Danny Lopez is a half Mexican and half white boy living with his mom in Leucadia, Utah. When he was a little boy his dad moved to Mexico without warning, and Danny had to grow up without a dad for most of his life. But when his dad was around, they would play baseball together, which sparked a passion in Danny for pitching. Danny loved it so much; he was destined to became a baseball player, and in high school tryouts he found out he could throw a 90 mph pitch; however, he was inaccurate in aim. So he wasn't able to make varsity which made him very depressed. But when he got home, his mom had big news, she was going to send him to San Diego for the summer with his cousin. Danny wasn't very excited, and when he got there he hardly ever said a word. His cousin would be his voice, and sometimes he might not have necessarily liked what she said but after some rough times and some really good times, after some hard work and unfaltering determination, Danny finds the voice he needs.

The lesson of this book is that not fitting in is okay, and it is good to overcome situations that are bad because it makes you a better person . There are a lot of lessons that I have learned reading this book that I will remember for the rest of my life. For example, Danny was very discouraged from not playing so well at baseball, but he kept on practicing and I find that just amazing and inspiring because the will Danny had to keep on pushing is astonishing. The author of this book Matt de la Peña did an amazing job of writing about how people have to grow up with these type of challenges, and it can relate to a lot of people because they might have done poorly on something but after they practiced they improved and overcame the situation that they couldn't before.

My thoughts on this book were extremely positive;  I liked the way the character developed and changed into a new person. It is a very inspiring book but it is not the type of book for me and there are many reasons like  it can be a very emotional book, and I was never, and probably will never be, a person who likes emotional stories. Also, if someone likes a good thriller or mystery and especially action I would not recommend but, if someone likes books that are multicultural or a book that would make you feel emotional or books that would get to you on a personal level, I would totally recommend this. This is a book about people wanting something and they can't get it. They strive to get it  but can’t, with a lot of time and effort they achieve their goal,  find a way to be at peace with themselves and the world around them.