Heart of a Champion | 
 enlarge | Author: Carl Deuker
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  66 reviews
Sales Rank: 196360
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.6 x 0.7
ISBN: 0316067261
EAN: 9780316067263
ASIN: 0316067261
Publication Date: April 1, 2007
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Product Description
Jimmy Winter is a born star on the baseball field, and Seth Barnam can only dream of being as talented. Still, the two baseball fanatics have the kind of friendship that should last forever. But when Seth experiences an unthinkable loss, he's forced to find his own personal strength--on and off the field.
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
An ALA Best Book for Reluctant Readers
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Book of the Year
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| Customer Reviews: Read 61 more reviews...
 Carl Deuker is Brilliant February 8, 2008
Imagine how boring life would be if you had no siblings, no father and no friends. This is how Seth's life was until he found Jimmy. Seth saw Jimmy playing baseball with his dad at the park one day and quickly got involved. He started playing with them every weekend and then eventually everyday. Before they started playing together, Seth had never really gotten into playing baseball. Their dream was for Seth to play second base and bat second and for Jimmy to play shortstop and bat third. At first Seth wasn't good enough to play on the same team as Jimmy, but then they both made the high school team. See how their friendship takes them trough wild and crazy times.
The author Carl Deuker does a great job with HEART OF A CHAMPION. This is a great book for baseball fans and many other people. It really shows how a friendship develops between two kids who both have problems. This is a fictional story that is very good. Other Carl deuker novels that are also good are RUNNER, ON THE DEVIL'S COURT, and PAINTING THE BLACK. I have read all of these book and they are all excellent. My favorite is RUNNER. I highly recommend that you read HEART OF A CHAMPION.
The Heart of a champion November 20, 2007
How is Heart of a Champion a great book? This is a fictional story about a boy, Seth, who's father died a few years ago and one day he goes to the park. He sees a boy, Jimmy Winter, playing baseball with his dad. He joins in and has a great time. Seth and Jimmy become friends. This is only the begining of a great book. I enjoyed the book even with many dramatic twist and turns. Read about Seth and Jimmy as they go through high school. The book Heart of a champion by Carl Dueker is a phenomenal book. Enjoy one of the best baseball books written. This book is suited for sports fans who don't like to read. You will never want to put the book down.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too October 19, 2007
Seth Barnam's father was a golfer, and it probably would have been Seth's game, too, but his dad died when Seth was only seven. Coming to terms with his father's death was difficult for Seth, but then he met Jimmy Winter. Jimmy has lots of baseball talent, and a father that demands perfection from him. The boys become fast friends, and both sign up for Little League, even though Seth feels inadequate compared to his new friend.
Their time together is spent practicing baseball, with Jimmy's father usually there to coach them and urge them to improve. Jimmy's intensity and self-assurance on the playing field begins to rub off onto Seth, too. He improves as a student and as a baseball player, and he dreams of being as good as Jimmy.
Then Jimmy's home life begins to unravel; his father is drinking too much and then his parents divorce. Seth is at a loss when Jimmy is caught drinking and suspended from the team. Jimmy just can't seem to get his life back on track, and his choices lead to an unexpected result.
This is an exciting novel, loaded with baseball action. It will have an intense appeal to anyone interested in that sport, but the main focus is on the friendship that develops between Seth and Jimmy, and of coping with the consequences of foolish choices, and the grief of dealing with incomprehensible loss. It's easy to read with well-developed, likable characters, a gripping plot, and plenty of action. I highly recommend this book, especially for boys, but girls will also enjoy this story of a forever kind of friendship.
Notes: An ALA Best Book for Young Adults An ALA Best Book for Reluctant Readers A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Book of the Year.
Reviewed by: Grandma Bev
Heart of a Champion August 20, 2007
This is the best book i will ever read. It is perfect the story on two boys in northern california who both have big dreams and ambitions. Carl Deuker is the best author in the world i think. He fills this book with so much emotion. this is the best book EVER!
 Baseball and Friendship July 4, 2007
Seth thinks that if his father hadn't died when Seth was seven, Seth probably would have become a golfer. His father was an avid golfer, even though he said he wasn't all that good at it. But Seth's father did die, so instead of golfing with him on a Saturday afternoon, Seth ended up meeting Jimmy and his father at the park. Jimmy is a natural baseball player and his father is incredibly hard on him, yelling at him and making him practice the fundamentals over and over. Seth isn't very fond of Jimmy's dad; he doesn't like how the man yells at his son and how he sometimes seems to drink too much. Jimmy, though, defends his father and talks about how because his father is hard on him, he will someday play major league baseball.
Almost immediately, Seth is brought into Jimmy's baseball fantasy. At the age of eight, he is a little old to just start thinking about baseball, but Jimmy and his father manage to teach Seth enough for him to get on a little league team. He is so eager to catch up with his new friend that he practices hard and eventually advances through the Little League system.
Seth and Jimmy have an on-again, off-again relationship. They sometimes go years without seeing each other, such as when Jimmy's parents divorce and Jimmy goes to a different school. But when Jimmy comes back for high school, it's like they were never apart. As they grow older, though, their friendship becomes more difficult. The first problem is that Seth isn't nearly as good a baseball player as Jimmy. He tries hard, but he begins to suspect he simply doesn't have the raw talent necessary to make it like Jimmy could make it.
The second problem, and the one that worries Seth more and more, is the fact that Jimmy seems to be drinking more and more. He isn't sure how to stop his friend, and he finds himself backing off rather than starting a fight.
I liked that this book followed Seth and Jimmy through so many years; I felt like I could really see their friendship develop and change. I also liked that things weren't smooth for the characters. Each had his own problems and had to figure out how to deal with them.
It seemed odd to me, though, that there was never anything on Seth's mind except baseball and Jimmy. He never had any feelings for any girls that he mentioned and never seemed to have a single other friend except for Jimmy.
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