic. I was fond of the ending because a went well. I would recommend this book to teenagers that like baseball or are having trouble fitting in with the crowd. I recommend this to you because this book shows in many ways how Nick had to persevere to fit in the crowd and had to do some things that he did not like to get through it.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comeback Kids Review
Nick Crandall loved baseball. The baseball field was the only place where Nick felt like he belonged. He did not feel that he fit in during school, with friends or at home because he was adopted at nine years old. Nick was a very good catcher. He could sense the direction and speed of a ball as soon as someone threw the ball to him. Nick was looking forward to playing on the junior varsity team at school but the varsity catcher was injured and Nick was asked to take his place. Nick was afraid he would let his team and his coach down. Nick’s teammates were also nervous. The team did not think Nick was good enough because of his age and inexperience. Nick even felt strange telling his foster parents about his promotion to the Varsity team because they did not understand how much baseball meant to him. When Nick first started practicing with the team, he did not do very well. He missed catches and dropped the ball and his teammates laughed at him. It took a while before everyone on the team could trust Nick. In the end his team won and he fit in perfectly with the varsity baseball team.
I liked this book. I give Comeback Kids a 4/5.
I liked that this book was about one of my favorite sports. It was exciting when the team won the final game. The story was good because Nick had to learn how to work with his new team which is a lot like real life. I do wish he could have stayed on the Varsity team but at the end of the book the injured catcher, Bobby, was ready to come back and Nick would go back to JV.
I was sad reading about how Nick’s first set of foster parents did not adopt him. He seemed to lose trust in other people and it took him awhile to bond to his adoptive parents and his friend Gracie. I would have been depressed if I had lost my parents too.

[It'S Me · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I love baseball, that's why, more than I'll ever love school, and that's another thing about me that is never going to change, no matter how hard you try." This quote is said by the main character Nick in this book called Safe at Home by Mike Lupica. I rated this book a four out of five because it was difficult to understand at the beginning. So much so that I almost quit reading it. The main character in the book is Nick Crandall a kid that loves baseball, comic books and happy endings. Nick is an adopted child of Paul and Brenda Crandall. And nick needs to find where he belongs in this world.
In this book Nick is faced with the shock of moving up to his schools varsity baseball team after their catcher broke a hand. When Nick was on the JV (junior varsity) team he actually was liked by his teammates. When Nick moved up his new teammates didn't like him and criticized Nick.
This book taught me to never give up and strive to be the best you can be. I thought this book is a perfect family book to read to your children. One thing I didn't like was the confusing start to the book. Like I said earlier I almost quit the book because of it. Now it might just be me but I warned you.
This book had a very good storyline, and is probably one of my favorite books. The fact that nick didn't know where he belonged in this world was amazing. His parents knew nothing about baseball but they tried to learn because of Nick. When I read this book I kept thinking of my house and family.
On the negative side there was the confusing start to the book. Also the topics of being a person that's picked on because of one mess up was kind of ridiculous. Through the 2 week time span that I had to read this book these where what slowed me down. It is also why this book doesn't have a perfect rating.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read this book I feel sad because the main character Nick was a foster and he got adopted. The family wanted a new born and not him and gave him back to the foster home. It made me feel better when he got adopted again and got to play baseball which he loved and was good at. His best friend is a girl and her name is Gracie who forced him to be his friend but he really doesn't care and he tells her everything. Nick is a really good catcher. He got pulled up to varsity baseball from JV; however, he feels bad about leaving his friends and he makes so many mistakes but his coach has so much faith in him and practices with him.

He stay's after practice with his coach and does really weird drills like tossing keys. This actually helped him because then he started to be able to make the throw from home to second. After the training he's waiting for his parents to pick him up and the whole team was there and they had been watching what he was doing. They started making fun of him by throwing keys up in the air. This made me feel bad for him because he already has different things going on in his life and now he has to weary about getting bullied. He has a talk with Gracie and tells him to enjoy his house and his family because he is lucky to have them. His dad ended up getting a glove and playing catch with him and he was very happy.

[Tate · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is about a baseball player that is a catcher the kid in the suite behind the the batter and in front of the umpire. He was a orphan from when he was just a baby until he was about 12 or 13. But as he was a orphan he had loved comic books and baseball. He first started loving baseball when he went out with a couple to a major league baseball game. He always had loved comic books.
In this book the mane character has a great great friend. He goes threw a lot with her I am not going to say her name becausease she is a key part in this book. As he goes threw the book he faces certain challenges that he need help with. like all player on any field they can face self doubt and has the strong to stop playing the sport he loves. Luke is a very ustable person ulike his freind. this book is very simular to all of mike lupicas bookes.
One of the main charioteers is grace she is his best friend best friend she talked to him and gets threw some hard parts in his life she is a good friend. She is a very bossy person she is a very good friend for him she is what he needs he needs someone to tell him. She is a very key part in this book she is also the girl he likes and he

[Matthew Roark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can Nick accept having a lot of changes that are going on? Can nick use his arm properly for t the varsity baseball team? Can nick and his team win the David versus Goliath game?

Nick is having a hard time accepting all the new changes. These changes are affecting his grades in a bad way. Nick just got called up from junior varsity to varsity after the varsity starting catcher got hurt.

Since Nick got to the varsity team he hasn't been the same. He hasn't thrown a perfect throw to second or third base. His coach had to cut practice 1 hour and 30 minutes early because the coach needed to practice with Nick. The coach had Nick toss him car keys during their practice.

Nick and his team faced their rivals. The game was close for the whole game. In the last inning the other team tried to come back. With two outs and a 2-2 count in the bottom of the seventh runner on second Nick did something to win.

I would recommend this to kids that are 10-13 and like baseball. I think they would like it more than someone younger or older because it is about a kid that is about that age.And you would have to like baseball to read this book.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Lupica's "Safe at Home" is about a 7th grade boy named nick who always loved baseball his whole life. He had been a foster child and now lives with his new foster parents, but neither of them where the parents he was really asking for. His parents don't know a thing about sports and only care about his education in school. He wanted parents who knew baseball and wanted to play sports, but he has to force his parents to play catch with him. During Junior Varsity tryouts, Coach Williams sees the potential in him and wants him to join the Varsity with all the older boys. During the first practice, Nick doesn't feel like he belongs here, and none of the players seems to not really like him. Coach still believes in him and now Nick feels like he has to prove himself to his parents, to his team, and himself with a little bit of help and faith. This is a great book to read for any sports fan or anybody who enjoys life lessons learned. This is an adventure Nick will never forget.

[Chris R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick Crandall really loves baseball and on the baseball diamond it's the only place where he felt he belonged there. Nick lives with his foster parents who are both professors and know nothing about sports. Nick was very excited about making the Junior Varsity team at his school. The Varsity catcher got injured and Nick had to move up to Varsity to replace the injured catcher. Nick's teammates were very nervous about him being the starting catcher with him being younger and not much experience. He didn't want to let his team and coach down. His first couple of practices he was dropping balls and his teammates were laughing at him. It eventually took some time before Nick's teammates trusted him. He did end up fitting in perfectly and won the final game. After he got moved back down to Junior Varsity because the injured catcher is now healthy.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was about Nick Crandall, a baseball player who was trying to fit in. The only place he felt he fit in was his baseball team where he was the best catcher on his team and he had a very good arm so no one would try to steal a base on him. At home he didn't feel like part of the family not only because he was adopted but he really wasn't the best student his two college professor parents wanted. In school he also didn't fit in with a lot of the other students because he wasn't the brightest kid. When the starting catcher on the varsity team breaks his wrist the varsity coach calls him up to start on varsity. Now Nick will have to be apart of a team of high school students who really don't want a 12 year old kid to be their starting catcher. This is just another team he will want to fit in with. Overall it was a good book, and would recommend this book to baseball fans.

[Tyler Tarpley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I think that the book was pretty good. I liked how it connected to my life because love baseball. Also I like how it the character Nick, has a lot of problems to work out. This connects to my life because if love baseball and I once played up a level and it was not easy. You don't fit in and you normally don't know very many friends or no many people. The writing is pretty effective in my opinion because because In such little amount of words he gets a lot out of it. It is also effective because I love baseball and all of my coaches always said leave everything on the field and Nick did exactly that making the last out to beat his rivals. I think the audience would appreciate it if the like baseball or have played baseball. Also if you like books that are uplifting and inspiring than this is a good book for you. Overall I think that the book Safe At Home will strike you out.

[Jake Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Safe At Home By: Mike Lupica is a non-fiction book of a kid named Nick who really likes sports and has foster parents that do not know anything about sports so they cant help Nick with anything to do with sports. Nick was not a kid that stuck out to anyone during anything and he likes baseball and was picked to be one the varsity baseball team but his teammates did not like him on the team because he is younger than everyone on the team. Nick is scared that he will be kicked off the team and even worse he will lose his foster parents and he dose not want that to happen. Safe At Home was a good book because i can relate in the way that he likes baseball but he dose not think he deserves to be on the team. I play baseball and i have been in that situation many times before and it is hard to over come this obstacle.

[Benny]

Safe at Home by Mike Lupica is about a seventh grade boy who has 2 major struggles: 1. Meeting his strict foster parents' academic expectations. 2. Replacing an injured catcher on the High School's varsity team, and playing against much older boys. He is teased because of his age on the team, and although he is extremely talented, fails to show any of that talent in his first practices. While he's trying not to be too miserable from baseball, his foster parents are concrened about his grades. The only person who helps get through his struggles is his no-nonsense friend, Gracie. Without giving away too much, at the end, his parents learn the joys of baseball, and he becomes more motivated and commited to school.

[Hank Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nick Crandall can do it all, but he doesn't know it. He can hit, run, and especially throw from behind the plate. He is the best catcher on his JV school team, but when the catcher's spot on the varsity team suddenly opens up, it's Nick who is called to the job. The varsity coach believes in Nick, but Nick doesn't believe in himself. Can his friends Gracie and Jack help Nick regain his superpowers like in his comic books, or will Nick get slapped by reality.

I really liked this book because I could relate to it. This was one of those books that felt like the main character is just like you. I was able to picture what was going on in the book very well. If this series continued I would read the next book. I recommend this book to any baseball fan.

[Connor Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Safe at Home by Mike Lupica is a very good book. This book makes you want to turn pages. The adversity in the story really adds on to the page turning effect. The only thing I would critic is that it is a very short book, it should be longer.

The book is about a kid who got adopted when he was seven to a family that knew nothing about baseball. Nick, the main character, is a really great catcher. He enjoys to play the game and strives to be great at it. Only when he trys out for the jv team he makes the varsity team. Not everyone thinks he should be there. Read the rest to find out the whole story.

I recommend this book to boys starting middle school or even younger because it was easy to read. Overall, good book.

[Matt Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book Safe at home by mike Lupica is about a kid named Nick Crandall and he is 12 years old and he has foster parents. In this book Nick is the main character and he is trying to play on varsity as a catcher, but the varsity players want someone their own age playing with them. Nick goes throw rough times but he gets through them. I gave this book a 4 star rating Because I can kind of relate to this book because I play baseball and I used to play catcher and I wanted to be a varsity catcher but I’m just not good enough to at the time. I gave this a 4 star because I feel like it could have been more real because a 12 year old playing varsity? That’s a little unreal. That’s why I gave this book a 4/5.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read for third through seventh graders. Nick, a twelve year old, seventh grader, is adopted. He spent nine years in foster care until his dream of a family came true. His parents, a math and English professor, are caring and attentive but push Nick to make better grades and don't understand sports at all. Nick just wants to read comic books. He is such an awesome catcher that when the varsity catcher gets injured, Nick gets drafted. Too bad the team doesn't want a seventh grader on their team.
I was surprised how much I liked this compelling story. Definately not just for guys or sports nuts!