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“The worst part will be the long drive, just me and Warren in the car, with so much history to cover and no desire to go there.”

As the son of a Major League Baseball pitcher, Paul Tracey not only longs to follow in his father’s footsteps, but loves everything about baseball. One season, a phenom is brought up from the minors and manages to hit almost every time he is up at bat – shattering records left and right. Calico Joe is everyone’s favorite baseball player and that doesn’t set well for Warren Tracey. Paul tries to keep his idolization of Calico Joe to himself, but when his father finds out, the consequences are dire.

I saw Calico Joe by John Grisham for sale at the local library’s semiannual book sale. I knew I had to buy it to read since it combined two good things – Grisham and baseball. I also knew my baseball-loving husband would want to read it, too. I chose it for the April Online Book Club book since that is the start of baseball season around the country.

Calico Joe tells the story of a father and son who are both trying to find redemption in the fall out of Calico Joe’s demise. Warren is facing his own death from cancer and while Paul hardly spends any time on his father anymore, he seeks out Warren to see if he would be willing to go ask Calico Joe for forgiveness. Forgiveness for what? Well, I don’t want to give that part of the book away, but it is something that both father and son have had their own battles over the truth.

I highly recommend this book. It is great for any reader high school age or older. You don’t have to love baseball to enjoy the story – it’s about parent-child relationships and forgiveness – things we all deal with in life. If you get a chance to read this book, come over to the Online Book Club to discuss it with us. This review was shared with #AnOpenBook with Carolyn Astfalk.

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Buy the book here (affiliate link).