Gold Dust

Lynch, Chris

ISBN 10: 0060281758 ISBN 13: 9780060281755

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2000

Synopsis

If I ran things, nobody would have names. We would just have batting averages. Then there would be no misunderstandings.

All of Boston has been waiting for the arrival of Fred Lynn and Jim Rice to the 1975 Red Sox. The papers call them the Gold Dust Twins, the best pair of rookies ever to come to one team together. It is a Sox fan's dream.

Richard Riley Moncrief is that fan. And he intends to live that dream, in the stands and on the field. All he needs is his partner. . .

Napoleon Charlie Ellis arrives from the island of Dominica--and a world Richard will never know. Napoleon plays cricket, never says ain't, and is more at home in Symphony Hall than Fenway Park.

No problem. As long as Napoleon is willing to quit reading the newspapers, listen to Richard, and make baseball his life, the two of them will go on to greatness together on the field. They will be the next Gold Dust Twins.

Simple as black and white.

Except maybe Napoleon doesn't happen to share Richard's passion. Maybe he has a dream of his own.

And maybe black and white is not that simple.

2001 Notable Children's Books (ALA), 2001 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA), Children's Books 2000-NY Public Lib., and Bulletin Blue Ribbon Best of 2000 Award

About this title

Review

"'Don't make things more complicated than they should be' would be my philosophy if I had one." The year is 1975 and that's single-minded Richard Riley Moncrief talking, a Boston seventh grader too focused on his one true love--baseball, especially the Red Sox--to even contemplate that anything else in the universe might have significance. That endearing, maniacal obsession equips Richard with all the philosophy and metaphor he needs to navigate the insular world of St. Colmcille's parochial school, his working-class neighborhood, and all the baseball-related holy sites (the Northeastern U. batting cages, Fenway Park) in between. That is, until busing begins in Boston, racial tensions rise, and a polished, young Dominican émigré named Napoleon Charlie Ellis (who happens to be a bang-up cricket player) enrolls at St. Colmcille's.

The other major event in Richard's life is the arrival of touted rookies Fred Lynn and Jim Rice--the Gold Dust Twins--to the Sox roster. Not long after the two boys find themselves magnetically drawn together, Richard cooks up a new obsession: he will reform this cricket player, and the two of them will fulfill their destiny as the next Gold Dust Twins.

Chris Lynch's convincing sensitivity to a difficult age and topic--along with his clear love of the game--combine to make Gold Dust simply superb, a touching, subtle, and insightful book that comes across as clean as the crack of a bat. (Ages 9 to 12) --Paul Hughes

About the Author

Chris Lynch is the Printz Honor Award-winning author of several highly acclaimed young adult novels, including Freewill, Gold Dust, Iceman, Gypsy Davy, and Shadowboxer, all ALA Best Books for Young Adults. He is also the author of Extreme Elvin, Whitechurch, and All The Old Haunts. He holds an M.A. from the writing program at Emerson College. He mentors aspiring writers and continues to work on new literary projects. He lives in Boston and in Scotland.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0060281758
• ISBN 13: 9780060281755
• Binding: Library Binding
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 208