Hit and Run

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

Glen and his friend Jacob have finally made the little league baseball
team. Glen has been chosen to be pitcher, and since his team has a good
chance of winning their division, it looks like it’s going to be a
good summer.

But Glen’s recently altered family circumstances put a damper on his
happiness. His parents are divorced, and his father lives out of town.
His mother has just remarried, and Glen has acquired a stepfather and
stepsister, who, as far as he is concerned, take up far too much of his
mother’s time and attention. He resents his stepfather’s overtures
to him, feeling that he is trying to supplant his real father in his
affections.

When Glen’s father cancels yet another visit to Toronto, Glen takes
his frustration out on the team by becoming bossy, dictatorial, and
insulting. His insufferable behavior climaxes when he knocks Jacob down
and is benched by the coach during an important game. Glen experiences
an epiphany when his team wins this crucial game without his help, and
he finally allows himself to warm to his stepfather. The title of the
last chapter, “New Beginnings,” is indicative of the upturn in
Glen’s fortunes.

Hit and Run mines the familiar territory of the difficulties faced by
children of divorce and blended families. Unlike real life, in which the
obstacles are sometimes never overcome, this story has the conventional
happy ending. It is saved from banality by the vivid accounts of the
ball games and by the believability and likability of the characters.
Recommended for young baseball fans and for children facing the same
family-related issues as Glen.