Willie Michaels’ goal in life is to become a professional baseball player, but he is a marginal athlete, at best, and he is frequently distracted by awareness of his oversized nose. His rival, Teddy Snodgrass, is not only athletically gifted but has managed to steal the affections of Willie’s heart’s desire, the tantalizing Trudy Trammell. Willie moves away when his parents purchase a rundown tavern on the Olympic Peninsula, the most wild and remote area in the State of Washington. Now in his senior year of high school, Willie plays football, basketball and baseball for the perennial doormat of the league, the Happy Valley Milk Maids. The Milk Maids lose game after game and seem incapable of beating anyone. But Willie won’t give up. He has a secret baseball weapon, taught to him by the town drunk. It might be enough to upset the Vikings and recapture the attention of the lovely Trudy.
In this, his third novel, Mike Clarke taps the knowledge gained from a long career as schoolteacher and athletic coach to create a coming-of-age story that is fun, heart-warming and wise. He currently resides in Port Hadlock, Washington, on Puget Sound, not too far from where Willie Michaels may have stepped up to the pitcher’s mound.
* Interesting characters, well plotted, a fun, enjoyable read
Soft cover; 6 x 9, ISBN 1-885003-30-7; $11.95 plus $3.50 S&H.
