The Story behind the Story

The Music behind the Story

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Reviews of
Under the Baseball Moon

• "Andres Ramos has an incredible musical talent that takes the best of jazz, rock, salsa and hip-hop and fuses it into something that is unique and pure. He has huge dreams of being a star, but mostly he wants to be remembered for making a lasting contribution to music. Glory Martinez, ultra-sensitive and fearful of failure, has her own dreams of Olympic softball medals. Somehow, she is calmer and more proficient when Andy comes to practices and games and plays his trumpet just for her, and Andy plays with special intensity at performances when Glory is in the audience. Ritter has crafted a work that is far beyond the ordinary. It’s about music and softball, dreams and passion, courage and loyalty and mysticism. The characters are eccentric and dynamic, as is the Ocean Beach, California community in which they live. Even the language is multi-layered, mixing music, sport and street talk with soaring imagery.  Seven of “Andy’s” songs are added as a special gift at the end of this truly remarkable work."
  —Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
  
  
• "Sparkling...mysterious...ominous...superbly catches the weird uniqueness of Ocean Beach, California."
  —Starred Review, School Library Journal
  
  
• "Ritter pulls out all the stops in developing his myth-heavy plot...telling his story in a hip, street-smart argot. Teen friendly, lots of fun, with plenty of thematic pizzazz."
  —Starred Review, Booklist, Bill Ott, American Library Association
  
  
• "Under the Baseball Moon...transcends the usual tired formula of baseball novels...quirky...refreshing...fun."
  —Washington Post
  
  
• "Lyrical only gets at a piece of this luscious novel by the inimitable writer, John H. Ritter. His latest offering literally sings... Ocean Beach and its inhabitants deliver the humor. Mix in some rhythms and beats from street culture, the music biz, plus a dash of magical realism and you have the perfect score for this novel whose voice cries out."
  —Dr. Teri Lesesne, Sam Houston State University
  
  
• "Ritter returns with another great baseball fable...[He] weaves his usual magic and creates an even better novel—a little more literarily complex and even funnier than his earlier works."
  —VOYA, James Blasingame
  
  
• Under the Baseball Moon was selected as one of Booklist’s "Top 10 Sports Books for Youth"