Safe At Home
Grade 4-7–Soon after the sudden death of his beloved father, 10-year-old Elijah Breeze, nicknamed Jumper, moves with his bereaved mother from suburban Connecticut to Harlem, where she grew up, to live with his grandmother. He experiences culture shock from this abrupt change and still struggles with his grief. To make things worse, his mother has signed him up for a coed summer baseball camp where he has to cope with his undeveloped hitting and catching skills as well as a bully named Marcus. As the summer progresses, Jumper makes new friends and establishes a close relationship with his empathetic, knowledgeable coach. And, he eventually gains Marcus's respect after a series of near fights. Although the baseball action permeating this message-laden, quick-reading novel often lacks the excitement of other sports stories, Robinson (who is Jackie Robinson's daughter) has created two intriguing protagonists and a group of equally colorful secondary characters (girls and boys). Regardless of their interest in baseball, readers will identify with these youngsters and appreciate the simple story.–Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San DiegoCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.