Customer Reviews

The Desperado Who Stole Baseball

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I bought this book for a friend's son, and I thought I'd read a few pages to get a sense of it before I gave it to him...and now, I confess, "the Desperado" stole my heart. Before I even knew what was happening, I was caught up in the rip-roaring action, almost feeling as if I were the one escaping by my wits on horseback. The author has that rare combination of fast-paced plot, engaging characters, and lively language which can quickly transport you to another time and place, which in this case is the wild west of Southern California in the 1880's. Baseball is the pretext for concocting a tale of wild west miscreants who battle the corrupt but unbeaten Chicago baseball machine that will have you wanting to stomp your feet and whoop and holler along with the Dillontown 9. Author John Ritter follows in the path Mark Twain blazed a century ago in using local dialect and vibrant vocabulary to bring his characters to life. I expected a story for young readers, but the richness of the language as well as the colorful story line means that I will be buying my young friend another copy of the book, because my copy is now being passed on to my husband and other friends. This is a great book for any reader of any age!

No one is writing better books about baseball (and life) for young readers (and oldsters lucky enough to find them) than John H. Ritter. His latest is a prequel to the popular "The Boy Who Saved Baseball," and takes place in 1881 in the "gold hills of San Diego."

Part tall tale, part historical fiction and COMPLETELY enjoyable -- think Mark Twain describing a showdown on a baseball diamond in a Wild West town where the "church" is in an abandoned gold mine -- "Desperado" is a fast-paced story starring young Jack Dillon and his new companion, Billy the Kid. Yes, that Billy the Kid, "wanted, dead or alive."

Jack heads west to follow his dream to play for the Dillontown Nine Baseball Club, led by his long-lost Uncle Long John Dillon, a black man. (Jack is merely dark-skinned, a minor detail he talks his way around. Jack is a VERY good talker.) African-Americans were barred from professional baseball until the mid-20th century (grrrrr), but in Dillontown, anyone can play the game - including Jack and Billy. John Dillon has challenged the National League champion Chicago White Stockings to a game with an enormous winner-takes-all jackpot. Jack and Billy are drawn into the contest with surprising - and enormously satisfying - results.

Can a baseball book steal your heart? This one does.

(A version of this review appeared in the Palo Alto Weekly.)

Upper elementary and middle school readers who love baseball will love John H. Ritter's latest novel. Even if you aren't a baseball (or wild west fan), you'll find that John's books are always bigger than baseball - they are really about life and relationships and justice and power.
This one is no different. An unlikely pair, fifteen year old Jake and Billy the Kid, join forces reluctantly and that's where the adventure starts. "When the game ends, you either had a good life or a bad one or a hobgoblin of both. But it's over, right? You move on...Because Tomorrow -- and here's the best part -- tomorrow you are born again."

Not only is John's Desperado entertaining, but his tradmark "musicality of language" makes this book an excellent suggestion for classroom studies. Teachers can use Desperado to introduce the late 19th century West,African-American studies, social studies discussions of freedom, and certainly writing models of good word choice.

All in all, I'd say this one is another home run! If you like this book you'll enjoy the rest of John's books The Boy Who Saved Baseball][[ASIN:0698119312 Over the Wall, Under the Baseball Moon, and Choosing up sides.

I am a 12-year-old baseball fan, and I think this is the best baseball book I have ever read. The adventure starts out when Jack Dillon heads to Dillontown, San Diego in the 1880s. On his way he meets a man who goes by the name of Billy the Kid. When they arrive, they get caught up in an all-or-nothing baseball game between the Dillontown 9, and the American champion Chicago White Stockings. Unfortunately, as excitement builds, there is less and less that I can tell you without giving away the story. You just have to read it for yourself!

This book is an overall great read ranging from late elementary school to middle school kids. If you read Desperado, you need to read The Boy Who Saved Baseball, which is the second book in the trilogy. I have read it. I am a big fan of the series, and am looking forward to the third book. I think all of John Ritter's books are great, and I think everyone should read them all like I have.