Lost Boy

Gr 6-9—Twelve-year-old Ryder lives with his mom, Ruby, in Manhattan. They have no family or friends except for their across-the-hall neighbor, Stephen Starr, who is homebound in a wheelchair. Ruby works hard cleaning hotel rooms, and Ryder has the best batting average in Little League. One day after a game, Ryder has a minor spat with Ruby, and in a freak accident, she falls off the curb directly into the path of large truck. She is rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors sadly predict that she will not survive given that her injuries have exacerbated an underlying heart condition. Ryder is alone with nowhere to go until Doyle McDonald, the fireman who was at the scene of the accident, feels sorry for the petrified boy and volunteers to find someone to care for him. That someone ends up being the grouchy Mr. Starr who can barely take care of himself. United by a desire to raise money for his mother's operation, Doyle, Mr. Starr, and Ryder devise a scheme to reunite Ryder with Travis Trent, a professional baseball player who may be his father. The quest is a rough one, taking Ryder from the belly of Yankee Stadium to a long journey with Mr. Starr to Turner Field in Atlanta, where they fail in repeated attempts to reach Travis Trent. Can they get to him in time to save Ryder's mother? The plot moves along swiftly with short chapters ending in cliffhanger sentences that nudge the reader to the next adventure. Green, a former linebacker and sports commentator, gives readers a behind-the-scenes view of professional playing fields. Ryder and Mr. Starr are the best developed characters in the story, and that's all young sports enthusiasts will need to root for this unlikely team who defy defeat and keep on trying no matter what the odds.—Anne Jung-Mathews, Plymouth State University, NH