Barbara GregorichCritiques

This was a cute story about a girl picking out a pet. It has basic sight words in short sentences. This would be a good easy read for a beginning reader.

Level H, Bears, Picture Book, Animals,

Thanks to the author and goodreads for providing me with a free copy of the book!

Just after I started reading this, I heard about Mo'ne Davis, who recently made the cover of Sports Illustrated. She's an amazing player -- a 13-year-old little league pitcher -- and the rumours are flying that she could be the first woman in the major leagues. So it seems fitting that I picked up this book and heard about Mo'ne at the same time.

She's on First follows Linda Sunshine, the first (obviously fictional) woman to play baseball in the majors. We first meet her as a child, but her story really picks up when she's in her twenties and her baseball career takes off.

It took me a few chapters to get into this book, and I think that mostly has to do with Curry's character. He's the first character we meet... but he's just so blatantly sexist, and it was honestly uncomfortable and frustrating to read the sections from his point of view. Don't get me wrong, though, that's an important element to include, and I'm glad that Curry's character doesn't read like he's been watered down. We need to know what kind of attitudes Linda is up against. That's crucial background/setting information. But because the book started like that, it left me wondering what the rest of the book would be like.

But I needn't have worried, because things get a lot better from there. She's On First turned out to be a fascinating story about prejudice in sports.

What really struck me as I read was how relevant the book still is from a feminist point of view. It was first published in the late 80s, but a lot of things -- like Linda's comment about being treated like a piece of property because of her gender -- are still relevant more than 25 years later.

The whole attempted rape thing really rubbed me the wrong way, just because I don't believe for a second that punching someone and trying to sexually assault someone are on the same level of harmful for the team. Having said that, I totally understand why Linda would make that argument, so I guess I'm just conflicted.

And I'm still not totally sure what I think about the big revelation at the end. Either way, I didn't see it coming at all. I think my jaw dropped at one point.

Overall, I liked this book. I didn't know a whole lot about baseball prior to picking this up, but I learned a lot over the course of the novel. And I have a special spot in my heart for books about women in sports, so this was an enjoyable read.

Sound Proof is the second in Barbara Gregorich's mystery series featuring private investigator, Frank Dragovic. At the urging of his girlfriend Suzanne Quering, Frank is undercover at the Midwest Musical Festival trying to determine the culprit in a series of valuable instrument thefts. Suspicion is rife and tensions run high as the mercurial musicians squabble amongst themselves and the stakes are raised when a fiddle disappears from the caravan where a murdered man is discovered. Was the thief simply desperate to escape or does a murderer also stalk the festivities?

Sound Proof is an intricately plotted murder mystery laden with clever misdirections and twists. The setting, an old time musical festival in the midwest, is interesting and the author demonstrates her familiarity with the scene with authentic detail. I know little about old time music so I was fascinated by the information Gregorich works in to the story particularly about the musical instruments such as the hurdy-gurdy, bowed psaltries and dulcimers. It is obvious the story is carefully researched and her writing is well crafted with vivid description and realistic dialogue. The pace is a little slow in places but there is a satisfying climax when the mysteries are resolved.

The story is told from the first person point of view by Frank Dragovic. Frank has the feel of a traditional investigator, keenly observing the festival participants under his guise of a carpenter, and discretely poking around their personal business. He proves to be determined and intelligent, able to unravel the tangled strings that bind the suspects.
The cast of suspects includes Frank's employer and several of the festival attendees and even the Sherrif and Deputy. For most of the story I had no idea who could possibly be responsible for the thefts or murder as Gregorich identified possible motives amongst the large group. Initially I struggled to separate so many primary characters who are introduced en masse and think that there should have been a few less but as each were developed over the course of the story they became distinct and realistic characters. The lives of the group intersect in several ways and the author does well to ensure natural connections between them.

I enjoyed reading Sound Proof, it's an intelligent mystery with a likeable protagonist and entertaining premise. Fans of old time music should especially enjoy the setting and mystery lovers will be challenged to solve the crime.½

This book was a real eye-opener! I had no idea that so many women had played baseball -- not softball, but the real thing -- for over a century. I had heard of Amanda Clement, who umpired semi-pro ball in South Dakota beginning in 1904, because our library has a children's book about her. But I knew little about most of the women featured in this book, and their teams, and their league.

Author Barbara Gregorich does a fine job of introducing the reader to baseball's women pioneers. The book is divided into sections corresponding to the different eras of women's baseball. In each section, there are chapters about individual players (and umpires) of note, and about women's teams.

From the "Bloomer teams" of the early 20th century, to the women of the AAGBL (featured in the movie "A League of Her Own"), the books shows us that countless women have played baseball with skill and dedication, the best of them demonstrating ability comparable to male pro baseball players.

Of course, Gregorich reminds us, playing baseball is one thing; having access to playing in the Major Leagues -- or MLB minors -- is another thing. For many years Major League Baseball kept African-Americans out of baseball with a "gentlemen's agreement" that was never put into writing. But as of the time this book was written, there was actually a written piece of the baseball regulations PROHIBITING the hiring of women as players, even in the minor leagues. Of course, I remember the battle to allow girls into Little League, and read some articles about women fighting to umpire in the major leagues. But this book spells out the many levels the fight has taken over the years -- Little League, high school, and college levels -- and gives us a glimpse of the overt hostility so many of the powers-that-be and rank-and-file players in the "national pastime" have expressed toward women in their game.

Gregorich also lets us know about those sympathetic to the women atheletes' cause -- people like Henry Aaron, the great slugger who insisted that women could and would, someday, play in the big leagues; former Atlanta Braves executive Bob Hope (not the comedian) who tried to organize a minor league franchise of women players (blocked by the higher-ups); and others who have championed the cause of women with genuine baseball talent and skills.

I would like to read an "update" as to how women have fared in the almost 20 years since this book was written. I daresay author Barbara Gregorich, who clearly hoped that women would be in the majors by now, must be disappointed in whatever progress women have made.

A thought-provoking book.

A little basic for Madu at age 5, but it has an interesting-enough story and lovely illustrations

$3.95

"From start (a sort of trompe l'oeil showing cheerful Waltur "painting himself into a corner" behind the book's red cover) to finish (an explanation of the origins of the book's three idioms), this is an appealing book that will call for repeated readings."
From NoveList, (Reviewed 12-01-2007) (Booklist, vol 104, number 7, p50)