Bio:
Andrea Prostko grew up in Columbus, Ohio and currently resides
with her family in suburban Detroit. An avid reader with a life long passion for
writing, she left the corporate world after 20 years to pursue her dream and
write full time. Please visit www.andreaprostko.com.
Summary:
Fifth grader Billy Carmichael is very popular, a great student and a star baseball player. He is looking forward to his last few weeks in elementary school, and can hardly wait until the end-of-term school picnic, followed by the biggest baseball game of the year. Before all this can happen, however, Billy must deal with the escapades of his best friend, Jacob Riley. Jacob is another popular boy at school, but also a bully. Billy is able to accept most of Jacob's behavior, but he constantly struggles with the way Jacob treats Timmy Watkins, a quiet, overweight new kid at school. Jacob calls Timmy "fat boy" and embarrasses him in front of the rest of the kids. Jacob takes advantage of every opportunity to harass Timmy, beginning with pushing him off the school bus. He doesn't stop there, however, finding all sorts of occasions to make Timmy the subject of his ridicule. All of these events upset Billy, and even affect his ability to play baseball. Rather than confronting Jacob or befriending Timmy, he chooses to ignore it. Billy does, though, turn to his father to discuss his feelings. Strike One! shows what happens when the tables are turned, and the bully needs help from the victim.
Review:
Strike One! is a story that focuses on the ups and downs of 5th graders, Billy Carmichael and Jacob Riley. Through their sometimes bad decisions, their love of baseball and devotion to family, this story takes the reader on a journey of self discovery and the focus of doing what is right, which definetly doesn't always mean what is popular. This story takes a different twist to the ordinary bully story, especially when the bully finds that he is the one who is in need of help. Children from 9 years of age and up will enjoy this baseball themed 220 page story, and most will be able to relate to the characters and their plight.
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