What a cute book about friends and growing up. This is an adorable story about life and baseball, and really, what else is there? Would recommend for young boys and girls to gain interest into reading. This is a great beginner chapter book for growing readers.

This was a pleasant story about a middle grade boy, baseball, and teamwork. The cultural insight to Japan was really fascinating for my son and I. We found the MC Satoshi, to be very relatable, dealing with the pressures of school, cultural differences, and reverse culture shock. I would highly recommend this book to any child that appreciates a good story with purpose and is open to diversity and cultural insights.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

My 8 year old son and I listened to this book together. We both thoroughly enjoyed the story and will be recommending it friends of my son and their families - the story of baseball in another country (other than the USA) was a great one. Who knew that it IS okay and even expected to "cry in baseball?" The dynamics of school and family, along with the never ending struggle of how to fit in extra curricular activities, was well demonstrated in the book, as well as the quest to end bullying and the increase inclusivity of all students in school.
(Audiobook provided by NetGalley.com in exchange for my honest review of book.)

The cover of this audiobook is absolutely lovely - it caught my eye right away and made me want to listen to this book. While it's a middle-grade novel, I still found it enjoyable to listen to as an adult.
It's centred around the main character, 13-year-old Satoshi Matsumoto, who has moved back to Japan after having lived in the US for three years. Satoshi, experiencing reverse culture shock, feels like an alien in his home country, the only familiar thing being playing baseball, through which he slowly manages to feel more at home in Japan again.

This book really shows what it feels like to be a teenager, feeling like an alien constantly - and not only because one has moved countries. I'd therefore very much recommend it to kids aged 8-14 especially.

Nicholas Richardson did an amazing job narrating the book, making it a lot of fun to listen to by adding sound effects with his voice.

This was really cute!! It's Saturday, my kids are both home sick, and we're all going a bit stir crazy. My daughter and I decided to do a puzzle while listening to an audiobook. I found this one and knew it would be perfect! We're a baseball family, after all. ⚾😊 The story is really good! Heartfelt, humorous at times, relatable, and with an overall good message. I also love the blend of Japanese and American culture.

This was truly a family-friendly book... My daughter (8) enjoyed it, and I (30s) equally enjoyed it. The narrator did an excellent job and the added sound effects were so cool. Well done! 4/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my gifted copy in exchange for my review. 💓

So I got this book for my grandson but as usual with any book I get for him, I listen to it as well. This was a cute fast story about baseball and family and forgiveness. I loved all the sound effects on the background, it helped bring the story to life!

My grandson liked it but for him, it was a bit too long. He and I both talked about Japan afterwards. That was nice to learn new things about Japan with my grandson.

I would recommend this book and I would buy more books from this author. The narrator did a fantastic job!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me and my grandson to listen to this book. We both liked it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I am new to NetGalley so while this book isn't in my usual genre, I do like baseball so I decided to give it a try. Satoshi recently moved back to Japan after living for years in Atlanta for his father's job. While in Atlanta he played on the baseball team and he and his grandfather share a love of the sport. In Japan, he hopes to join his school's team but first he has to assimilate back into the Japanese culture, learn how to deal with school bullies, find a way to please his teachers and manage his stresses at home which include his beloved grandfather's increasing dementia and his sister's special needs. The book is a coming-of-age of story as we watch Satoshi make poor decisions but also learn from his mistakes.
The audiobook was a delight as it was peppered throughout with appropriate sound effects such as the crack of the bat while hitting a baseball, the chimes of the ringing school bell signaling the end or beginning of class and the rustle of paper while taking tests at school. They were all brief and would add to the enjoyment of younger readers. The only one that I found to be too distracting was the buzzing of the electric razor at the barber shop which was loud enough to make the dialogue difficult to hear and lasted for longer than was necessary.
Overall I would recommend this book for young readers who enjoy baseball or who are interested in learning more about Japanese culture.

Thank you to NetGalley and Red Chair Press and BooksGoSocial Audio for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is an easy read for kids and its great for them to learn the importance of working together as a team and communicating.

I know a couple kids I would recommend this to.

My favorite quote from the book is “Although we are many individuals, it sounds like one big voice”.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Satoshi has just moved back to Japan, from Atlanta, USA now that his dad's work contract has come to an end. Whilst Satoshi started his life in Japan, he's been in the USA for three years and learned a lot of their customs/ways, and brought back with him a deep love of baseball. When his new school proposes to join the baseball league, he know he MUST be on the team to show everything he's learned whilst he's been away to ingratiate himself back with his classmates.

We get to see the whole family dynamic, from his little sister, all the way up to his grandfather who is showing early signs of dementia. The issues that occur, are normal, everyday, family issues and they are dealt with sympathetically. It's not all "happy endings" in the book, for Satoshi, which offers a breath of fresh air to a middle grade book. He's struggling to find his place now that he's back in Japan, feeling like an outcast because he's been gone for so long and other students have moved on and filled any void he left, when he moved away.

The side characters, such as his parents, aren't particularly well detailed, but they don't need to be. They perfectly take the place of any parent of a teenaged boy - safe and present, but in the background. Satoshi makes plenty of mistakes, and has to learn to deal with them and correct them, in his own way.