Conviction
Ten years ago, Braden was given a sign--a promise that his family wouldn't fall apart the way he feared. But Braden got it wrong: his older brother, Trey, has been estranged from the family for almost as long, and his father, the only parent Braden has ever known, has been accused of murder. The arrest of Braden's father, a well-known Christian radio host, has sparked national media attention. His fate lies in his son's hands; Braden is the key witness in his father's upcoming trial.
Braden has always measured himself through baseball. He is the star pitcher in his small town of Ornette, and his ninety-four mile per hour pitch already has minor league scouts buzzing in his junior year. Now the rules of the sport that has always been Braden's saving grace are blurred in ways he never realized, and the prospect of playing against Alex Reyes, the nephew of the police officer his father is accused of killing, is haunting his every pitch.
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Community Reviews
There seemed to be a lot of love for this book, but I'm not sure I quite...get it. The love, not the book.
This just dragged for me.
I wasn't bothered with the God talk. I thought this did a good job representing the Christians who aren't really Christians but instead push their own agenda while using the Bible as a crutch to support that agenda. Did I agree with everything the various characters thought about religion? No, but I have tolerance for other religions as long as they aren't rooted in and represented through hate.
I think what truly ruined this for me was that I was annoyed with Braden. I don't mind a book that doesn't have any likeable characters or an unlikeable main character, but he was truly annoying. I had a hard time digging up the sympathy for him that I should have felt. He had as much depth as a puddle of spit.
And the baseball. Oh lord, the baseball.
Listen, I can read about sports, even ones that I don't follow. I understand the basic rules of most sports - at least enough to follow what the author is talking about. However, to read about them in a book that isn't about that sport specifically, there needs to be a good reason. Do I care about hockey? Not really unless you count watching Might Ducks 2 a million times. Yet Fredrik Backman makes me want to read about a hockey town until my eyes are worn out and blood shot. I felt like this was just shoving baseball down my throat and grasping at straws to tie it to the main story. A few times would have been fine. A quarter of the book? No. This does nothing to make me like the main character. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CARE ABOUT SOMETHING OTHER THAN BASEBALL. YOUR FATHER IS IN JAIL AND YOU'RE WORRYING ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING GAMES. I DON'T CARE THAT YOU TIE BASEBALL TO YOUR FATHER OR THAT YOU USE IT TO SHOW YOU "SIGNS." IT IS A STRETCH.
Not terrible, but I really didn't care for this.
2 or 2.5ish Stars
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