Choosing Up Sides by John H. Ritter

The novel introduces students to themes of standing up for what is right even if it means going against familial expectations and authority. Like the protagonist Luke in the novel, middle school students are struggling with their identity and finding out who they really are. Students will be able to relate to Luke on that level. The element of strict, oppressive religion is also included in this novel. There is a tendency when thinking about religious intolerance to view it as those outside the religion being intolerant of those practicing faith. In the case of this novel, the reader gets the opposite perspective of a man of religion being intolerant of those outside or against his beliefs. I feel it is important for students to see this different, often unseen perspective.

Summary Courtesy of http://www.flipkart.com/choosing-up-sides-john-ritter-book-0613284445

13-year-old Luke Bledsoe is a left-hander in a right-handed world. Moved from town to town, he's spent his life feeling like an outsider. Then, by chance, he steps on a baseball field and discovers he can pitch. But Luke's father, Reverend Bledsoe, believes that the left side is the side of Satan, and the baseball field is the Devil's playground. Luke has spent his whole life trying to please his father. Will he choose to give up the game he's come to love -- or turn his back on his family?

Ritter, John H. (1998). Choosing Up Sides. New York: Puffin Books. 166 pp. ISBN: 0-698-11840-5.