Cassie is a tremendous leader and athlete. She has always been able to help her team out and has always been trusted by her team. When a new player with autism joins their team, Cassie finds herself between a rock and hard place. She wants to do what's right, but struggles when her team no longer wants to be lead by her. ( )

Syrup-ey novel about a baseball team that has a new player that has autism. It is unrealistic and overdone. ( )

Placed in the excitement of softball season, this book takes a look at real team work and delves into some of the problems of autism along the way.

Cassie is a sports ace and softball season, one of her favorites, is about to begin. Balancing all her friends, especially the girls, with her interests isn't always easy, especially when a new girl joins the team. Sarah is autistic and although she's an amazing player, the other girls aren't sure how to deal with her. Cassie determined to help Sarah mold in with the team. Her attempts end up causing a bigger cleft and driving even her own friends away.

This is the fourth book in the series but can be read as a stand-alone. I did not read the other books in the series.

Cassie is a fun power-girl with a great head on her shoulders. She's great at sports, very popular, and already knows that balancing all of this takes a lot of work. Her warm personality and determination make her easy to like and a girl to root for the whole way through. Her friends—the closet ones anyway—stand by her and work things out even when the going gets tough. It's an inspiration in this sense alone.

The sport aspect is well done. Most of the scenes take place in a softball setting, but it never comes across as over powering. The softball aspect flows naturally into the plot and has an atmosphere softball fans will quickly recognize and feel at home in. Even non-sport fan readers can fall into the situations without any trouble, since much of the plot has to do with the relationship between the kids.

The interactions between the characters is very natural and the reactions understandable. The author also does a fairly decent job at slipping in an autistic character and showing the difficulties she as well as those around her, might have. Having an autistic child myself and knowing many similar families, I tend to be more sensitive and critical when authors use these type of characters, since autism covers a much wider spectrum of behavior than most people realize. In literature, however, only certain behaviors and reactions tend to be emphasized, giving a perception of an autistic person which tends to be fairly narrow when compared to reality. It's a difficult area to tackle, and in this book, done fairly convincingly.

The message in this book is strong, and while it's a sports story, it's a serious one. I wouldn't recommend it to the younger range of middle graders by more toward ages 10 to 14. But it's definitely a joy to read, and the author does an amazing job at presenting a situation perfectly fitting to the age range in almost every way. I can only recommend it to sport fans and those who simply enjoy a good, middle grade contemporary read.

I received a complimentary copy and enjoyed this enough to want to leave my honest thoughts. ( )