Patrick J. Joyce

Louisburg Sluggers a Novel Patrick J. Joyce

Louisburg Sluggers is more than a baseball tale. This moving story stirs the hearts of fans and non-fans alike as a diverse group of teenage boys lead batting coach Nate Lugo and his ever present bulldog Gunner into the alien world of technology, into his daughter's world of underclass students and finally back to his old stomping grounds of Fenway Park. Along the way, future major league slugger Richie D'Angelo, Luther Gordon and the rest of the South End High kids along with the upper crust trio of Roger Grey, Cecil Underwood and Harmon Hudson, all learn to tolerate each other and become a team. Using his father's association with the M. I. T. Intelligence Lab, Harmon Hudson discovers the Spirit of Technology in the delightful form of the computer character, Razzle Dazzle. This futuristic element combined with the nostalgia of the nation's oldest ballpark enables Clyde Gooding and Billy Ray Block, old school sports announcers, to rekindle their enthusiasm and, along with the reader, to experience the Game of Games in which the boys face off against the Red Sox. The backdrops of Fenway Park, the posh Beacon Hill area and the Inner City of Boston lend an excellent canvas for this timeless rendering of values and fair play. All these elements are woven together to form a compelling story that is often exciting, sometimes heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting for all readers regardless of age.