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Rating: 
Summary: LIB 805 review by Julie Dalton
Review: Even though this is another coming-of-age book I like the style and the setting in which it is written. The author writes the book from a first person point-of-view, just the way you would think a 12 year old boy would think and talk. The main characters are well described and round characters. To cause conflict and to further the plot, there are a few flat characters who antagonize and help the main character Richard Riley Moncrief to be dynamic and see the situation that Napolean Charlie Ellis is in. Napolean Charlie Ellis, however, is fairly static, the only ways in which he changes is the fact that he develops a real friendship with Richard and is willing to play and enjoy baseball. Richard, on the other hand, undergoes an extremely drastic charcter change. He goes from being closed and simple-minded to being able to think for and stand-up for himself and begins to realize how much race and status quo play in his life and community. He also, for the first time, develops a meaningful friendship that involves feeling for someone else and having someone challenge him to think.Overall this was an interesting and well-written book. It would be a great book to use with middle-school aged children to urge them to be their own person, think for themselves, and not listen to peer pressure or take other's thoughts and feelings as the truth.
Rating:
Summary: LIB 805 review by Julie Dalton
Review: Even though this is another coming-of-age book I like the style and the setting in which it is written. The author writes the book from a first person point-of-view, just the way you would think a 12 year old boy would think and talk. The main characters are well described and round characters. To cause conflict and to further the plot, there are a few flat characters who antagonize and help the main character Richard Riley Moncrief to be dynamic and see the situation that Napolean Charlie Ellis is in. Napolean Charlie Ellis, however, is fairly static, the only ways in which he changes is the fact that he develops a real friendship with Richard and is willing to play and enjoy baseball. Richard, on the other hand, undergoes an extremely drastic charcter change. He goes from being closed and simple-minded to being able to think for and stand-up for himself and begins to realize how much race and status quo play in his life and community. He also, for the first time, develops a meaningful friendship that involves feeling for someone else and having someone challenge him to think. Overall this was an interesting and well-written book. It would be a great book to use with middle-school aged children to urge them to be their own person, think for themselves, and not listen to peer pressure or take other's thoughts and feelings as the truth.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful book
Review: I really enjoyed this book! There were so many in depth issues, like rascism and friendship. It really awakened me as to how prevalent rascism is today and how we can prevent it. As you proceed, some things don't happen as you expect it to be, which leads me to say that Chris Lynch is a great author. Even though the summary mentions baseball, the book has barely anything to do with it - it mainly focuses on issues that everybody understands. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, brilliant, break-out book for Chris Lynch
Review: This book had historical inaccuracies! For example the story of blacks not getting free passes and the rest of the team getting them was not released until the 80`s. I recommend it only to non Red Sox fans. For everyone else this book was a gold bust.
Rating: 
Summary: One empty ball game
Review: This book is about a boy named Richard, a fanatical baseball player. When a polished Dominican boy named Napoleon comes to his school, the two misfits quickly become an odd pair. Somewhere along the way, baseball-playing Richard gets it into his head to transform cricket-playing Napoleon into a star baseball player, and together, become the next set of Gold Dust twins (two player Fred Lynn and Jim Rice, who were really good).
The book keeps its plot while the 'big' actions, like Napoleon's arrival, take place. Afterwards, the book just wanders through a tiny section of already explained plot, as if it is lacking some sort of train track. The book then is explained in the second to last scene.
The ending is what disappointed me the most. It seems as if the author just wanted to get rid of Napoleon, so he threw in the new fact the Napoleon is a star singer, and he knows it. This leads him to join some fancy private singing school, and leave Richard's. The entire idea that Richard doesn't care very much about his friend leaving, and Napoleon being this amazing singer would seem alright in a story with unexpected twists along the entire plot, but the plot before this is incredible dull and cliché.
I would definitely not recommend this book to anyone, unless they like real world scenarios gone stale.
Rating:
Summary: Gold Dust
Review: This book is out of the park! The story begins when a young boy named Napoleon moves to America from the Dominican Republic. In America, Napoleon has a hard time making friends. There is one boy though, his name is Richard. Richard and Napoleon have a few differences. One difference is that Richard loves baseball, and Napoleon enjoys to play cricket. He just doesn't love the game of baseball like Richard does. Sometimes they get into little fights with each other. Napoleon even may go to a new school during the story, without Richard. Will Napoleon grow to love the game of baseball? Will Richard and Napoleon stay friends? Also, will Napoleon go to a new school? Find out in this thrilling novel,Gold Dust. by:Kyle
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