Be the One

May 29, 2000
Cassidy Sanderson, the 35-year-old heroine of Smith's (North of Montana) tough, smart novel, is a baseball scout for the L.A. DodgersDthe only woman scout in the major leagues in 1994. On a hot tip from her godfather, Pedro, a "successful bird-dog scout, " she goes to the Dominican Republic in pursuit of a young center fielder named Alberto Cruz. During this unauthorized trip, she meets Joe Galinis, a downtown-L.A. developer to whom she is immediately drawn. She and Joe, along with Alberto, drive drunk into a hurricane, and a confusing accident in the violent murky weather (related in interspersed flashbacks) yields misfortune that follows them back to Los Angeles. As Cassidy gets Alberto into training in California, the action, somewhat sluggish at the outset, quickens: Alberto and Joe receive anonymous blackmail notes, and Cassidy runs into danger on a trip to view spring training in Vero Beach, Fla. The Dodgers and the L.A. and Vero Beach police departments get involved, which stands to jeopardize the careers of Alberto, Joe and CassidyDas well as the romance developing between the latter two. To Cassidy, baseball is more than business: formerly a pro softball player, she has always been a pioneer; in addition, she's living out the expectations of her beloved, deceased brother. Befriended in Vero Beach by detective Nate Allen, who later ends up in L.A. on official business, she faces a host of difficult decisions. Smith's characters are hard to empathize withDCassidy, in particular, keeps her game face so assiduously that the reader only sometimes glimpses her vulnerabilitiesDand a major leap in determining the blackmailer's motive isn't confirmed until the end, which threatens the story's plausibility. While the writing is generally firm and judicious, Smith's prose sometimes swerves into the overly ornate. But this ambitious novel, much to its credit, does venture beyond these ambivalences to provocatively rephrase the perennial tale of a woman in a man's world. 75,000 first printing.

March 1, 2000
In Smith's latest, hard-drinking Cassidy Sanderson--the only female scout in the major leagues--encounters two men in the Dominican Republic who change her life: a phenomenal young player and a seductive older agent. Soon all three are enmeshed in blackmail.

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2000
Cassidy Sanderson, the 35-year-old heroine of Smith's (North of Montana) tough, smart novel, is a baseball scout for the L.A. Dodgers-the only woman scout in the major leagues in 1994. On a hot tip from her godfather, Pedro, a "successful bird-dog scout, " she goes to the Dominican Republic in pursuit of a young center fielder named Alberto Cruz. During this unauthorized trip, she meets Joe Galinis, a downtown-L.A. developer to whom she is immediately drawn. She and Joe, along with Alberto, drive drunk into a hurricane, and a confusing accident in the violent murky weather (related in interspersed flashbacks) yields misfortune that follows them back to Los Angeles. As Cassidy gets Alberto into training in California, the action, somewhat sluggish at the outset, quickens: Alberto and Joe receive anonymous blackmail notes, and Cassidy runs into danger on a trip to view spring training in Vero Beach, Fla. The Dodgers and the L.A. and Vero Beach police departments get involved, which stands to jeopardize the careers of Alberto, Joe and Cassidy-as well as the romance developing between the latter two. To Cassidy, baseball is more than business: formerly a pro softball player, she has always been a pioneer; in addition, she's living out the expectations of her beloved, deceased brother. Befriended in Vero Beach by detective Nate Allen, who later ends up in L.A. on official business, she faces a host of difficult decisions. Smith's characters are hard to empathize with-Cassidy, in particular, keeps her game face so assiduously that the reader only sometimes glimpses her vulnerabilities-and a major leap in determining the blackmailer's motive isn't confirmed until the end, which threatens the story's plausibility. While the writing is generally firm and judicious, Smith's prose sometimes swerves into the overly ornate. But this ambitious novel, much to its credit, does venture beyond these ambivalences to provocatively rephrase the perennial tale of a woman in a man's world. 75,000 first printing. (July)

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2000
Smith follows her celebrated debut, "North of Montana" (1994), with an intriguing baseball thriller about the major leagues' only female scout. On a tip from her mentor, Dodger scout Cassidy Sanderson travels to the Dominican Republic in search of a "phenom," sweet-swinging 18-year-old Alberto Cruz. She finds and signs her phenom, but while in Central America, she also meets slick developer Joe Galinis, who looks like the man of her dreams. Back in L.A., however, the dreams turn quickly to nightmares. Cassidy, Cruz, and Galinis find themselves in the middle of a voodoo-laced blackmail plot, and as the violence escalates, it becomes harder and harder to know whom to trust. The thriller elements here are capably presented, but it is the baseball story that really gives the novel its appeal. Smith delivers plenty of details about what scouts do, and she introduces the feminist theme--Who says Cassidy can't close a deal as tightly as a male scout?--with sensitivity and intelligence. She also builds her character from the ground up, showing how Cassidy came to love the game and putting a very human face on the sexism that denies talented girls the opportunity to compete with the best. A fine thriller but an even better sports novel. ((Reviewed May 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)