About This Book
Reach for this book when your child is starting to notice social fractures or when you want to discuss how historical trauma can manifest as prejudice in everyday life. Bat 6 follows two Oregon softball teams in 1949, focusing on the arrival of two new girls: Aki, who was recently released from a Japanese-American internment camp, and Shazam, who is fueled by a dangerous, misplaced rage after losing her father at Pearl Harbor. Through the eyes of twenty-one different girls, the story explores themes of collective responsibility, the lingering scars of war, and the heavy weight of being a bystander. It is a powerful choice for middle schoolers ready to tackle the complexity of institutional racism and the importance of standing up for what is right even when the community is silent.
