Summerland [B1750]

2002 HCDJ in nice clean condition. From the Pulitzer Prize winning Michael Chabon comes this bestselling novel for readers of all ages that blends fantasy and folklore with that most American coming-of-age ritual: baseball. Ethan Feld is having a terrible summer: his father has moved them to Clam Island, Washington, where Ethan has quickly established himself as the least gifted baseball player the island has ever seen. Ethan's luck begins to change, however, when a mysterious baseball scout named Ringfinger Brown and a seven-hundred-and-sixty-five-year-old werefox enter his life, dragging Ethan into another world called the Summerland. But this beautiful, winter-less place is facing destruction at the hands of the villainous Coyote, and it has been prophesized that only Ethan can save it.

This cherished modern classic brings masterful storytelling, dexterous plotting, and singularly envisioned characters to a coming-of-age novel for readers of all ages.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Bizarre little book that is a trippy, silly mishmash of basically every bit of mythology, urban legend, and fairytale that you can imagine, scrambled together with a deep seated love for baseball. Sort of an American Gods for kids with world hopping and cosmic forces and reluctant heroes. I think if I'd read this when I was 8-12 I would've loved it!"; "Few writers capture Americana like Chabon. Here he layers on fantasy elements for a rollicking kid's journey. A great example of how to use a character's "flaw" to save the day in a satisfying way."; "Helps if you understand baseball. Which I don't. Anyway brief summary, group of kids, a sasquatch and assorted fantastical creatures save the world from an entity known as Coyote by playing games of baseball against giants and other odd groups they encounter during their journey. It also explains where all the missing socks go to."; "Excellent family read. Summerland has proven to be a really great family read-along and a really nice bridge into longer, more adult and 'not romance' universe of reading for the niblings."