Review-Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace

DIAMOND RUBY
Joseph Wallace,Touchstone, 2010, $25.00,pb, 464pp, 978-1-4391-6005-3.


Ruby Thomas, a child of seven catches a fly ball hit by Casey Stengel on April 5, 1913. As she looks at the ball she imagines herself a pitcher. Whether her unusually long arms often a source of ridicule, contribute to her success one will never know. Catching baseball fever that day, Ruby is destined to make a mark on the world.

Later, using a tree in her backyard as a target, she discovers her athletic gift. A mighty fastball with pin point accuracy. Some years later, when her family dies during the Spanish influenza outbreak, she becomes the sole support for her two nieces. Driven by the need to care for them, she lands a job at a Coney Island sideshow throwing fastballs. The attraction, called the Birdcage, is a challenge to anyone to beat her speed. The abusive owner schedules her long arduous hours with little rest. The pay is low and the work takes a painful physical tole on her throwing arm. One day Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey, curious visitors, show up at the Birdcage to watch Ruby, and the resulting newspaper article rockets her fame. When given the opportunity to pitch for a minor league team, Ruby agrees.

As her adoring public craves more of Ruby, others of bad intent emerge. The Ku Klux Klan threatens her, the underworld wants to own her, and the baseball commissioner wants to ban her. All Ruby wants is to play ball and shelter her family.

Wallace has written a dramatically powerful story of determination. Ruby faces difficult choices, she is inspiringly special with an innate ability to endure immense hardships. The character genuine, not sainted, but human facing persistent challenges. Based on the life of Jackie Mitchell, Diamond Ruby is a historically uplifting unforgettable journey back to the excitement of the roaring twenties.

Disclosure: This book was given to me by HNR for review. This review originally was published in Historical Novels Review August 2010 issue.



© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2011].

Teaser Tuesdays- June 7, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read. Open to a random page.
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I'm not the biggest sports fan in the world so I was reluctant to read this story centered around baseball. Surprise on me! I enjoyed reading about Ruby Thomas and her boundless will and eternal hope for a better life.

Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace

From the cover:
"Seventeen-year-0ld Ruby Thomas, newly responsible for her two young nieces after a devastating tragedy, is determined to keep her family safe in the vast, swirling world of 1920's New York City. She's got street smarts, boundless determination, and one unusual skill: the ability to throw a ball as hard as the greatest pitchers in a baseball-mad-city."


"She tried to picture what it would be like to wear such things as a rule. To lie on luxurious pillows on Sunday morning, with nothing to do but pick at breakfast off fine plates while music played and the sun streamed in through unstreaked windows." (Page 79)

This book is an ARC sent by Historical Novels Review for review.

OMG!!! In My Mailbox I Just Received...

The Angel Game
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Doubleday
469 pages








I'm so excited!!! I just received an ARC gift from Doubleday and Carlos Ruiz Zafón of The Angel's Game due to be released in June 2009. I absolutely loved The Shadow of the Wind! I fell in love with the writing, the characters, the story and the author's talent. I not only recommended this book to friends when it had just been released, but I bought it for many. It was that good. I even have a quote on my blog from the book.


Now, he has written his second book, and I have waited so long for this day. When I went to the mailbox today, I couldn't contain my enthusiasm. I dare not start it, because I have three books going right now.


Included on the front page inside was a really nice letter from William Thomas, Editor in Chief and Publisher for Doubleday. In his letter he says, "If you are a fan of Carlos Ruiz Zafón's novel The Shadow of the Wind, you undoubtedly opened this package with glee." His words couldn't have been more prescient.


This book has been on the best seller's list in Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Norway and Portugal. According to the back cover write-up, "1.6 million copies of the Spanish edition are in print and it is the fastest selling book ever in Spain."

So, should I put all aside and just go for it?