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Much Ado about Baseball
- Author
- Rajani LaRocca
- Narrator
- Ariana Delawari, Eddie Lopez
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date
- 28 September 2021
- Run Time
- 7 hours 10 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
In this companion novel to Midsummer’s Mayhem, math and baseball combine with savory snacks to cause confusion and calamity in the town of Comity.
Twelve-year-old Trish can solve tough math problems and throw a mean fastball. But because of her mom’s new job, she’s now facing a summer trying to make friends all over again in a new town. That isn’t an easy thing to do, and her mom is too busy to notice how miserable she is.
But at her first baseball practice, Trish realizes one of her teammates is Ben, the sixth-grade math prodigy she beat in the spring Math Puzzler Championships. Everyone around them seems to think that with their math talent and love of baseball, it’s only logical that Trish and Ben become friends, but Ben makes it clear he still hasn’t gotten over that loss and can’t stand her. To make matters worse, their team can’t win a single game. But then they meet Rob, an older kid who smacks home runs without breaking a sweat. Rob tells them about his family’s store, which sells unusual snacks that will make them better ballplayers. Trish is dubious, but she’s willing to try almost anything to help the team.
When a mysterious booklet of math puzzles claiming to reveal the “ultimate answer” arrives in her mailbox, Trish and Ben start to get closer and solve the puzzles together. Ben starts getting hits, and their team becomes unstoppable. Trish is happy to keep riding the wave of good luck … until they get to a puzzle they can’t solve, with tragic consequences. Can they find the answer to this ultimate puzzle, or will they strike out when it counts the most?
Critics Review
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“A moving tale of baseball, magic, and former rivals who come together to solve a problem.”
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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“Baseball provides energetic context to this story in alternating voices of friends in a lovingly drawn and diverse community. Add magic, numbers, Shakespeare, and lashings of mystery, all seasoned with artful sprinkles of culinary flavor and equal parts humor and heart. Cleverly adjacent to the world of Midsummer’s Mayhem, yet standing wonderfully well alone.”
Uma Krishnaswami, author of Threads of Peace
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“It’s no mystery why Rajani LaRocca’s Much Ado About Baseball is a home run. Like the smell of freshly cut infield grass, this fast-paced story of friendship, fitting in, and finding yourself is filled with magic and math. It pops with baseball excitement and summer days full of possibilities.”
David A. Kelly, author of the Ballpark Mysteries series
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Rajani LaRocca
- Narrator
- Ariana Delawari, Eddie Lopez
- Duration
- 7 hours 10 minutes
- Release Date
- 28 September 2021
- ISBN
- 9781665069946
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Genre
- Children’s / Teenage fiction: Sporting stories, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Ball games and sports: Baseball and Softball, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Traditional stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Fantasy
Synopsis
In this companion novel to Midsummer’s Mayhem, math and baseball combine with savory snacks to cause confusion and calamity in the town of Comity.Twelve-year-old Trish can solve tough math problems and throw a mean fastball. But because of her mom’s new job, she’s now facing a summer trying to make friends all over again in a new town. That isn’t an easy thing to do, and her mom is too busy to notice how miserable she is.But at her first baseball practice, Trish realizes one of her teammates is Ben, the sixth-grade math prodigy she beat in the spring Math Puzzler Championships. Everyone around them seems to think that with their math talent and love of baseball, it’s only logical that Trish and Ben become friends, but Ben makes it clear he still hasn’t gotten over that loss and can’t stand her. To make matters worse, their team can’t win a single game. But then they meet Rob, an older kid who smacks home runs without breaking a sweat. Rob tells them about his family’s store, which sells unusual snacks that will make them better ballplayers. Trish is dubious, but she’s willing to try almost anything to help the team.When a mysterious booklet of math puzzles claiming to reveal the “ultimate answer” arrives in her mailbox, Trish and Ben start to get closer and solve the puzzles together. Ben starts getting hits, and their team becomes unstoppable. Trish is happy to keep riding the wave of good luck … until they get to a puzzle they can’t solve, with tragic consequences. Can they find the answer to this ultimate puzzle, or will they strike out when it counts the most?
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