Three Strike Summer

Starred review from June 20, 2022
Debut author Schrempp’s uplifting Dust Bowl–era novel centers around determined Gloria Mae Willard who, along with her parents and older sister Jessamyn, head to find work in California after the bank takes their Oklahoma farm. Gloria, still grieving the death of her baby brother, resents her parents for allowing the family to leave home behind and, later, to live in a rundown shack on a “factory farm” where they harvest peaches in oppressive heat for long hours and low pay. She also resents never being allowed to play baseball, despite having an arm so good that she once “cracked five birds outta the sky.” After learning about a makeshift team of boys from the orchard, Gloria risks breaking the farm’s strict rules, against organizing in groups and leaving the fenced-in areas, to prove she can play ball. Gloria’s forthright narration showcases her tenacity and burning sense of injustice, which transforms her parents’ resignation into resolve, providing an admirable maturation arc alongside a vividly rendered, emotionally vulnerable account of the harsh conditions faced by migrant workers. An author’s note provides historical context. Characters present as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown.

September 23, 2022

Gr 3-7-Schrempp takes us back to a tough time for Americans-even those who were not girls trying to play baseball. Gloria Mae Wilson is a farmer's daughter who has a great arm and is itching to play baseball with the boys in her small Oklahoma town. When area dust storms finally cinch the farm's bankruptcy, the family packs up and heads west to find work in California. Luckily for Gloria, the kids at the Santa Ana Holdsten Peach Orchard, where her family gets jobs, have an underground baseball game against Michelson's Apricot Grove next door. Will Gloria finally get a chance to pitch? Or will family and standing up for what's right keep her off the field? This title is a solid addition to Great Depression historical fiction, as told from the perspective of a strong-willed girl with a lot of spunk. The characters are all white, and while the author's note does reference how foreign-born immigrants fit into this period in history, it is disappointing that no characters of color make an appearance. VERDICT An enjoyable read for a niche group, it lacks wide appeal. Recommended for large collections where Great Depression historical fiction is popular.-Elizabeth Portillo

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2022
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Dropping readers into the Dust Bowl, Schrempp's historical novel accurately captures the trials and tribulations of families displaced during this period. The Willard family has been dealt an unfortunate hand--drought, no crops to sell, and dusty conditions that result in the death of their baby son. Like droves of others, they're forced out of their home and head west, taking only what fits in their truck. Gloria Mae Willard's parents find jobs as pickers in the California orchards, settling at the Santa Ana Holdsten Peach Orchard for both work and housing. Strict rules at the company compound and exploitative practices create a tense atmosphere and give rise to organizers and ugly reprisals. For her own part, spunky Gloria is itchin' to pitch fastballs. When she learns that there's a secret ball team at the compound, she refuses to be put off by its all-boys attitude and channels the organizing spirit of the workers, with wide-ranging results for everyone. Schrempp's writing is thoughtful and accessible, containing richly developed characters--Gloria is outspoken and determined yet teachable; her family, resilient. Even her nemesis is well-rounded. Readers will applaud Gloria and the workers while gaining understanding of a time that extends far beyond sepia-toned stills. This moving tale breathes life, depth, and color into the era.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from November 1, 2022
Evicted from their Oklahoma farm in the midst of the Dust Bowl, the Willard family strikes out for California looking for work as migrant pickers. Scrappy Gloria Mae, the youngest child, tells the story, and Schrempp admirably never wavers from her perspective. Not fully understanding the scope of their circumstances, Gloria resents the move and the loss of all she knows, particularly her dream of playing baseball. She's good enough; even Pa admits, "You got the arm of a boy twice your size." When they arrive at a California peach orchard, they encounter despicable conditions: an unsafe working environment, low pay, squalid housing, and long hours. To quash dissent, managers intimidate the workers, forbidding group meetings, locking down the compound, and increasing police presence. For Gloria these are only background issues (she thinks that the forbidden "organizing" has something to do with arranging peaches); she has discovered the existence of a baseball team at the orchard and vows to play. After a child is seriously injured in the orchard, Pa, who previously avoided all conflict, now believes that a strike is the only option for better working conditions. Gloria's struggles to join the team and her father's desire for change coalesce in Ma's words: "When you don't fight for what you deserve, the world just digs its heel into you a little bit more." An informative author's note adds historical context. Betty Carter

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from June 1, 2022
Drought, failed crops, and loss take a toll on Gloria, but she holds on to her dream of playing baseball. When her family is evicted from their farm in Balko, Oklahoma, just weeks after her baby brother's death, Gloria Mae Willard pitches a fit--then pitches a rock through the bank man's windshield. Pa is impressed with her throwing arm but shares some hard truths: They're going to do migrant work in California until they earn enough to own land again. The only thing Gloria wants as much as keeping their own farm, where Little Si is buried under the cottonwood, is to join a baseball team. The Balko boys never let girls play, but Gloria persists until she proves herself to the boys in their California shantytown. Narrated by Gloria in a conversational tone that brings the setting to life, readers feel her grief, outrage, and gritty determination. Descriptions of the Dust Bowl years and hardscrabble life in the camps are searing, and Gloria matures as she learns about others' struggles. While she organizes a ballgame, Pa organizes the peach orchard workers to strike for better conditions only to be betrayed. Pa is in danger of being clobbered by police until Gloria and her teammates intervene, illustrating the importance of hope, honor, and team spirit in combating hardship. An informative author's note explains the historical context, including the reasons behind the all-White communities Gloria inhabits. Inspiring. (further reading) (Historical fiction. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2022
Evicted from their Oklahoma farm in the midst of the Dust Bowl, the Willard family strikes out for California looking for work as migrant pickers. Scrappy Gloria Mae, the youngest child, tells the story, and Schrempp admirably never wavers from her perspective. Not fully understanding the scope of their circumstances, Gloria resents the move and the loss of all she knows, particularly her dream of playing baseball. She's good enough; even Pa admits, "You got the arm of a boy twice your size." When they arrive at a California peach orchard, they encounter despicable conditions: an unsafe working environment, low pay, squalid housing, and long hours. To quash dissent, managers intimidate the workers, forbidding group meetings, locking down the compound, and increasing police presence. For Gloria these are only background issues (she thinks that the forbidden "organizing" has something to do with arranging peaches); she has discovered the existnce of a baseball team at the orchard and vows to play. After a child is seriously injured in the orchard, Pa, who previously avoided all conflict, now believes that a strike is the only option for better working conditions. Gloria's struggles to join the team and her father's desire for change coalesce in Ma's words: "When you don't fight for what you deserve, the world just digs its heel into you a little bit more." An informative author's note adds historical context.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)