Cope Field - by T L Simpson (Paperback)

About the Book

A teen baseball star who "has it all"--looks, wealth, and a pro-MLB father--grapples with an impossible choice: reveal his abuse at the hands of his father and risk being separated from his younger brother in the foster care system, or remain silent and risk his brother experiencing that same abuse.

Book Synopsis

Crawford "Craw" Cope has anger issues. Or so they say. When Craw is sentenced to community service for hitting his father in the head with a baseball bat, he accepts his punishment without objection, knowing he's actually lucky. If he weren't the son of a famous former baseball player, he'd probably have gotten it a lot worse. So, Craw keeps his mouth shut and takes what life gives him. Like always. But when he arrives at community service, which frustratingly turns out to be repairing a dilapidated ball field to be named after his father, he meets Hannah Flores, a punk rock enthusiast trapped in the Ozarks with zero filter. As Craw navigates his own explosive home life, he learns more about hers. And as their friendship blossoms into something more, he begins to understand the importance of speaking his truth, even when doing so might destroy the only life he's ever known.

Review Quotes

"Perfect for reluctant high-school readers, especially baseball fans. It can be a tough read at times, with instances of abuse, drugs, and murder, but this work of realistic fiction will resonate with the right readers. Consider this for those who appreciated Holly Goldberg Sloan's I'll Be There (2011)." --Booklist

"Cope Field is a commanding novel in which a troubled student learns difficult truths about his family and chooses a new path forward." --Foreword Reviews

"A wise, emotionally rich tale of a young man finding his way through family trauma." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review