The latest in the Susan Carol/Stevie mystery series. In this one, the two teenage journalists cover the World Series between the Washington Nationals and the Boston Red Sox. During the playoffs, Stevie discovers Norbert Doyle, an career minor-leaguer who, against all odds, makes the team for the series and is tapped to start Game Two. Stevie may have lucked into the best story of the Series, but as he learns more about Doyle's past, he starts finding things that don't add up.

As much as I want to love these books, I only like them. Feinstein is a great sports writer, especially when writing non-fiction, but the name-dropping and over explanation of baseball strategy really pulled me out of the story. I also thought the mystery was kind of a let-down at the end and found the fawning that seasoned sportswriters and announcers did over meeting Stevie and Susan Carol to be unrealistic. It just didn't pull me in like some of the other books in the series.

Give this one a miss and pick up Heat by Mike Lupica or The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane instead for an excellent YA sports read. Or (if you're a grown-up like me) pick up Feinstein's The Last Amateurs, which is one of the best books on college basketball that I've ever read. ( )

While covering baseball's World Series between the Washington Nationals and the Boston Red Sox, teenage sports reporters Stevie and Susan Carol investigate a rookie pitcher whose evasive answers during an interview reveal more than a few contradictions in his life story.

Change Up: Mystery at the World Series is another in a series of John Feinstein works about two kid reporters, Stevie and Susan Carol, working big sporting events. It seems wherever they go, controversial stories follow them, and they unearth them. You can just tell that something mysterious and weird will happen as the book starts with the Washington Nationals, hapless in the 1970's and in the few years since returning to Washington, advancing to the World Series. That mysteriousness is in the form of Norbert Doyle.

The book was a great read, and once I started, I did not want to stop. Any teenage sports fan would become invested and interested in reading this. There is even a little romance throughout, so people who are not too interested in sports would like the book. John Feinstein didn't hit a home run with this book, but he hit a solid triple. ( )

Can you believe a story where two fourteen year olds not only get to cover the top sports stories for two major newspapers, but also get to do serious investigative work for the papers as well? Stevie and Susan Carol are covering the World Series for two major D.C. papers, and stumble upon a potential criminal coverup. This book is a mix of sports, teens given adult responsibilities because of their exceptional abilities, and even a little romance. Totally unrealistic, but fun. ( )

While covering baseball's World Series between the Washington Nationals and the Boston Red Sox, teenage sports reporters Stevie and Susan Carol investigate a rookie pitcher whose evasive answers during an interview reveal more than a few contradictions in his life story.