Overview

"Moonbeam Children's Book Awards Bronze Medalist (2023), Young Adult Fiction category San Francisco Book Festival Honorable Mention (2023), Children's Books category On the last day of eighth grade, Millie Bauer receives a package from her brother, George, who is serving overseas in the Army. Minutes later a telegram arrives notifying the family that he is missing in action. Having already lost her father to an accident, Millie learns to navigate challenging emotions through her love of baseball, her seemingly unnatural pitching talent, and friendship. Later recruited by the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, Millie's journey in Fields Apart will have you falling in love with the timeless game of baseball all over again! Fields Apart tells a historical fiction story about baseball and war, though these topics are merely vessels. Kelly uses these topics to underwrite more significant issues such as the struggles of men going to war, causing an increased workload that women must now undertake. These compounded struggles take a toll on main character, Millie, as she learns to navigate challenging emotions entwined with the loss of her father and the news of her brother, stated missing in action. The reader gets an up-close and personal view into what family life and the surrounding community became after young men were drafted or encouraged to join the Armed Forces. J.N. Kelly is a lifelong fan of baseball. He spent the summers of his childhood playing on sandlots with his brothers and kids from the neighborhood. He now works as a librarian in Wisconsin, where he lives with his wife and three children. He still dreams about those summer days. Find out more about him here: joeniese.com ""... vibrant, memorable characters that linger long after the final page is turned."""

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9781644460184

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Reviews

Fields Apart is the perfect book for young readers (or parents) in search of a blend of sports and historical fiction. Kelly has created a cast of vibrant memorable characters that linger long after the final page is turned. This book is in turns: warm, compassionate, educational, humorous, and heart-breaking. -Nick Butler, author of Shotgun Lovesongs and Godspeed San Francisco Book Festival Honorable Mention (2023) MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW Middle grade readers looking for stories about baseball that blend elements of history and women's issues into the mix will find Fields Apart a fine study in sports and social concerns. It brings to life the milieu of Millie Bauer, whose family has just received notice that her brother is missing in the war. In 1941, enlisting in the Army seemed to be a good move in many ways. But for Millie's family, already suffering from the loss of their father in an accident, it's another challenge that could add to the increasing losses the family has experienced over the years. Millie is an avid baseball fan whose own pursuit of the sport gives her a respite from the trials of the world around her. Will it be enough to give her strength, with her brother's status so uncertain? J.N. Kelly takes baseball interests to a different level in Fields Apart, injecting the themes of a girl interested in sports with the vivid social and political currents of the 1940s. From Millie's challenges in entering a male-dominated sport at a time when girls did not play baseball to threats to the distraction that was able to move her mind away from her brother George and his fate, middle grade readers receive a vivid portrait of the 1940s as seen through Millie's perceptions of the changing times. Kelly's injection of just the right degree of social and political inspection as it influences a young girl's life and coming of age makes for an especially vivid coverage of the issues and challenges of this era. Libraries and young readers seeking a memorable story rooted in baseball, war, and a girl's coming of age in different ways will find Fields Apart an exciting contrast between times then and now, as well as an inspiring portrait of courage that plays out on many different levels and fields of realization.

Fields Apart is the perfect book for young readers (or parents) in search of a blend of sports and historical fiction. Kelly has created a cast of vibrant memorable characters that linger long after the final page is turned. This book is in turns: warm, compassionate, educational, humorous, and heart-breaking. -Nick Butler, author of Shotgun Lovesongs and Godspeed MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW Middle grade readers looking for stories about baseball that blend elements of history and women's issues into the mix will find Fields Apart a fine study in sports and social concerns. It brings to life the milieu of Millie Bauer, whose family has just received notice that her brother is missing in the war. In 1941, enlisting in the Army seemed to be a good move in many ways. But for Millie's family, already suffering from the loss of their father in an accident, it's another challenge that could add to the increasing losses the family has experienced over the years. Millie is an avid baseball fan whose own pursuit of the sport gives her a respite from the trials of the world around her. Will it be enough to give her strength, with her brother's status so uncertain? J.N. Kelly takes baseball interests to a different level in Fields Apart, injecting the themes of a girl interested in sports with the vivid social and political currents of the 1940s. From Millie's challenges in entering a male-dominated sport at a time when girls did not play baseball to threats to the distraction that was able to move her mind away from her brother George and his fate, middle grade readers receive a vivid portrait of the 1940s as seen through Millie's perceptions of the changing times. Kelly's injection of just the right degree of social and political inspection as it influences a young girl's life and coming of age makes for an especially vivid coverage of the issues and challenges of this era. Libraries and young readers seeking a memorable story rooted in baseball, war, and a girl's coming of age in different ways will find Fields Apart an exciting contrast between times then and now, as well as an inspiring portrait of courage that plays out on many different levels and fields of realization.

Fields Apart is the perfect book for young readers (or parents) in search of a blend of sports and historical fiction. Kelly has created a cast of vibrant memorable characters that linger long after the final page is turned. This book is in turns: warm, compassionate, educational, humorous, and heart-breaking. -Nick Butler, author of Shotgun Lovesongs and Godspeed

Author Information

Joe Niese (aka J.N. Kelly) is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and has written and lectured extensively about America's Pastime. He has authored two adult biographies on baseball players, Burleigh Grimes: Baseball's Last Legal Spitballer (McFarland Press) and Handy Andy: The Andy Pafko Story (Chippewa River Press). Handy Andy took a bronze in Foreword Reviews' 2015 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award (Sports- Adult Non-Fiction). Kelly was named 2015 Media Person of the Year by the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association. He is a library director in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

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