In between the sun setting on the baseball season in October and the sun rising again in late February for spring training, baseball fans across the country speculate about what the next season will bring. This can be a tough time for a Chicago Cubs fan. Actually, in general, being a Cubs fan is not for the faint of heart.
The Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908. Wrigley Field turns 100 this year and it has never witnessed a World Series victory. For 106 years, Cubs fans across the country have been waiting for the “loveable losers” to win.
If you’re a long-suffering Cubs fan, I have a novel that might help you keep the fire burning. Abner’s Story, by Michael Bellito, is about two teenagers(named as it happens after Bellito’s real-life sons) who interview an older man. The older man turns out to be one of the last people to remember a Cubs World Series victory.
Bellito was inspired to write the book after his uncle passed away a few years ago. His uncle had a story about ditching high school with a friend in 1945 to attend a World Series game at Wrigley Field. While he was there, he purchased a program—now a prized possession of Bellito. As a loyal baseball fan, the author has attended numerous baseball games with his son Matthew. Every playoff game that Bellito has attended resulted in a win!
Abner’s Story is a feel-good story great for all ages and especially for passionate fans of baseball. The lead characters, Matt and Jason, are easy to get behind and root for. Whether you’re a baseball history buff or are barely aware of the consistent struggles at Wrigley Field, the author discusses the long struggle in a way that will bring newcomers along without boring more advanced readers. (One example: I always enjoy when a book can smartly include a reference to Babe Ruth without going off on tangent or distracting from the storyline. Abner’s Story pulls this off nicely.)
If you enjoy Abner’s Story as much as I did, you might enjoy Bellito’s other books, Ten Again and First Time Around.
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