Nancy Stancill's Reviews > Sour Apples: A Novel for Those Who Hate to Read

By Nancy Stancill

Sour Apples is a charming, coming-of-age novel aimed at young adult readers about a likable boy’s landmark summer. Middle schoolers, especially boys who love baseball, would enjoy it, too.
Jimmy Hamilton, who turns 11 in a small town at the novel’s beginning, knows what he likes—baseball, his fort and his buddies.
He also knows what he dislikes—going to church every Sunday and to the library with his mother every Saturday. In his eyes, he’s a man of action who can’t waste time reading.
He longs to be a champion pitcher, but his performance is uneven till he meets a homeless man who coaches him in secret. He repays Patch with food, a night refuge in his fort and kindness to Patch and his dog, Rufus.
The early part of the novel focuses on the fort, a ramshackle treehouse that Jimmy’s dad demolishes out of concern for his safety. His father instead helps Jimmy build a sturdier fort on the ground, hidden by the trees of his spacious back yard. The fort is used by Jimmy’s small group of pals. They can hang out, talk about baseball and mostly hide from pesky girls. One girl, however, catches his attention—a brown-eyed tomboy named Cindy.
In this summer of beginnings, tragedy strikes at the end. Jimmy handles it with new-found maturity. You can see how much the young boy has grown, in many ways, during a single summer.
For its deft characterization of a boy on the cusp between childhood and teenage years, Sour Apples deserves attention and respect.