Force Out
Force Out
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HarperCollins
Annotation: When Joey has to compete with his best friend, Zach, for a single spot on an elite baseball team, he is forced to decide how far he is willing to go to win.
 
Reviews: 6
Catalog Number: #76066
Format: Perma-Bound Edition
Common Core/STEAM: Common Core Common Core
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright Date: 2013
Edition Date: 2014 Release Date: 02/04/14
Pages: 282 pages
ISBN: Publisher: 0-06-208960-9 Perma-Bound: 0-605-73832-7
ISBN 13: Publisher: 978-0-06-208960-1 Perma-Bound: 978-0-605-73832-4
Dewey: Fic
LCCN: 2012026752
Dimensions: 20 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
Horn Book

Best friends forever, Joey and Zach both aspire to be on the same select baseball team--but there's only one spot, and one of them will be eliminated. Green treats this dicey situation with respect and laces the plot with sports action, some solid coaching advice, and the added spice of a first love interest for the two sixth graders. The story isn't deep, but it is solid.

School Library Journal (Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2013)

Gr 4-6 Sixth-graders Joey and Zach share a dream: after the Little League championships, they'll get chosen for the all-stars and, from there, the Center State Select team. The friends are so focused on their goal that Joey comes up with the idea of tampering with their teacher's pickup truck to prevent Mr. Kratz from taking the class on an extra-credit field trip that would keep Zach from participating in the championship game. That action haunts Joey for much of the story, especially since his mom is a sheriff's deputy with an uncanny ability to sniff out the truth. Exhausted and riddled with guilt and worry, he flubs the championship, and, ironically, only Zach is chosen for the all-stars. Joey gets a second chance when one of the players has to back out. Even though his mom is unrelenting in her investigation, Joey begins to believe Zach's prediction that things are going to work out. They are floored when Coach tells them that there is only one open infielder spot on the team. Suddenly, the dynamics of their friendship change, and that change is magnified when Joey discovers that the girl he likes has cast him aside for Zach. The choices that Joey ultimately makes, the realistic portrayal of friendship lost and later restored, and the abundant baseball action guarantee that this book will find wide appeal among Green's many fans. Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA

Kirkus Reviews

Two sixth-grade Little Leaguers and best buddies find their friendship tested on and off the diamond. Zach is Joey's best buddy on and off the baseball field, so when Zach needs to get out of a science field trip that's scheduled on the same day as the Little League championship game, the sixth-graders are in it together. But their scheme comes back to haunt them when Zach makes the all-star team instead of Joey, and Joey has to wonder whether he might have won the spot if Zach had gone on the field trip. A cute girl might like only one boy, too. Though Green is no stylist, he does a better job of avoiding the sports fantasy and sticking to real life than usual. There's plenty of play-by-play for those who want the sports to be the focus, but the interactions off the field are never shortchanged. For example, Joey has an obnoxious younger brother, his parents don't always agree, and he learns that trying to dance to a fast song can be as embarrassing as your first almost-kiss. A slice of life for middle school readers who know that their sport is a microcosm of the larger world. (Fiction. 9-13)

ALA Booklist (Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2013)

Green stirs together guilt, baseball, and sharp competition between friends in his latest sports novel. To get a field trip canceled in order togive his buddy Zach a chance to try out with him for a Little League all-star team, Joey vandalizes a teacher's car. He's then faced with the double struggle of having to play like a star against increasingly talented opponents and keeping his secret from his mother smart, relentless police officer. Featuring plenty of on-field action, the tale rises on twin tides of physical and psychological suspense to a climax in which Joey and Zach find themselves competing for a single spot on a select team. The author makes one misstep by inserting a pretty, thoroughly objectified classmate solely to serve as a bone of contention between the two sixth-graders, and another by having Joey's mother reveal she's been testing him, waiting to see if he'd admit guilt on his own (questionable behavior for a parent). Otherwise, this is an engrossing, tightly knit tale cast in short chapters and simple language that make it suitable for reluctant readers.

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
Horn Book
School Library Journal (Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2013)
Kirkus Reviews
Wilson's Children's Catalog
ALA Booklist (Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2013)
Wilson's Junior High Catalog
Word Count: 56,448
Reading Level: 4.7
Interest Level: 4-7
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.7 / points: 8.0 / quiz: 157101 / grade: Middle Grades
Reading Counts!: reading level:4.6 / points:15.0 / quiz:Q60143
Lexile: 760L
Guided Reading Level: W
Fountas & Pinnell: W

New York Times bestselling author Tim Green hits it out of the park with this action-packed baseball novel about some friendly competition. Perfect for fans of Mike Lupica.


Joey and Zach have been best friends since forever. As two of the best players in their baseball league, they’ve always dreamed of playing together on the Center State select team, and they will do anything to help each other get there.

So when Zach is forced to go on an extra-credit field trip that could ruin his chances of being picked for the all-star team, Joey comes up with a risky plan to bail him out. As long as no one finds out what they did, all will be fine. Then the unthinkable happens: They learn there’s only one spot left on the team. Suddenly Joey and Zach go from being best friends to fierce rivals, and Joey must figure out his next move. He has two options: play the biggest game of his life or use their secret to force Zach out. But is Joey really willing to put everything on the line to win?


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