The Brooklyn Nine
The book that I read this semester is The Brooklyn Nine by Alan Gratz. This book is about nine family members that cover over 150 years with one connection between all of them. And its there love for baseball. The book is designed in innings. Every inning is one part of the family’s life. And it goes through each of the family members’ stories about their love for baseball.
It first starts off with Felix Schnieder. Felix is a German immigrant that is trying to integrate himself into a life of a New Yorker and an American. His goal is to be an American. But one of his favorite things is baseball and has an accidental run-in with his favorite baseball player Alexander Cartwright while trying to stop a bad fire in the city. Louis Schnieder is a union soldier that puts his battle troubles aside to play baseball. During the war, he becomes friends with a confederate soldier that also has a love for baseball. Arnold Schnieder meets his idol King Kelly and asks for an autograph. But then realizes he is a drunk and his perception of his idol is altered negatively. The next one is Walter Snider. They changed their names because originally Felix was a Jew from Germany and they were not being treated right in society because of it. So his father decided to change the family name to Snider to make it sound less Jewish. Walter also meets these Cuban ballplayers that are nothing he has ever seen before. Frankie Snider is connected to the mob because of her talents with numbers and betting. She gets in trouble because her dad is a police officer and she works with this mob boss named Mickey Fists. Kat Snider leaves home during WW2 to go play baseball for the first All-American Girls Baseball League. Jimmy Flint is up against his mom because his mom is helping to move the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles. Obviously, Jimmy doesn’t want that. Michael Flint uses his grandma’s technique to help him complete his first little league perfect game. Snider Flint is forced to live with his uncle in an old antique shop. But while the antique shop gets destroyed by the fire he finds the hidden baseball gems from the families past.
Personally, I thought this book was very interesting how it was designed. I loved how it went by innings and how each family member is connected through baseball. Also at the ending really comes full circle about the whole book. I think it also connects relevant history from the time of the family members to baseball and I think that contrast really fits in nicely.