About the Book

Title: The All-American

Author: Susie Finkbeiner

Publisher: ‎Revell

Publication date: ‎July 11, 2023

Back Cover: Two sisters discover how much good there is in the world–even in the hardest of circumstances

It is 1952, and nearly all the girls 16-year-old Bertha Harding knows dream of getting married, keeping house, and raising children in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. Bertha dreams of baseball. She reads every story in the sports section, she plays ball with the neighborhood boys–she even writes letters to the pitcher for the Workington Sweet Peas, part of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

When Bertha’s father is accused of being part of the Communist Party by the House Un-American Activities Committee, life comes crashing down on them. Disgraced and shunned, the Hardings move to a small town to start over where the only one who knows them is shy Uncle Matthew. But dreams are hard to kill, and when Bertha gets a chance to try out for the Workington Sweet Peas, she packs her bags for an adventure she’ll never forget.

Join award-winning author Susie Finkbeiner for a summer of chasing down your dreams and discovering the place you truly belong.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/All-American-Susie-Finkbeiner/dp/0800739361

My Thoughts

I met Susie Finkbeiner in 2018 at the very first Fiction Readers Summit. I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to read one of her novels. The All-American was my very first Finkbeiner book, and it will not be my last. About half-way through, I honestly wanted to go out and buy all of Susie’s novels.

The All-American is a beautiful story of an American family in the 1950’s. I laughed. I cried. I cheered. I booed. At first, I wasn’t sure what I would think. I’m not a big fan of books in first person, and especially stories with multiple first-person points of view. But I quickly adjusted to the cadence of back and forth between Bertha and her little sister Flossie. Each character was unique, so it was easy to know whose head I was in. Flossie is a hoot! And I absolutely loved the way she grew as a person throughout the story. In a way, these sisters reminded me of Ramona and Beezus, though with far less squabbling.

I could have done without the minced oaths—darn, doggone, and heck—also the mentions of smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. The father formerly had a drinking problem, and there was mention of the fear of bad news luring him back to it.

The ending seemed abrupt. I would have loved for it to go on for another chapter or two. And I would have especially loved for there to be a resolution or continuance of a particular element of the story. But for sake of spoilers, I won’t say what part that was.

The Spiritual elements of the story were subtle. I would have liked for a relationship with God to have been more forefront in all the characters lives, but especially Bertha’s. The little mentions of God were refreshing; however, it is written in a way that anyone could pick up this book and enjoy it, I think.

If the few negatives I’ve mentioned aren’t a problem for you, then I highly recommend you go out and get a copy of The All-American. If you love America, baseball, the 1950’s, red lipstick… this book is for you!

About the Author

Susie Finkbeiner is the CBA bestselling author of The Nature of Small Birds, All Manner of Things — which was selected as a 2020 Michigan Notable Book — and Stories That Bind Us, as well as A Cup of Dust, A Trail of Crumbs, and A Song of Home.

She serves on the Fiction Readers Summit planning committee, volunteers her time at Ada Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and speaks at retreats and women’s events across the country. Susie and her husband have three children and live in West Michigan.

Learn more at http://www.susiefinkbeiner.com.