The Comeback Season by Jennifer E Smith (Kirkus Review Style)

So…funny story…I wrote a review for The Comeback Season for a homework assignment before realizing that I had to review an adult book. So then I wrote a review for The Boys in the Boat (see yesterday’s post) and turned that in, but I’d already written this review, so here it is anyway.

The thing that Ryan and her father always had in common was the Cubs. Their love for the unlucky baseball team is what Ryan remembers now as she thinks about her father on the fifth year anniversary of his death. This book is about loss and dealing with trials while at the same time preparing to move on. As Ryan mourns her father, her mother is moving on with a new husband and a new baby. Ryan finds solace in a new friend, Nick, who also seems to love the Cubs as much as she does. As they grow closer, Ryan discovers that Nick hasn’t been 100% truthful with her. Together they learn something about luck and what it means to love a team not despite their losing streak, but because of their losing streak. Throughout the book Smith does a wonderful job weaving the magical world of the Cubs and baseball into the narrative of two teenagers trying to figure out life. The ending will leave readers smiling through their tears.