About This Book

Ian and his friends play baseball every day after school. In fact, there's nothing they'd rather do! But lately things aren't going so well. First of all, Jenny has started acting strange. She argues when calls are made against her, even the most obviously valid ones. She runs off the field if she doesn't get her way. And sometimes she doesn't even show up at all. Then, to make matters worse, a group of high school kids, including Jenny's stepbrother, have decided it's fun to throw rocks at them until they can't play anymore.

If he wants life to get back to normal, Ian is going to have to find out what's going on. Sure enough, it turns out that Jenny's family is having a bunch of problems. Her stepfather has gone into a drug-treatment center, which means that Jenny's mom has had to get a job, and Jenny has to baby-sit for her younger brother. What Jenny needs right now is for her teammates to be her friends, and luckily, they are more than ready to rise to the occasion.

In this realistic, contemporary novel, popular author Todd Strasser has created a group of kids that readers will want for their own friends: boys and girls from a variety of backgrounds, equally at home playing together or helping each other out. Filled with exciting sports scenes, believable dilemmas, and interesting characters, Close Call will be a hit, especially with sports-minded students.