Book Review: Home Run by Travis Thrasher

Genre: Drama

Publisher: David C. Cook

Publication Date: March 1, 2013

Reviewed by Lori Twichell

Baseball star Cory Brand has a perfect life. Or nearly perfect. As a star player in the big league, he seems to have everything someone could ask for in life. Fame. Talent. Wealth. What more could someone need? But behind the scenes, when the lights at the field are out and Cory’s on his own, his life is a far different story.

Years spent running away from memories of an abusive and demanding father have left Cory as an alcoholic who battles heavy rage issues. Convinced he can keep going the way he has been and keep holding it all together, Cory presses on toward what is an inevitable and awful crash and burn. A major public meltdown that results in a PR nightmare sends Cory quickly into a rehab situation that sends him back to his tiny hometown in Oklahoma.

Now, face to face with a whole new set of demons that he’d hoped to bury forever, Cory is confronted with bad decisions he’s made, new choices he needs to make, and some hefty (in some instances life threatening) consequences for all of those decisions.

One of the many things that Travis Thrasher excels at is creating painfully realistic characters that are deep, honest and real. In this book, he’s done it yet again. Based on the upcoming film of the same name, Home Run is a beautiful, solid and gorgeous story of redemption and fulfillment. It underscores once again, the realization that no one is too far gone for God to reach out to them. No one. Even as Cory continues on a downward slide and doesn’t understand where his next step should be, we can see clearly that God loves him and there’s always a chance to turn it around.

This is true in our own lives as well and I think that’s probably what connects each of us so deeply to this story. It’s easy to find yourself in this tale – even if your life isn’t about alcohol or rage, we all mess up.

Travis brings depth and vision to what could easily have been a well used cliché. With a deftness of touch, he explores painful situations without pulling back or taking it easy on us. He takes us right into the center of the situations and forces us to imagine what would happen if we were in the same place.

Home Run is a beautifully crafted tale that has made me excited to look for the film in a few weeks. You definitely don’t want to miss this one.

Publisher Provided this review copy. Thank you David C. Cook!

*Note: This review was originally posted HERE on Fiction Addict