The Comeback Season [Hardcover]

Jennifer E. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2008

The last place Ryan Walsh should be this afternoon is on a train heading to Wrigley Field. She should be in class, enduring yet another miserable day of her first year of high school. But for once, Ryan isn't thinking about what she should be doing. She's not worried about her lack of friends, or her suffering math grade, or how it's been five whole years since the last time she was really and truly happy. Because she's finally returning to the place that her father loved, where the two of them spent so many afternoons cheering on their team. And on this -- the fifth anniversary of his death -- it feels like there's nowhere else in the world she should be.

Ryan is once again filled with hope as she makes her way to the game. Good luck is often hard to come by at a place like Wrigley Field, but it's on this day that she meets Nick, the new kid from her school, who seems to love the Cubs nearly as much as she does. But Nick carries with him a secret that makes Ryan wonder if anyone can ever really escape their past, or believe in the promise of those reassuring words: "Wait till next year." Is it too much for Ryan to hope that this year, this season, might be her comeback season?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A wonderfully written story about love, heartache, and loss that digs deep into the most important lesson sports have to offer us -- hope. As Smith so eloquently tells us, it's not about winning or losing, it's about stepping up to the plate, over and over again. This story -- impossible to put down -- will stay with you like your biggest loss...and your greatest comeback." -- Tim Green, author of Football Genius and Football Hero

"Jennifer E. Smith has taken the themes of young love, deep loss, and professional baseball -- in the form of the hapless Cubs -- and turned them into a terrific read that overflows with passion and insight. Lessons about the saving nature of hope pervade this story of memory and yearning. Here's one old sportswriter who calls The Comeback Season a leadoff homer by an All-Star rookie." -Rick Telander, senior sports columnist, Chicago Sun-Times

"In a deeply touching and profound debut, Jennifer E. Smith sensitively explores the parallels and intersections between the game of baseball and the game of life. Smith is a writer and a fan who understands the details and depth of the great American pastime and of the human heart as well." -- Bob Krech, author of Rebound

"The Comeback Season is a warm and brave, if heartbreaking, story about first love. It will make you cry and laugh and cry again!" -- Melissa de la Cruz, author of The Au Pairs and Blue Bloods

"The Comeback Season is one of those books that breaks your heart -- and can't be put down. It is a beautifully written story about loss of innocence, the strength of the human spirit, and why there is nothing quite like being a Chicago Cubs fan." -- John Feinstein, bestselling author of Last Shot, Vanishing Act, and Cover-up

About the Author

Jennifer E. Smith grew up outside of Chicago and graduated from Colgate University. She earned her master's in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and currently lives in New York City. Her first book was The Comeback Season.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416938478
• ISBN-13: 978-1416938477
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,264,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comeback for More, March 9, 2008

By 

Little Willow (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Comeback Season (Hardcover)

When their father passed away in an accident, Ryan was only nine years old and her sister Emily was a toddler. Now a freshman in high school, Ryan is pretty much just treading water, her head and heart firmly planted in the past as she watches everyone else move on. Her old friends aren't really in touch with her. Her mother has remarried and is expecting another child. Her sister adores her stepfather and knows him better than she ever knew her father. Ryan feels as though she's the only one who honors his memory anymore.

On the fifth anniversary of her father's death, Ryan leaves school early to attend the first game of the season at Wrigley Field. It's more of an impromptu decision than a rebellious moment. She loved going to the games with her father. Because he supported the Cubs, so does she, even if they aren't the winningest team. They went to the games more out of love for the team than for love of the game itself. Ryan doesn't play baseball herself, nor does she have interest in any other teams or sports.

While at the opening game, she bumps into a kid from school. They start talking, and she is instantly at ease with him. His name is Nick, and his presence will change her life. Without looking for loyalty, love, or friendship, all three have found her. Nick has his own reasons for being guarded, yet he remains optimistic about the future.

Ryan's relationship with Nick teaches her to have hope. From their first encounter and throughout the book, their silences say as much as their dialogue. After feeling lonely for so long, Ryan finally connects with someone, someone who makes her want to move forward instead of backward. Shortly after she takes that first step forward, life presents her with a series of new challenges. Again scared and unsure, she stumbles into the bargaining phase of grief.

Jennifer E. Smith's debut novel is poignant and memorable. The premise will grab sports fans, but the story is for everyone. You needn't be a baseball enthusiast to enjoy this book. It's far more about loss, hope, and trust than about pitches and innings. The Comeback Season will appeal not only to fans of the Cubs, but also to fans of Sarah Dessen and Nicholas Sparks.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, March 5, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Comeback Season (Hardcover)

Ryan Walsh is a girl who loves the Chicago Cubs. It's not just about baseball to her, though. It's more about her dad, who passed away when she was ten years old, who sparked her love for the team. She's a freshmen in high school now, and the year didn't turn out quite how she wanted it to, with her drifting further apart from her grade school friends, Kate and Sydney.

Everything changes for Ryan on Opening Day, when she goes to Wrigley Field to try and scalp a ticket. Though she ends up having to enjoy the game outside of the stadium, it's all worth it, for that day is when she really meets the new kid at school, Nick.

From then on, they have a relationship that builds quickly based on things like baseball and knowing when to just be silent together. Things are finally starting to look up for Ryan, when it all starts to get out of her control again. The feelings of helplessness. The fear. In the end, Ryan will have a hard lesson to learn. How to move forward, without forgetting the past.

THE COMEBACK SEASON was an amazing story about getting through the tough times in life to make it to the other side. The friendship between Ryan and Nick is warming and hilarious at the same time, reflecting the lives of friends all over the world. Jennifer E. Smith mixes life...love...death...strength...and baseball in a beautiful way that will keep you flipping the pages and ready to tread through the journey alongside Ryan. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be happy, you'll be mad. But most of all, you'll love this book, whether a fan of sports or not, because more then that, it's simply a story of learning how to live and thrive during the good and bad times.

Reviewed by: Lauren Ashley

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding new YA novel, March 5, 2008

By 

Gretchen C. Rubin (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Comeback Season (Hardcover)

I loooooved this book. A lot happens, and I don't want to spoil the plot, but the basic story is about a fifteen-year-old girl and what happens during a year of her life (backstory: her father died when she was ten). The author perfectly captures what it's like to be that age -- the changing friendships, the school dance, dealing with your parents in a new way, coming to grips with bigger issues. There are a lot of books on just these subjects, of course, but this book makes them fresh and fascinating. I ripped through the book in two sittings.

It would also make a terrific gift -- no need to worry about age appropriateness.