Strike One!

by Andrea Prostko

Fifth grader Billy Carmichael is very popular, a great student and a star baseball player. He is looking forward to his last few weeks in elementary school, and can hardly wait until the end-of-term school picnic, followed by the biggest baseball game of the year. Before all this can happen, however, Billy must deal with the escapades of his best friend, Jacob Riley. Jacob is another popular boy at school, but also a bully. Billy is able to accept most of Jacob's behavior, but he constantly struggles with the way Jacob treats Timmy Watkins, a quiet, overweight new kid at school. Jacob calls Timmy "fat boy" and embarrasses him in front of the rest of the kids. Jacob takes advantage of every opportunity to harass Timmy, beginning with pushing him off the school bus. He doesn't stop there, however, finding all sorts of occasions to make Timmy the subject of his ridicule. All of these events upset Billy, and even affect his ability to play baseball. Rather than confronting Jacob or befrien

212 pages, Paperback

First published July 29, 2010

About the author

Andrea Prostko grew up in Columbus, Ohio and currently resides with her family in suburban Detroit. An avid reader with a life long passion for writing, she left the corporate world after 20 years to pursue her dream and write full time. He first novel, Strike One!, is receiving exemplary reviews - for both the fast paced, entertaining writing style, and the thought provoking message it delivers. Midwest Book Review calls it "recommended reading for all young people." Please visit www.andreaprostko.com.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I graciously received a signed copy from a first reads giveaway.

You can tell that this book is the author's first. It doesn't quite have that flow to it that an author who writes many books has mastered.

The plot is ok at best. The adults in this book must be the stupidest in America because they pretty much ignore their kids and don't deal with any issues, which is definitely not what it's like in the real world. Also, there is no way teachers would be that stupid/ignorant.

The book is wrote at like a 3rd grade level, but it's over 200 pages, I'm not sure what 3rd grader would want to read a 200 page book, especially if she's trying to get boys interested in reading. I love to read and I found it hard to make it through the book myself.

[Renee Hand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strike One! is a story that focuses on the ups and downs of 5th graders, Billy Carmichael and Jacob Riley. Through their sometimes bad decisions, their love of baseball and devotion to family, this story takes the reader on a journey of self discovery and the focus of doing what is right, which definetly doesn't always mean what is popular. This story takes a different twist to the ordinary bully story, especially when the bully finds that he is the one who is in need of help. Children from 9 years of age and up will enjoy this baseball themed 220 page story, and most will be able to relate to the characters and their plight.

[Kristina Franken · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book for anyone

FTC: I received a free copy of this book and was not reimbursed in any other way.