CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens (Spring 2016) - Commended Is pretending to be someone else the only way Michiko can fit in? Michiko Minigawa's life is nothing but a bad game of baseball. The Canadian government swung the bat once, knocking her family away from a Vancouver home base to an old farmhouse in the Kootenay Mountains. But when they move into town, the government swings the bat again, announcing that all Japanese must now move east of the Rockies or else go to Japan.
Now in Ontario, Michiko once again has to adjust to a whole new kind of life. She is the only Japanese student in her school, and making friends is harder than it was before. When Michiko surprises an older student with her baseball skills and he encourages her to try out for the local team, she gives it a shot. But everyone thinks this new baseball star is a boy. Michiko has to make a decision: quit playing ball (and being harassed), or pitch like she's never pitched before.
- A poignant but fun story of a young girl confronting racial and gender attitudes in 1940s Canada through sports
- Sequel to When the Cherry Blossoms Fell, which was shortlisted for 2011 Hackmatack Award and the 2012 Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Award.
- Continues the story of Michiko Minigawa, a young girl caught up in the internments of Japanese Canadians during WWII.
- Author has written two previous books in this series and three other children's novels.
- Author is a long-time educator and writer of award-winning educational materials.
