Battle of the Books 2025 Reviews: Fast Pitch and How Do You Spell Unfair?

My youngest is engaged in the Battle of the Books, a competition sponsored by our local public library. His team of classmates are reading nine books and getting ready to answer trivia questions at a county-wide meeting in late April. I am reading some of the books too. The first two I read have reviews here. Now for another two...

Fast Pitch by Nic Stone

Shenice "Lightning" Lockwood is a catcher on an all-black female fast-pitch softball team in the U12 level of the Dixie Youth Softball Association. They are the first all-Black team to make it to the playoffs. Lightning is the team captain and carries a family tradition of "batball," as her younger brother calls it. Her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all played in their time. Complications arise when she finds out about her grandfather, JonJon Lockwood. He played in the Negro League and had ambitions to go MLB...ambitions that never played out. She doesn't know the story of why he stopped playing ball. Her dying great-uncle tells her that the career-ending moment was a crime that JonJon did not actually commit. Great-uncle has some evidence and wants Shenice to clear his brother's name. So she's got a lot on her plate aside from being a twelve-year old on a championship-bound team.

The book does a good job blending the soft-ball drama with the more dominant personal-history drama (and lots of comedic touches to keep things a little lighter). She has to navigate her family, which doesn't know about the scandal (it got swept under the rug). She discovers a lot of discrimination that her family experienced, especially living in the American South. She still experiences some discrimination but clearly not as much as her forefathers. One or two hard-to-believe plot contrivances make the book at bit longer than it needs to be. Otherwise this is an entertaining middle-school read.

Recommended.

How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee written by Carole Boston Weatherford and Illustrated by Frank Morrison

MacNolia Cox was one of two African-American girls to compete in the 1936 Scripps National Spelling Bee, the first time since 1908 that a black child participated in an American national spelling bee. She came from Akron, Ohio, where locals were proud to send her off to the Washington, D.C. championship. Her trip was not the best experience as she encountered segregation (she had to switch to the "blacks only" train car once they crossed into Maryland; she and her escorts had to stay at a different hotel from the white contestants in D.C.). MacNolia made it to the top five spellers (the other African-American girl went out in tenth place). She failed on the word "nemesis," which she had not studied because it was not on the official list. Her teacher and the Akron journalist who accompanied her protested to no avail. Even so, coming in fifth in a nation-wide pool was a proud accomplishment, recognized on her return to Akron in 1936 and by the U. S. Senate in 2021.

The story is both inspiring and heartbreaking. The main downside is that the reader does not get to know MacNolia as a person--did she have a sense of humor or a sense of style? What did she think of school, of spelling, of her fellow spellers, of her teacher? She isn't so much a distinct person but a character in the history of American Civil Rights. I wanted a little bit more about her. The art is great, with splash pages depicting the scenes in a charming style.

Recommended.

Our Son's Passing

Our son died earlier this month. It is a heart-breaking and difficult time for me and my family.

I'm not sure how long the funeral home will host the obituary page (see it here) so I am copying over the basics so they are not lost to cyberspace. The web site also has a tribute wall and a video montage of photos of Jacob.

Jacob Reninger Obituary

With great sorrow but steadfast trust in God, the Reninger family announces the passing of our beautiful son, Jacob Michael Reninger, age 17. He is survived by his parents, Joseph and Angela, as well as his younger sister and brother, and many other close and extended family members and many loving friends.

A student at Reservoir High School, Jacob will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Jacob had a compassionate heart that poured out kindness to others. At St. Mary of the Mills Catholic Church in Laurel, Maryland, Jacob was a volunteer catechist and the first to learn all the kids’ names every year. He was also a dedicated altar server - waking up early to serve at the 7:30 am mass. A Boy Scout, Jacob advanced to the rank of Eagle Scout and was proud of his project with the organization Sleep in Heavenly Peace that built beds for children in need.

Jacob was happiest outdoors. He loved camping, biking, swimming, and hiking. If he passed a piece of trash on the hiking trail he would pick it up and carry it out, even if that meant he was carrying a dripping, muddy bottle for a mile. He also enjoyed music and was an excellent saxophonist in the Reservoir High School marching band.

For the last several years, Jacob struggled with depression and anxiety. Before this illness gripped him, he enjoyed many happy afternoons playing touch football or casual basketball with friends. He was also fascinated with maps and world languages and would quiz his beloved sister and brother on obscure geographical facts. A keen chess player, he was always ready to join in any board game or a game of chess.

We give thanks to God for Jacob’s life, mourn Jacob’s untimely death and place our hope in the resurrection. We join St. Paul in saying: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. “ Romans 8:38-39

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Sleep in Heavenly Peace Howard County.

Book Review: Usagi Yojimbo Book 12 by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo Book 12: Grasscutter by Stan Sakai

This epic tale in the life of Miyamoto Usagi, the rabbit ronin hero, centers on a legendary sword called "Grasscutter." Four prologues give the history of the creation of Japan and the sword used by an ancient emperor to fight his enemies. The sword was lost in the sea over a thousand years ago. In Usagi's time, several different factions hope to gain the sword and thereby control in Japan. The Conspiracy of Eight has a member who uses a witch to locate and raise the sword from the seabed. Things do not go according to plan and Usagi winds up with the weapon. At the same time, several other previous characters (some of whom seemed to be in one-off stories) become involved in the pursuit of Grasscutter.

The presence of so many familiar faces give the story a huge, sprawling feel. This one story fills the whole volume and is the best story I have read yet. Sakai did a lot of research into the history of the sword (it isn't made up!) and lays it out clearly for the reader. So many little payoffs are made with previous characters and storylines, as if the past eleven volumes were building to this moment. The story is highly compelling and the art, so detailed and so evocative, makes it all the richer. Happily, the story goes on and I can't wait to read more.

Highly recommended.

Movie Review: Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

Captain America: Brave New World (2025) directed by Julius Onah

Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) has been elected President of the United States of America and makes a great speech about how he wants to unite the country. Turns out, it's not just the country he wants to unite.  With the discovery of adamantium, a metal potentially more valuable than vibranium, most developed countries want to stake a claim, maybe the only claim, to the resource discovered in the Indian Ocean. He's brokering an international deal but the situation is perilized when a high-tech criminal group led by Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), has stolen a sample en route to Japan. He's selling to a mysterious bidder and they are supposed to meet in an isolated Mexican church. The new Captain America, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), is sent to retrieve the lost item. Of course, he wants to rescue the hostages too. The mission is successful but opens a big can of worms for Ross, who seems to have some ulterior motives and background resources involved in the situation. Since Sam's long history with Ross is full of conflict, the mistrust between the two men threatens to make things worse. The possibility of an international incident drives them both into difficult situations.

The movie builds an intriguing political thriller with superheroes in it. As layer after layer of the conspiracy is peeled back, the tension increases. Some bits are far-fetched but overall the plot is very satisfying and gets to the final showdown (which is spoiled by every piece of marketing), an exciting battle between unmatched opponents. While not as great as Winter Soldier or Black Panther, this is solid entertainment and what fans come to Marvel movies for. It's exciting, has some good humor, and is reasonably intelligent.

Recommended, especially if you have been disappointed by a lot of the post-Endgame material.

Book Review: Saint Katharine Drexel: Apostle to the Oppressed by Lou Baldwin

Saint Katharine Drexel: Apostle to the Oppressed by Lou Baldwin

Katharine Drexel was born the middle daughter in an upper-class Philadelphia family in 1858. Their extended family had varying degrees of Catholic fervor but the three Drexel sisters were very devout. Katharine was especially devoted to the Holy Eucharist and wished she could receive daily communion, something not possible at the time. Her parents died and left a large fortune to the three daughters, though they only received the income from the fortune during their lives. Many young women were taken advantage of by fortune hunters and Francis Drexel wanted to protect his children from exploitation. Even so, the income was substantial.

Katharine struggled in her young adulthood with her vocation. She wanted to serve the poor, especially the African-American and Native-American communities that were at best neglected (more often despised) in late-19th century America. The Catholic Church, while interested in all peoples, only had limited abilities (and struggled with prejudice against it at that time). Katharine funded several missions out west and started schools in Philadelphia. The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions formed in the 1870s and Katharine was a staunch financial supporter.

She was convinced by her bishop to start her own religious order dedicated to ministering to these underserved communities. The process was long and arduous. She began with temporary vows and training at the Religious Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburgh. Soon enough, she established a convent in Philadelphia and drew young women to her own Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Several years were required by the Philadelphia Bishop O'Connor before the sisters could go out west--they needed both spiritual formation and practical education to minister on the reservations. Drexel began a vocational school that would eventually transform into Drexel University. The sisters began serving a variety of communities in the American west.

She also funded several schools and parishes for African-American communities, starting in Philadelphia and branching out to the American South. Memories of the Civil War were still fresh in many minds and hearts. Fighting both segregation and discrimination became an ongoing battle for her nuns. She founded Xavier University of Louisiana, the first Catholic and Black university in America. Katharine traveled often to visit the sisters across the country. 

She lived to the middle of the twentieth century. Her cause for sainthood was opened almost immediately (several people who knew her thought she was a saint during her lifetime). She was canonized in 2000, the first U. S. citizen to be declared a saint. 

This biography does a good job recording Katharine's history and her personal character, going through the events of her life starting with her grandparents, the first Drexels to come to American in the 1700s. The overview in interesting and inspiring.

Recommended.

Sample quote, from Cardinal Dougherty, the Archbishop of Philadelphia during Katharine's Jubilee year in 1941:

Humanly speaking, the sacrifice was heroic. She did not give up nets and other fishing apparatus as the first Apostles; she did not leave poverty and drudgery; she turned her back on wealth, social prominence, enjoyment of all that money can buy in order, even in her early youth, with its bright prospects, to dedicate her life to the outcast, downtrodden despised Indians and Negroes of the United States. [p. 185]

Book Review: Space Usagi: Death and Honor by S. Sakai et al.

Space Usagi: Death and Honor written and drawn by Stan Sakai and colors by Emi Fujii

The Japanese medieval ronin Miyamoto Usagi has a descendant who both follows in his ancestor's footsteps and has traveled into outer space. Space Usagi is a rabbit warrior for a clan who follows the same bushido code that his ancestors did. He is a general in Lord Shirohoshi's fleet. When they are attacked by a rival clan, Usagi is assigned to protect the Lord's son, taking him away from the battle and to the Mino clan where an arranged marriage with the Mino princess will solidify their alliance. The story follows the typical Usagi arc with a lot of medieval-style ships and outfits in the science fiction setting. I enjoyed it a lot even as I guessed the ending.

The book also includes Space Usagi: Yokai Hunter, a short work about the medieval Usagi going to a haunted castle to save the daughter of some coal merchants. He fights a bunch of spirit creatures and monsters as he works his way up the castle. It's a nice exercise in creative creature craft and has a little twist at the end that goes on a bit longer than it needs to, but is still charming. I enjoyed it.

Recommended.

I read this on Hoopla, a service available from my local library (and maybe yours too!).

Movie Review: The Bishop's Wife (1947)

The Bishop's Wife (1947) directed by Henry Koster

Cary Grant stars as an angel named Dudley who is working the big city crowd one Christmas season, helping people safely cross the street and such. He runs across a somewhat lonely woman named Julia (Loretta Young) who is the titular bishop's wife. Bishop Henry (David Niven) is a young and ambitious fellow who wants to build a cathedral. He has to court big donations from wealthy donors who are not as spiritually motivated as Henry is. He really wants to succeed and, after a frustrating meeting with a donor who wants a memorial to her dead husband in the center of the cathedral rather than more appropriately on the side, prays for help. Dudley shows up at his house and promises to do what he can for Henry. Dudley is already a bit smitten with Julia, so when scheduling conflicts arise, Dudley volunteers to take Julia out. He shows her the fun time that she wishes she was having with Henry, causing some conflict.

The story is an endearing fairy tale told with a more-or-less straight face. Grant has his usual suave and charm. Niven is very young, not quite convincing as a bishop, but gives a good performance nonetheless. The story has a couple of magical moments from angel Dudley, including tree-trimming and refilling glasses of port. The narrative is enjoyable but not quite weighty enough to make this the sort of Christmas classic like It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street.

Mildly recommended--this is a fun seasonal watch for Christmas, and maybe for Valentine's Day too?