Theresa Finch (Children's Literature)
In this third book of her “Aurora County” trilogy, author Deborah Wiles introduces us to twelve-year-old House Jackson and his baseball-loving friends. It is nearly time for the annual game between the All-Stars and the Raleigh Redbugs, and it appears that Jackson’s life is full of complications. As captain of the team and pitcher, Jackson has seemingly hidden out for the past year nursing his broken elbow. Little do his friends and teammates know that he has spent his year of convalescence by reading to an elderly gentleman, whose past intertwines mysteriously with Jackson’s own. Set in an easier, gentler South, perhaps in the 1940’s or 1950’s, this is a story of friendship, missing one’s deceased parent, learning to “approach his problems,” and even betrayal by a best friend. House’s nemesis Frances Schotz, who caused House’s injury, is back again this summer. She has returned to Halleluia just in time to direct the 200th anniversary pageant, scheduled for the very same day as the All-Stars’ one big game. Wiles paints a picture of “simmering days” filled with the voices of “the Mamas” and the “cicadas calling from the trees.” Baseball trivia, avid card collectors, quotations from Walt Whitman, and Aurora County news dispatches sprinkled throughout this coming-of-age book give it a sense of reality and belonging to a bygone era. Ruby Lavendar fans will find their heroine among the cast of characters, along with House’s best friend Cleebo, his little sister Honey, and Eudora Welty, his adopted dog. Readers will be on the edge of their seats with each inning of the big game and each chapter--what a crowd-pleasing novel! 2007, Harcourt, $16.00. Ages 8 to 12.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 13))
In Aurora County, Miss., only one baseball game matters: the annual contest between the All-Stars and the Raleigh Redbugs, scheduled this year at the same time as the once-in-a-lifetime pageant celebrating Aurora County's. Worse, Frances Schotz, the girl who broke pitcher House Jackson's elbow last year, is directing the pageant and their mamas have signed up all the other players. Already upset about witnessing the death of elderly recluse Norwood Boyd, a man somehow associated with his own dead mother, the quiet 12-year-old needs to find a way to save his team's game and placate the Mamas in spite of his weakened arm. Wiles connects all these elements with snippets of Walt Whitman, quotes from baseball greats and the historical fact of segregation to forge a poignant and humorous coming-of-age story. Parts of House's story first appeared as a serial in the Boston Globe. Although some characters appeared in previous novels, this one stands on its own, and with each iteration Aurora County becomes more real. 2007, Harcourt, 272p, $16.00. Category: Fiction. Ages 10 to 14. Starred Review. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, December 2007 (Vol. 61, No. 4).)
The annual baseball game between the Raleigh Redbugs and the Aurora County All-Stars absolutely must take place at four o’clock on the Fourth of July, and it’s equally imperative that the Aurora County Birthday Pageant take place at precisely the same time. Every kid in town under the age of fourteen has been signed up (by “the Mamas”) for the pageant, but rebellion is in the air as team captain House Jackson faces off with pageant director Frances—make that “Finesse”—Schotz, just back from a year at a toney prep school and packing a fake French accent and a flair for histrionics. A solution comes ultimately, if somewhat obliquely, from beyond the grave, as revelations regarding recently deceased recluse and Walt Whitman aficionado Norwood Boyd provide the inspiration for the two groups to collaborate in a theatrical production, the like of which has never been mounted between innings. Eccentricity is almost endemic to literary towns in the Deep South, and the level of quirkiness among the townsfolk of Mabel and Halleluiah, Mississippi comes dangerously close to cloying. However, Wiles tosses in enough grit—House’s scraps with his friend Cleebo, some nasty rumors about the late Mr. Boyd—to give the story traction. This is Wiles’ third visit to Aurora County (Love, Ruby Lavender, BCCB 9/01; Each Little Bird That Sings, BCCB 2/05); while several characters will be familiar to initiates, this title stands solidly on its own, and it’s likely that many newcomers will want to read their way backward in the trilogy Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2007, Harcourt, 242p., $16.00. Grades 5-8.