CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2008)
A surprising sports novel takes an in-depth look at homophobia from the point of view of a straight teenage boy. Scott, a high school senior, plays third base (the “hot corner”) for his unbeaten team. Scott lives and breathes baseball, and each chapter begins and ends with his own personal baseball philosophy. The story unfolds during the week leading up to the championship game. On Day 1, Scott is getting an HIV test. His best friend, Travis, recently came out to him, and all Scott can think about is a recent incident when Travis was hurt and Scott got his blood all over his hands. Travis is now living with Scott’s family because his own parents kicked him out, but the relationship between them in strained. Scott is not only terrified he might have AIDS, he’s worried that other kids at his school will find out that Travis is gay and think that he is, too. And he’s also angry—why did Travis keep it a secret from him for so long? Travis points out that Scott’s reaction—paranoia, ungrounded fear, distancing himself from their friendship—is precisely why he didn’t tell Scott before. Scott’s transformation, by week’s end, may seem to come unrealistically fast, but he has three wonderful adult role models who help to guide his thinking: each of his parents, who are divorced, and a teacher who addresses homophobia in his classroom by folding it into a discussion of the Holocaust. This accessible, easy-to-read novel deals with substantial issues while leaving room for readers to think, discuss, and draw their own conclusions. CCBC Category: Fiction for Young Adults. 2007, HarperTempest / HarperCollins, 150 pages, $15.99. Age 12 and older.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 3))
Trueman again revisits the interior thoughts and fears of a teenager. Unlike earlier works, this one features no violence. Instead, it’s about a baseball-obsessed teen whose world is rocked when his best friend admits he’s gay. Travis moves in with Scott and his dad, because Travis’s parents can’t handle his homosexuality. Unfortunately, neither can Scott, causing a schism between them. Scott immediately gets an AIDS test out of ignorance; in seven days, he’ll get the results. Until then, he’s in the hot corner (baseball lingo for third base). Scott does a lot of soul-searching, finally achieving self-awareness and understanding about his parents’ divorce, values and acceptance of others. Scott also realizes that baseball is neat but life is messy. He ultimately decides it doesn’t matter if he wins or loses; his actions in life are of utmost value. Scott’s fears and journey are utterly believable, even if his self-realization is rather rushed. However, the sports aspect and realistic treatment of prejudice and teenagers should keep readers enthralled. Especially recommended for reluctant readers. 2007, HarperTempest, 160p, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 13 up. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Paula Rohrlick (KLIATT Review, March 2007 (Vol. 41, No. 2))
Playing third base is so tricky it’s known as “the hot corner.” Scott, a high school senior, plays varsity baseball and aspires to play professionally, but suddenly his position on the field isn’t the only difficult place in which he finds himself. His best friend Travis has just come out as gay, to Scott’s complete surprise, and Scott is panicked that because Travis got blood on him a few months back as a result of a minor injury, Scott might have HIV. Meanwhile, Travis’s parents have kicked him out of the house, and Travis has come to live with Scott’s family, even though Scott, angry and confused, can hardly bear to talk to him. Travis accuses Scott of living in a “fantasyland,” oblivious to everything but baseball, but over the course of a week Scott learns to appreciate what’s really important in his life. Trueman, the acclaimed author of Stuck in Neutral, Inside Out, and Cruise Control, is unafraid of tackling big issues, and he does a good job of conveying Scott’s conflicted feelings about his friend’s revelation even if the novel does come across as rather didactic. The baseball action and metaphors may help draw in readers who wouldn’t otherwise pick up a tale about coming out and accepting others as they are. Some expletives, but there’s nothing sexually explicit here. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: S--Recommended for senior high school students. 2007, HarperCollins, 160p., $15.99 and $16.89. Ages 15 to 18.

Judith A. Hayn (The ALAN Review, Winter 2007 (Vol. 34, No. 2))
This page-turner opens with Scott, a senior in high school, nervously sitting in the waiting room of the Spokane Public Health building to take an AIDS test. His best friend Travis has outed himself in an anonymous interview published in the school newspaper, and his parents asked him to leave home because they are worried he will negatively influence his younger brother. Scott’s dad is allowing Travis to live with them, much to Scott’s discomfort. During impromptu practice at the batting cage, Travis gets hit and develops a massive nosebleed. Scott now fears the worst result of an unexpected homosexual encounter and gets tested. The novel follows Scott during the seven days he must wait for the results. He is the third baseman on the undefeated high school baseball team, and Trueman highlights the plot with baseball action, sports allusions, and flashbacks. This is the powerful, well-written story of a young man who plays the “hot corner,” a reference to both his baseball position and the tense place he finds himself in life. As a bonus, myths about AIDS are dispelled with accurate information. Category: Baseball/Friendship/AIDS. YA--Young Adult. 2006, HarperTempest, 160 pp., $15.99. Ages young adult.Little Rock, AR

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, April 2007 (Vol. 60, No. 8))
Scott Latimer thought he knew just how his senior year would wrap up—with a glorious championship victory for his baseball team and an offer to move up to the pros. Instead, he now faces a hellish week he didn’t count on, waiting for the results of an HIV test and dreading an all too brief future wasting away with AIDS. And it’s not because of anything he did, Scott will have you know; no, it’s that his friend Travis, who’s just come out, bled on him in a batting cage accident. Feelings of confusion, betrayal, and outright horror cloud Scott’s perspective, but as he works through his emotions with the help of his parents over the agonizingly long week, he begins to consider his own minimal risk of infection with greater objectivity and to see his way back to the friendship he’s valued for so many years. Scott’s well established as a credible ordinary guy, and the baseball theme adds appeal. This is bildungsroman lite, though, with Scott touching the bases of self-awareness with programmatic precision. Moreover, there’s a fair amount of painfully obvious AIDS education built into the text, as Scott regales the reader with the fruits of his Google searches for the most authoritative informational sites. Everything’s tidied up too conveniently—the big win, the minor league contract, the negative test result, even the revelation that the supposed class homophobe is actually a very nice gay guy (and possibly Travis’s significant other) afraid of his family’s wrath. Still, Scott and Travis are decent sorts with genuine issues, and readers won’t begrudge them their happy endings. Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2007, HarperTempest, 160p.; Reviewed from galleys, $16.89 and $15.99. Grades 7-10.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2007)
Third-baseman Scott sweats out a week waiting for his AIDS test results after his best friend (who once bled all over him after a baseball bat-induced nosebleed) announces he's gay. Rejecting the tough jock mentality around him, Scott confronts his ignorance and homophobia, learning lessons about life and friendship both on and off the playing field. Category: Older Fiction. 2007, HarperTempest, 150pp, 15.99, 16.89. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Ginny Hoskins (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 20, No. 3))
Scott really loves baseball--and he’s terrific at playing third base, the “hot corner.” Now at the end of his senior year, his team has had a phenomenal year, and he’s thinking he has a good change of being picked up by a major league team. Then Scott learns that his best friend since grade school days is gay. Scott is surprised, upset, and a little angry because Travis is just now letting him know, and they have their first big falling out. Then Scott remembers: a while back, Travis had an accident and got a bloody nose. Scott helped him with it and got Travis’s blood all over his hands. Could he have been exposed to HIV? Scott doesn’t even know if Travis is sexually active yet, and it’s just too awkward to ask since they’re barely speaking. He goes to a free clinic for an HIV test, and that begins the “7 Days” of the title while he awaits the results, and the team plays their last games of the season. The book works well on a lot of levels--as a baseball story, how friends can adapt to changes as they mature, Scott’s relationship with his divorced parents, and his realization that there might be things in life more important than baseball. The issue of homosexuality is handled gracefully and respectfully, and a number of issues are resolved at the end of the book. Fiction. Grades 10 and up. 2007, HarperTempest, 150p., $15.99. Ages 15 up.

Debbie Clifford (VOYA, April 2007 (Vol. 30, No. 1))
Scott, a senior third baseman on the varsity team, is awaiting an AIDS test at the public health clinic. His best friend, Travis, has revealed anonymously in the school newspaper that he is gay but shows the article to Scott as his way of telling him. Scott remembers a recent incident when he had come into contact with Travis' blood. Now he has to wait seven days before getting the test results. Scott spends the time trying to figure out how he feels about Travis. In baseball, the "hot corner" refers to third base, to which right-handed hitters will hit the ball hard. The third baseman has to be ready for anything-balls can hop or line drive or anything in between. Scott feels as if his life off the baseball diamond is something of a hot corner. He has to field his feelings of betrayal, fear, and bigotry as well as concentrate on the city baseball championship tournament. The story is told in Scott's voice, taking the reader along on his roller-coaster ride of emotions-the highs of winning at baseball, the lows of dealing with his feelings about Travis, and the terror of watching the homophobic reaction of some teammates. Teen readers will identify with Scott as they come to see him as a decent guy, and they will want things to work out for him. It is a gripping read that could open up meaningful discussions about prejudice and acceptance. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2007, HarperCollins, 160p., $15.99 and PLB $16.89. Ages 12 to 18.