Review: A Season of Daring Greatly

A Season of Daring Greatly by Ellen Emerson White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first have to explain that I'm a long time Ellen Emerson White fan. Some of my favorite books ever are the first novels she wrote when I was a teenager, Life Without Friends and the President's Daughter series. She writes in a tone that I still don't think I've seen repeated anywhere. Her writing is sharp, funny, smart, and very fast paced, sort of like the print version of The West Wing or The Gilmore Girls. The humor is droll, the dialogue snappy, and while you can probably describe the writing of other authors this way, there's something really unique about how White carries all this off.

Since those early novels, White has written mostly non-fiction, including several biographies, and I will admit to not having read those. I just think she's just a master at fiction.

So I was thrilled to see she's got new fiction coming. Immediately, by the second page, I was happily immersed in another of White's worlds, feeling like someone was writing the rare novel for teens that treats them as smart, intelligent people. Under most circumstances, I probably wouldn't be interested in a story revolving around a sport, but I do know something about baseball--I was a HUGE Braves fan for a while--and really, White is exploring things that could be happening in a number of settings. On a basic level, she follows an 18 year old young woman, Jill, who finds herself as the first female in professional baseball and what it's like to be a girl surrounded by all those guys. Beyond that, she asks the reader to consider whether or not if even matters, or should matter, if a baseball player is male or female. Does it make a difference, despite the reactions of those who think Jill doesn't belong playing with men? And you can follow a theme of teamwork, and what makes a team, especially one put together by other people. Plus also, Jill's alternate plan was to go to college, and she's not completely convinced that college wouldn't have been the better choice. But is she a symbol to all women everywhere when she accepts this opportunity, even if it turns out not to be what she wants? She loves baseball and has been playing most of her life, but that's a huge weight to carry. Would she let down all those little girls who come just to see someone like them play baseball? I think this is probably the most interesting question White asks, especially during this period of watching little girls realize they could be president if they wanted to. Can women really do anything? And should they have to?

All that sounds very serious, but Jill's story is told in a way that will amuse readers as they smile and nod. I have to add a bit of a caveat to my review, the reason I only gave it four stars. I will say that I would have liked some better resolution at the end of the novel. I actually had to check a couple of times to make sure I'd reached the end, because I didn't feel like we'd reached any conclusions for Jill or these issues. But then, they haven't reached conclusions in real life, so maybe that's okay. There's not a lot of action, other than perhaps a touch too much description of baseball plays, and a little more of a plot would have appealed. I was really counting on a more decisive ending. I haven't seen a sign of a sequel, or that this is beginning a series, but the somewhat abrupt ending makes me wonder.

Teens, and adults, who are smart and sharp and want their novels the same will love A Season of Daring Greatly, whether they like baseball or not.

View all my reviews