The All-American by Susie Finkbeiner

The All-American
by Susie Finkbeiner

ISBN-13: 9780800739362
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: July 11, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
It is 1952, and nearly all the girls 16-year-old Bertha Harding knows dream of getting married, keeping house, and raising children in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. Bertha dreams of baseball. She reads every story in the sports section, she plays ball with the neighborhood boys--she even writes letters to the pitcher for the Workington Sweet Peas, part of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

When Bertha's father is accused of being part of the Communist Party by the House Un-American Activities Committee, life comes crashing down on them. Disgraced and shunned, the Hardings move to a small town to start over where the only one who knows them is shy Uncle Matthew. But dreams are hard to kill, and when Bertha gets a chance to try out for the Workington Sweet Peas, she packs her bags for an adventure she'll never forget.


My Review:
The All-American is a coming-of-age story set in 1952 in New York. The story actually has two points-of-view: 16-year-old Bertha, who wants to play baseball professionally, and her 11-year-old sister, Flossie, who's a drama-queen who loves to read. Frankly, it sometimes felt more like Flossie's story than Bertha's, especially as the epilogue only explained what happened to Flossie and not the rest of the family. Flossie kept making comparisons between her life, with all it's unexpected disappointments and unfairness, with the novels she reads. She doesn't like sad novels.

The characters were likable and came across as real people who might really have lived though those events. The historical details were woven into the story and vividly brought it alive in my imagination. The main themes were women's baseball and how being accused of Communist leanings affected individuals and communities. Since this isn't a genre-typical story, I do rather wonder why talented-at-sports Bertha had to be portrayed as hopeless as a homemaker, even though she's trying.

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this historical novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.