Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick

I really like Jordan Sonnenblick's books. This one was no exception. He writes about regular teens dealing with interesting problems. In this case, it is Peter who has more time on his hands now that he is no longer an athlete.

Going into his freshman year, Peter was planning on trying out for the baseball team with his best friend AJ. They switch back and forth as pitcher and catcher and together they were unstoppable. That is until Peter seriously injured his pitching arm during a game. He had been feeling the pain long before but ignored it and now he will never pitch a ball again (something he cannot bring himself to tell AJ).

Also, something is wrong with Peter's grandfather, but Peter promises not to tell his parents. Peter's grandfather, a professional photographer, has taught him all about cameras and taking pictures. One day when they are attempting to capture the image of an eagle in flight, Peter's grandfather blanks out and misses the eagle. Shortly there after, he gives Peter all his photography equipment. These blanking out episodes and memory loss are only getting worse.

The upside in Peter's life is Angelika who he meets in photography class. She volunteers them to be the sports photographers for the school paper, so they spend a lot of time together. They discover more about each other than the portraits they must take for a class assignment.

I'll admit that this is not my favorite book by this author, but I still like the story of a teen dealing with struggles with good people around him to help.

For more info about this book visit the Indianapolis Public Library catalog or visit Jordan Sonnenblick's website.