Summerland by Michael Chabon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“Summerland came out a couple of years ago, a young adult novel by prize winning writer Michael Chabon. I bought it because I like the author’s other work, and I was intrigued by the baseball aspect of the structure. Basically, it is an end of the world story in which baseball plays a role in not only daily life but in the possibility of salvation. It sounds weird, and it is – which made it all the more interesting to me. A boy who can’t hit or field becomes our best hope in a struggle with dark elements working to poison the tree of life at the end of the world. A ragtag bunch of kids, strange fairy folk and a flying car set out on a journey in which baseball is constantly being played against all sorts of odd teams on the way. If you don’t like baseball or magic, this book isn’t for you. I thought it was pretty clever and entertaining. You decide.” — Terry Brooks