‘It’s mine! I’ve got it. I’ve got it.’
Morgan ran backwards, her gloved left hand stretched high. Wow! That was some hit. The ball was still on the upward rise, cutting through the air over left field. Morgan kept running backwards, her eyes glued to the ball. She had to tilt her head all the way up. So far up in fact, that her cap fell off. Oh-oh, now she was in trouble. With nothing shielding her eyes, the ball suddenly disappeared from view, ousted by the glare of the midday sun.
‘Darn it!’ Morgan held her right hand over her eyes and squinted, but nothing could shut out the blinding whiteness of full-on, in-your-face sun. ‘Come on…come on,’ she muttered. She felt the intense light crippling her eyes but she couldn’t look away. She just had to make this catch. they were one run in front and this was the last ball. The game – the trophy – was riding on it.
Morgan is the only girl in her baseball team. She feels she has to play not just as well as but better than all the boys. So when she goes for the final catch to make the difference between winning and being runners-up in the grand final, she gives it everything. But she misses and instead catches a strange bright blue ball. Despite the apparent randomness of the ball falling into her hands, it seems destined to be hers. Everyone, including Skip the school photographer wants to see it. At first everyone is sure it must be a meteorite, falling as it has from the sky. But Morgan thinks there is more to it. It’s almost as if the ball is trying to communicate with her. The challenge is knowing who to trust and how to best look after the ball.
The Meteorite Kid is a further title in the Lightning Strikes series for reluctant readers from Walker Books. Like other titles in the series, it is fast-paced, high-action and short-chaptered. Told in third person, The Meteorite Kid follows Morgan’s adventures as she determines the right thing to do with this strange and vibrant object. Her task is made more difficult by some of the adults around her. There are those who show less than pure motives in wanting to help her. Morgan’s family are supportive, even when sceptical, and with the help of a new friend, Morgan triumphs. Fantastical but grounded in the real world this is a good fun read. Recommended for upper-primary and early secondary-readers.
The Meteorite Kid, Carol Faulkner
Walker Books 2008
ISBN: 9781921150807