The Right Call: A Game Changer Companion Novel

by Tommy Greenwald

Overview

From award-winning author Tommy Greenwald comes a thrilling companion novel to Game Changer that explores the growing pressures in youth sports, and the lengths some parents will go to make sure their kid comes out on top

Cal Klondike’s life revolves around baseball. He’s the Walthorne Baseball Academy’s star pitcher, and everyone from his coach to his dad to the town sports blogger is telling Cal he has an unlimited future in the sport. But with all this attention comes a lot of added stress, especially as the season kicks into high gear and college and pro scouts start to show up at the games. Inevitably, tensions that have been bubbling under the surface finally boil over, culminating in a confrontation that could change Cal’s relationship to baseball forever.

Told through a combination of transcripts, articles, texts, and emails, The Right Call is a gripping, fast-paced story for middle grade readers about our split'second decisions, facing the consequences, and the courage it takes to forgive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419772856
Publisher:	Amulet Books
Publication date:	04/15/2025
Series:	Game Changer
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Tommy Greenwald’s sports novels for young readers, which include Game Changer and its companion novels Rivals, Dinged, and The Right Call, have been on thirty-one state lists, won four state book awards, and have been Amazon Best Book, YALSA Top Ten and Junior Library Guild selections. Greenwald is also the author of the Good Sports League series, among many other books for children. In his day-job, he is the cofounder of Spotco Advertising, a theatrical and entertainment advertising agency in New York City, and the lyricist and co-bookwriter (with Andrew Lippa) of John & Jen, an off-Broadway musical that has been produced around the country and internationally. To read woefully outdated information about Greenwald, visit tommygreenwald.com. He lives in Connecticut.

Editorial Reviews

"A thoughtful exploration of a concerning issue."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2025-02-01
A gifted young pitcher proves better able to handle the pressure to succeed than his father does in this companion toGame Changer (2018). Greenwald again addresses themes of violence in youth sports—but this time, he focuses as much on how inflated expectations can lead to ugly conflicts between parents and officials as on the danger of injuries to athletes. Fifteen-year-old Cal Klondike, who presents white, is thrilled to be a dominating pitcher for the Walthorne Baseball Academy team. But he winds up quitting baseball after a scary shoulder injury requires rehab, and then, a few months later, his intense, pushy dad assaults and seriously injures umpire Henry Goshen. The tale unfolds through a mix of news stories, text exchanges, emails, free verse reveries, and trial and interview transcripts, and readers will easily follow the events and Cal’s changing emotional landscape. Following the assault, the storyline settles into exploring the developing relationship between Cal and, surprisingly, Mr. Goshen, a retired Vietnam vet who bears no animus toward Cal’s father. The umpire believes that people shouldn’t be judged by their best or worst days, and he wisely urges the angry teen to forgive his sincerely repentant parent. Along with a shared setting, some characters from the earlier novel’s supporting cast return, notably sensitive guidance counselor Mr. Rashad, who gently nudges Cal toward both articulating his feelings and perhaps even rediscovering his love for the game.

A thoughtful exploration of a concerning issue. (author’s note, further reading)(Fiction. 10-13)

Kirkus Reviews