Response to Jessica Mullino's "For the Love of the Game"

            This story is about a teenage girl named Lindsey whose father, a professional baseball player for the Chicago Cubs, left her and her mother when she was born.  Lindsey, a baseball lover herself, seeks her father at Wrigley Field only to be met with disappointment when she didn’t meet with him.  She retreats back to her car to find a loving note from her biological father.

            I loved this story.  It’s incredibly heart-felt, well thought out, and visually impressive.  Even though the story is about baseball, I feel that the plot can pertain to anybody.  In all, the story is about finding a specific relationship with parents.  In this case, the father, who I initially assumed didn’t care for his family, wants to meet his daughter as well.  The descriptions were fantastic.  I especially loved the introduction.  The audience thinks that they are watching a baseball game, only to reveal that it is a tape from 1985.  I thought opening the story in this way was very effective.

            There really isn’t that much that I would change about the story.  There is a lack of dialogue, but I feel that this works for the story.  In other words, it doesn’t feel like one character is walking around thinking in her head.  The pacing could be another thing that the author could focus on.  Overall, I liked the flow of the story a lot.  However, it seems to me that the character is jumping from locations too quickly (Home, school, Wrigley Field, etc.)  The ending worked well, too.  This is a great example of some implied change that the main character will be facing.

            Once again, I thought this story was fantastic.  The level of detail combined with the sentimental factor really tugs at my heartstrings.  Not to mention that the Cubs are my favorite baseball team.  I enjoyed reading this story.  Great Job.