Change-Up by John Feinstein - Book Review

Change-Up by John Feinstein is a mystery novel about the fantastic story of Norbert Doyle, a pitcher for the Washington Nationals whose wife was killed in a drunken-driving accident. As the book progresses, many people have different stories on what happened the night of the death of Analise Doyle. Stevie Thomas, a protégé reporter, and his best friend Susan Carol Anderson have to uncover the case and make sure the true story gets out into the open .

The story starts when Stevie and Susan Carol get a chance to cover the world series. The series this year is between the Boston Red Sox and the Washington Nationals. In game two of the series, with the Red Sox already up by a game, Manny Acta, the manager of the Nationals decides to start Norbert Doyle. a player who has never before played in the Major Leagues. In short, his first game is in a world series. This is a major story considering this has never happened before in the history of baseball. No pitcher has ever been drafted out of the Minor Leagues to start a World Series Game.

After Norbert Doyle starts the game, and almost throws a no-hitter, Stevie and Susan Carol are assigned to tell his story. They meet with him, and he tells the story of his wife being killed in a 2 car accident with a drunk driver doing over 100 miles per hour. While he is telling the story, he is very emotional and almost starts to cry. Stevie and Susan Carol feel very sorry for him, but eventually get a lead that he isn't telling the whole truth about the death of his wife. Stevie and Susan Carol must investigate the story, or else Norbert Doyle could end up landing a major movie deal to tell the story of his life.

All of John Feinstein's books are amazing. These titles include: Last Shot, Cover-Up, and Vanishing Act. All of these books include the same characters (Stevie and Susan Carol). Each book has a great mystery and fun action scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.

This book does involve a bit of gore, and is also a bit too complicated for little kids to follow, so I would suggest that this book, as well as all of the other books listed above be read by someone who is at least twelve. Of course, this rule does not apply to everyone, but an average reading level and reading comprehension level should be able to understand this book around age 12.

I would rate this book a 9 out of 10, only because the story takes a bit long to unfold, and near the middle, will begin to bore you for a while. The book does get back on track quickly though, and doesn't leave you feeling bored for very long. There are no suggestive themes or violence in this book, but there is one pretty gruesome description of a car accident.