Author: Joseph Wallace
Genre: Adult fiction (sports)
Pages: 480
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Challenges: What's in a name (gem)
FTC Disclosure: I bought this book on my iPad
Summary (from the author's website): New York City in the 1920s was like a vast ocean swirling with treacherous currents: It was easier to drown than to stay afloat. But young Ruby Thomas, newly responsible for her two nieces after a devastating tragedy, is determined to keep her family safe. She's got street smarts, boundless determination, and one great skill: the ability to throw a ball as hard as the greatest pitchers in baseball-mad city.
Diamond Ruby chronicles the life and times of a girl who rises from utter poverty to the kind of renown only the Roaring Twenties can bring. But fame comes with a price, and Ruby must protect her family from Prohibition rum-runners, the Ku Klux Klan, and the gangster underworld.
Diamond Ruby chronicles the life and times of a girl who rises from utter poverty to the kind of renown only the Roaring Twenties can bring. But fame comes with a price, and Ruby must protect her family from Prohibition rum-runners, the Ku Klux Klan, and the gangster underworld.
Review: So much fun, that's what this book is! Going in all I knew was that this book would count for the What's in a Name Challenge and there was a girl who played baseball. Talk about not knowing what I was in for because this book is so much more than that!
- Characters--I loved the characters in this book from Ruby (the baseball wonder girl) to her supporting cast of nieces, friends (especially the character, Helen, who shares my name and sport, swimming), gangsters, baseball players and managers. They were all believable so I was scared of some and empathized with others, which is exactly what I want from a book.
- Setting--New York city in the 1920s, Cony Island side shows, gangsters, the 1918 influenza epidemic, poverty, the women's rights movement, and the Yankees gettting their own stadium. It's all in there and done so well I felt like I was there.
- Plot--So much fun and interesting, fast-paced, but not too fast. I totally wanted to believe all of it could have happened and when I got to the end and read the author's note that there really was a girl who was a baseball phenom (Jackie Mitchell) who pitched against Babe Ruth (and struck him out!) I was so excited! It turns out many of the events and characters are real, which made me so happy.
All in all a very enjoyable book with a great set of characters, balance, and an inspiring story.
Geography Connection:
(photo credit for right photo)
Click to see my updated Google Map. The photo on the right is of Jackie Mitchell, the real "Diamond Ruby" with Babe Ruth and Lou Gherig! Of all my New York books that I've read this year, this book has done the best at really showing the reader what New York is like as a city and I liked that. Obviously, I wasn't alive in the 1920s, but from what I've read and seen in films, this book really captured the times and the geography of its place.
