Ever since his parents died when he was very young, Theo Thomas has lived with his grandparents on their Kentucky farm -- but now that his grandparents can't take care of themselves, much less him, his Uncle Raymond is his reluctant new caregiver. Uncle Raymond is a Vietnam vet with a chip on his shoulder and little patience for his young nephew. With Theo in tow, Uncle Raymond heads for Destiny, Florida, where he has a new job and a room reserved at Miss Sister Grandersole's Boarding House and Dance Studio. Theo's not too sure about his new town. There are only two things that he really likes: baseball and playing the piano. Miss Sister has a beautiful piano in her dance studio, but Uncle Raymond hates music and won't allow Theo to play -- and as for baseball, who knows if they'll even be in town long enough for Theo to join a team? But as Theo settles in and makes a new friend who is just as baseball-crazy as he is, he's determine to find a way to stay in Destiny -- even though his Uncle Raymond seems to be determined to find a way to leave.
Ah, these folksy small-town stories. I have a limited amount of patience for them. Why do I keep picking them up, you might ask? Well, when they are done right, they can be excellent. Alas, this one was just okay. I felt like there was too little motivation for some of the decisions made by the characters, and the whole baseball school project/mystery just irritated me. But if you enjoy this sort of story, you're likely to find it much more charming than I did. I'm just not the right reader for this book.
(Reviewed from a finished copy, courtesy of the publisher.)
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