The Focus and The Freak
Book Description
The Greenhill Cardinals' new kid, Dane Faulkner, doesn't wear a helmet, has a bad attitude and cherishes an old bat with `FOCUS' scrawled on its handle. He's also a phenom. Michael Duffy wants to figure out what makes the strange, gifted newcomer tick, but has his own hassles - a blinkered Dad, an overprotective big sister, and worsening vision that is threatening his Major League dream.
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The Greenhill Cardinals' new kid, Dane Faulkner, doesn't wear a helmet, has a bad attitude and cherishes an old bat with `FOCUS' scrawled on its handle. He's also a phenom. Michael Duffy wants to figure out what makes the strange, gifted newcomer tick, but has his own hassles - a blinkered Dad, an overprotective big sister, and worsening vision that is threatening his Major League dream.
When a bullying opponent is bested by a Focus-inspired counter-attack, a bond between the boys is forged and the source of the new kid's freakish performances is revealed: a powerful, ghost-like presence within the bat itself. It is a presence Dane believes is engineered by his father, severely brain-damaged and rehabilitating in the family home. Michael - himself all-too-familiar with the spectre of parental sorrow and the only other person `chosen' to experience the bat's gift - is convinced of Dane's claims during a late-night experiment at the local ballpark. Then the baseball miracle begins to give way to the medical variety and Michael understands that, in Dane Faulkner's world, nothing is impossible.
But what about his own world?
Convinced of Destiny's mean streak during a disastrous regional trial, and having abandoned his promises of playing for the Red Sox, Michael carries the dormant bat into his last ever game - the district playoff. Is there life still remaining in the dream? Is there alchemy still to be witnessed?
Perhaps if he keeps his focus.
The Focus and the Freak is a story of faith after loss, determination after setback and hope after defeat. Combining the best elements of magic realism and young adult literary fiction, it contends there is no more powerful thing in this world as heartfelt belief.
`Concentrate' - the Australian edition of `The Focus and the Freak' - was shortlisted in the prestigious Text Prize for Young Adult and Children's Writing.
| Publisher | TBG |
| Binding | Kindle Edition |
| Reading Level | Uncategorized
|
| # of Pages | N/A |
| ISBN-10 | B007TIZ4QQ |
| Publication Date | 04/11/2012 |
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