The Brooklyn Nine's first review!

Editor Liz just forwarded me The Brooklyn Nine's first review, and it's a good one. And from Kirkus, no less!

Nearly nine generations span the years from Alexander Cartwright’s 1840s Knickerbocker Base Ball days to the present, and Gratz places a young character from a fictional family of Brooklynites in each, threading their stories together with the development of the American bat and ball game. Abner Doubleday makes a very brief appearance at a Union Army camp (even as the author discredits the myth that Doubleday founded modern baseball). An eager batboy from the Brooklyn Superbas persuades a talented Negro player to come to a tryout as an American Indian—and loses his love for his team when it’s clear that no one on the team will give Cyclone “Smoky” Joe Williams (later described as the best pitcher in any league) a chance to play. John Kiernan, the legendary journalist and facts man, lends a hand to a young numbers runner following a Brooklyn Robins game in the 1930s. The fictional voice is sure and engaging, polished without being slick—an entertaining and compelling look at the deep roots of our national pastime.

Thank you, anonymous Kirkus reviewer!