to the official website
of young adult baseball novelist
John H. Ritter—
a world of magical realism,
historical fiction, and the stories
behind the storytelling.
Choosing Up Sides: AZ Governor Does the Right (Left) Thing!
APRIL 13, 2014
I'll let you in on a little secret. When my first novel, Choosing Up Sides, was published sixteen years ago today, I stood silent as to the real reason I had written the book.
On the surface, Choosing Up Sides, set in 1921 Southern Ohio, was the story of a left-handed boy who is forced to go through life right-handed due to his family's religious beliefs. Under the surface, it was something else.
As the late, great fantasy writer and mentor Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles) used to tell us young writers at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference each June, “Story is metaphor. Life is metaphor. It's all about metaphor.”
Kirkus Reviews calls Fenway Fever
"...full of energy and wonder."
From IRA's Reading Today:
"With its moments of pathos, heroism, mysticism, and wonder from a master craftsman, this seamlessly-written book will make readers believe in all sorts of miracles."
Fenway Fever
What if a baseball crazy boy genius and a quirky Red Sox pitcher were the only ones who could reverse a new Red Sox Curse and restore balance once again to Fenway Park?
Book I of Cruz: The Desperado Who Stole Baseball What if the ancestors of Cruz de la Cruz met up with outlaw Billy the Kid and they changed the game of baseball forever?
Book II of Cruz:
The Boy Who
Saved Baseball
What if one day a boy discovers the secret of hitting a baseball—every time?
Choosing Up Sides
What if a natural lefty was forced by religion to be right-handed? Where could he go to be himself?
Over the Wall
What if an all-star shortstop's future depended upon building a Vietnam War Memorial—
to the other side?
Under the Baseball Moon
What if music could perfect a pitcher's timing? Or help a batter hit the perfect pitch?