Over the Wall

Ritter's novel tackles questions about the effects of personal guilt, inherited guilt, and national guilt. Thirteen-year-old Tyler, a short-fused scrapper, has suffered ten years of fallout from the guilt his father endures after running over his daughter. With the authenticity of feeling he is acclaimed for, Johnny Heller captures Tyler's anger and longing in this first-person narration. He enlivens each character, Tyler's eager cousin, Louie; fast-talking salesman, Uncle Phil; the rough but sympathetic Coach Trioli. Tyler's New York City summer, spent playing baseball in Central Park while exploring his family's history and his country's guilt at the Vietnam War, is a time of self-discovery and forgiveness. The personal interview with Ritter is fascinating, a welcome addition. Unfortunately, the photo cover of a very young boy will not attract the focus audience for this audiobook. T.B. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

May 1, 2000
Ritter (Choosing Up Sides) again draws parallels between baseball and social issues as he explores the struggles of a 13-year-old boy on and off the field. There are many "walls" in Tyler's life: the outfield wall he dreams of clearing with a hard hit; the Vietnam monument bearing the name of his grandfather; and the invisible barrier Tyler's father has built around himself since the accidental death of Tyler's older sister nine years earlier. Spending the summer in New York City with his cousins, Tyler is determined to make an all-star baseball team. But Tyler's talent doesn't impress his coaches as much as his explosive temper does, and he is told to "shape up or ship out." Led by a tough but sensitive coach, a Vietnam vet, and by his pretty eighth-grader cousin, trained in "peer arbitration" at her private school, Tyler learns to control his anger and understand his so-called enemies. The author tackles tough subjects relating to violence in sports, religious hypocrisy and the Vietnam War while creating layers of metaphors that neatly unfold as the story progresses. Although Ritter stacks the deck a little obviously, his powerful lesson in compassion will likely reverberate for readers. Ages 10-up.