ACE ON THE HILL

Wesslen presents a playful coming-of-age novel about a boy in the 1970s in this literary debut.

The year is 1975 when Jayson “Jay” Zimmerman is informed that his family will be moving from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts. Jay is not crazy about Boston accents, and he will have to change his professional sports team affiliations (“What the hell’s a Phillie, anyway?” he gets asked). Nevertheless, he makes new friends quickly—Jay has a good arm and a love of baseball that helps him settle in with some local kids. The story follows Jay as he, his parents, Joel and Louise, and his sister, Justine, go about their lives. Jay gets into some scuffles, frets over girls, and eventually pitches in a crucial baseball game. At one point, Jay’s father plans to purchase a sock company and move the family to Vermont. The deal does not go through, and the elder Zimmerman is stuck with an extensive legal battle. The conflict brings a lawyer named Jack Carney into the family orbit—Jack makes a pass at Jay’s mother, but the consequences amount to little more than a slap. The book concludes with Jay graduating high school as a member of the class of 1981. The slice-of-life format makes for a high-spirited account; Jay’s life occasionally takes a serious turn, as when his uncle dies, but the stakes never get too dicey. This can result in some fluff—when challenges arise, like a bad haircut before picture day at school, they do not quite make for riveting developments. Yet the light, bouncy tone keeps the story fun and moving forward. There are some funny scenes, as when, during a family trip, Jay’s sister wants to know, “Can I ask if we’re almost there?” By the end of the story, the reader should develop a heartfelt interest in how Jay’s teenage years will conclude.

While the drama is rarely pressing, the book makes for an entertaining swing through 1970s Massachusetts.