Swing

Swing by Philip Beard is a lovely story of family, baseball, and Pittsburgh.  However, you don't need to be a Pirates fan, or even a baseball fan to enjoy this book.  (Personally I am a go to a game or two a summer kind of girl.) Furthermore, although I do love Pittsburgh, you don't have to be familiar with the city to enjoy the novel.  He gets the tone of the city just right.  I particularly enjoyed this description of coming out of the Fort Pitt Tunnel:

"When the city bursts into the sudden silence at the far end, it is as if it is coming into existence in that very instant, and it seems impossible that every car coming behind will get to experience the same miracle:  the shock of the first sight of the city"

Swing is first and foremost a story of family.  It parallels the life of young Henry, falling in love with baseball in the era of Roberto Clemente as his family life crumbles apart, with the life of adult Henry, dealing with more adult family problems.  Although Henry is the heart of the story, his friend John in the pulse.  Ten year old Henry meets John on his way home from a baseball game and it appears to Henry that John grows right out of the ground.  This is because John has no legs, and has to swing himself onto the port authority bus with his hands.  Henry and John develop a life-long friendship initially based upon their mutual love of the Pirates.

All the characters of this book are lovely and flawed and real.  It was a beautiful and poignant story of the power of friendship and love and family.  I highly recommend it.