The Crazy Horse Electric Game

Crutcher, C. (1987). The Crazy Horse Electric game. New York: Greenwillow Books. High School baseball star Willie single handily secured his teams win against the team sponsored by Crazy Horse Electric. He is a star until a freak water skiing accident robs him of his athletic ability. When his relationships with his friends and family fall apart, he packs his bags and leaves. This story is about his survival on the streets of Oakland. This is a great book about perseverance that would appeal to any young adults ages 12-18, but would be especially popular among males because of the baseball cover. Readers will soon realize it isn't about baseball at all. It is about overcoming even the worst of obstacles and coming out on top. Willie is an inspiration to anyone that reads it. The conflict in this novel is that Willie is not the star baseball player his life revolved around. He is now an ordinary kid with baseball to define his life. He runs away from all he knows to deal with these changes in his life. Unfortunately, when he is ready to come home he realizes life didn't stop without him and his friends and family didn't sit around waiting for him to return.