Our Game by Jeffrey P. Shafer
(Fiction, Women)
Impactful and compelling, Our Game is terrific novel to add to your summer reading list. The story chronicles the life of a young woman with dreams of defying the odds and breaking the gender barrier in Major League Baseball. This is so much more than a novel about baseball. It’s a deeply human story about staying true to yourself, facing your fears, and challenging the status quo to drive positive change.
The story introduces you to its protagonist, Maria. Some might think she has it all figured out – she is graduating from college and has plenty of opportunities to achieve a career and a grad school education. But none of that matters to Maria. All she wants is to be on a green field, in the sun. All she wants in life is to play baseball. But despite her athletic gifts, she has no chance since women don’t play baseball – especially Major League Baseball.
Maria, however, is undeterred by gender barriers. With the assistance of an entrepreneur and Major League Baseball’s commissioner, Maria embarks on an enthralling journey to do what has never been done before – earn a place in the big leagues. But she is not only up against hundreds of years of strict tradition. Maria also must overcome a group of enemies and co-conspirators who pose a legitimate threat to her hopes and dreams.
Written with empathy, heart, and passion, Jeffrey Shafer’s book will resonate with all readers who have ever felt left out, cast aside, or forgotten. For those like me (whose formative years were spent on the ball field), the book is certain to evoke nostalgia and the complex emotions that come from loving baseball. Our Game is appealing for all readers, not only the baseball fans.
The book is rich with universally relatable themes like finding love, confronting insecurity, and discovering community in the most unlikely of places. Our Game is meaningful, relevant, and spreads a necessary message about the significance of women in sports. I highly recommend you give this book a read – you will not be disappointed by this literary home run.
Leave a Reply