Review of "Catcher With a Glass Arm," by Matt Christopher

Review of

Catcher With a Glass Arm, by Matt Christopher ISBN 0316139858

Four out of five stars

 Jody is a good hitter and has significant knowledge of the game of baseball. He is a catcher and while he is good at the act of catching the pitches, he has a mental block when it comes to throwing to the bases. Afraid to really cut loose for fear of being wild, Jody consistently bounces the ball to the destination, making it almost impossible to throw out a runner.

 The main theme of the book is his struggles to overcome his self-imposed difficulties and they are compounded when he is hit in the head by a pitch. Although his helmet prevented any injury, he becomes afraid to stand in at the plate, envisioning even balls a foot away from him as potentially hitting him. Therefore, this is a book about an adolescent overcoming their fears wrapped up in a sports fiction enclosure.

 The act of meeting and overcoming your fears is one that all humans must repeatedly face, success in life is generally measured by how well that is accomplished. Therefore, the main lesson that is concluded during the big game at the end is a good one for adolescents. The only issue is that the fears are stated, restated and said again a bit too often.