THE ROOKIE BOOKIE

Best-selling authors Wertheim and Moskowitz (Scorecasting, 2011) team up again on their first novel for children.

Unsurprisingly given their expertise, their foray into middle-grade fiction will appeal mostly to sports fans with a passion for statistics and playing the odds. Seventh-grader Mitch Sloan is the new kid at Jonasburg Middle School, and he’s determined to fit in. Unfortunately, it’s a little easier said than done in this small, football-obsessed Indiana town, as Mitch is more into talking about sports than actually playing them. What Mitch is really into is money—namely, figuring out how to make a lot of it as quickly and as easily as possible. When tomboy and fellow sports fan Jamie Spielberger turns up as a potential business partner and best friend, the kindred spirits turn their sports and business know-how into a wildly successful, and possibly illicit, middle school gambling ring. While Wertheim and Moskowitz cleverly introduce elements of probability, economics and business, these bits of wisdom often get bogged down in sports talk, and the book often winds up feeling too much like a how-to manual for aspiring bookies. Still, there is a heart to Mitch’s tale, and his desire to protect his family and to forge true friendships will resonate with readers.

The sports fan’s alternative to The Lemonade War.