High Heat

High Heat is a young adult fiction novel written by Carl Deuker. The book tells the story of a sophomore student who struggles through family problems and uses the game of baseball as his outlet.
It is the spring of Shane’s sophomore year at Shore Lake High. He is one of the best closers on the baseball team until tragedy hits his family. Shane’s whole life becomes affected by the mistakes his dad made. His father ends up committing suicide to get away from the problems he created. This has only left the family with even more problems to face. Because of the illegal life that Shane’s father led, after his death the government took everything the family owned. This left them poor and homeless. The family ends up having to move from their rich lives into government housing. Due to the family moving, Shane had to quit the team.
Shane is angry inside and finds himself getting into trouble also. He is drinking nightly with friends and steals alcohol from a mini-mart and gets caught. This puts Shane having to do community service and a year of probation. For Shane’s community service he has to do maintenance on the ball field. This makes him remember the days when he used to play ball and makes him want to play again.
Shane tries out for the Whitman high school team. After a few games on the team, he comes up against his former high school. Something terrible happens to Shane. He hits Reese, one of the players up to bat, with the ball and sends him to the hospital. This bothered Shane and he was unable to pitch like himself again. Eventually Shane does return to his old self; however Reese is unable to overcome the fear of being hit again. As the book comes to an end, Shane brings his new team to the championship where he once again faces Reese. Shane strikes him out for the win, and gains a full scholarship to the University of Portland.
This book tells of the hardships of a family and how they triumph over hard times. It shows how a sport can help overcome anger and trouble. If you are a sports fan or an athlete you will love this book. This has been one of my favorite all time books.