Screaming at the Ump

Twelve-year-old Casey's dad runs a school for umpires, so "people always assumed I was going to be an umpire when I got older." But Casey dreams of a career writing about baseball instead. Sports fans will appreciate the original setting; Casey is a well-realized character, and his anger at his mother for his parents' divorce broadens the novel's scope.

The narrator, Casey Snowden, brings a fresh perspective to baseball fiction, since growing up at Behind the Plate Academy has made him an umpire school expert (according to Mrs. G in the front office, Casey “could run this whole school by himself if he had to.”). Characters are quirky and authentic. Casey’s best friend, Zeke, for instance, is likable despite his lack of social grace: when Zeke is “rambling on” about an episode of his favorite reality TV show, Casey in his typical snarky manner observes that the story was “one of those things that most people would realize wasn’t going to be funny when you tried to tell it, but Zeke wasn’t most people.” Audrey Vernick gives a glimpse into the world of umpiring through the school’s curriculum, which involves lessons in how to properly crouch, how to put on a mask while still watching the field, and how to handle hecklers. Explores different parental relationships, including the strained interactions between Casey and his mother, who wants to be involved in his life again after she moved away and married “Bob the Baker.” The novel’s energetic pacing shifts among several concurrent plotlines, such as Zeke preparing his entry for a reality TV contest, and Casey investigating a story about an umpire student he suspects is a former major-league pitcher who quietly left the Phillies after being accused of steroid use.