13-year-old Henry Valentine is the school's star pitcher, is intoxicated by first love of a young girl, and all seems right with his world of 1952 racially separated East Texas.
Then he is confronted by an unlikely antagonist, a colored boy who challenges him in his town, bests him in a pitching duel, and fights him in the vacant lot outside of town. A wary distance becomes an unexpected friendship when they discover a common love for Texas beauty.
He is devastated when a corrupt congressman sacrifices Henry's friend to win re-election, and receives no sympathy or help from his disapproving family, church, and town.
He finds support in the feisty, independent-minded widow with a taste for liquor in her lemonade who helps him fight against the powerful using only the tools of an innocent and powerless boy.
In the end he learns the value of standing for what he believes in face of opposition, and discovers that there is nothing more powerful than a boy--or a man--who knows who he is.
"Note: Contains scenes and language appropriate for the time and characters."
This book is a 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) quarter-finalist.
"Ben and Henry, the touchstones of the story, are charismatic and nuanced individuals" -- "Publishers Weekly" review, from the ABNA submission.
"The author's and characters' voices were true to the 50s and the time. The voices of the characters will either make or break the story. It was perfect in this case." From the "Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award" review
"I was captivated by this novel from the start, and was sorry to see it end. This is a compassionate, principled coming-of-age novel championing friendship and morality and pointing to the importance of integrity." -- "Pat"
"Stars in the Texas Sky is not a light-hearted romp through the idyllic '50s. It is a well-written, down-to-earth book showing the personal growth of the main character through pain, reflection, and self sacrifice...The main characters, Henry & Benjamin, are both well-written and whose moral dilemmas are a product of their upbringing. The author has captured the mentality of growing up in East Texas when it was racially separated & uses the American tradition of baseball to present a well-crafted story. Great book and one that will be put in my classroom library." -- "Dana T"
"This book was one of the best I have read this year." -- "Pedro"