Michael Arroyo has a dream of pitching in the Little League World Series, and a pitching arm that throws serious heat. But that firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family’s escape from Cuba, Michael has no one to watch out for him except his older brother Carlos, who is only 17, and if Social Services hears of the boys situation, they will be separated in the foster care system-or even worse, sent back to Cuba. So the boys their best to carry on alone, dodging bills and anyone who asks to many questions. Until, that is, someone questions how a 12-year-old boy could possibly throw with as much power as Michael Arroyo throws and Michael has no way to prove his age, no birth certificate, and no parent to fight for his cause. Suddenly Michael’s secret world is blown wide open-and he discovers that family can come from the most unexpected sources. A baseball and coming-of-age story worth cheering for, culminating in a dream come true for any boy: Michaelm poor orphan of the Bronx, NY, steps onto the most hallowed of spaces-the Yankee stadium pitching mound.
- ISBN: 9780399243011
- Author: Lupica, Mike
- Published: 2006 , Philomel
- Themes: Baseball, Coming of age, Hope, immigration, Orphans, power
- Descriptors: Intermediate (ages 9-14), Realistic Fiction, United States
- No. of pages: 220