Wildball
Logline
A college baseball player competes in an elite summer league but risks his future in the game by coming forward about his abusive coach.
Genre
Drama, Young Adult,Sports
Target Audiences
Age: 13-17
Target Gender: Male Leaning
Setting
Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Oregon
Based on a True Story
No
Publishing Details
Status: Yes: with a Publisher
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Year Published: 2018
Starting Description
Shane Monoghan, a top-ranked collegiate shortstop, arrives in seaside Nailer's Cove to compete in a prestigious summer league when he learns that his former coach Mike Calloway, the man responsible for developing him as a player and bullying him relentlessly, has died in a car wreck.
Ending Description
After leading his Cove League team to victory, Shane tells the truth about his abusive past and Calloway's true nature. He returns to Oregon for another year of college when a forest fire strikes. Shane debates suicide, thinking the flame is his fate for waiting too long to confess.
Group Specific
Cape Cod Baseball League, Baseball
Hard Copy Available
Yes
ISBN
978-1684330324
Mature Audience Themes
Sexual Abuse
Plot - Other Elements
Coming of Age, Meaningful Message,Toxic Masculinity & Veterans Issues
Plot - Premise
Internal Journey/Rebirth
Main Character Details
Name: Shane Monoghan
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Underdog, Complex, Empathetic, Lone Wolf, Naive, Secretive,Secretive,Lone Wolf,Clumsy,Insecure
Additional Character Details
Name: Noah Kinton
Age: 13
Gender: Male
Role: Sidekick
Key Traits: Aspiring, Engaging, Modest, Selfless,Modest,Selfless
Additional Character Details
Name: Mike Calloway
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Role: antagonist
Key Traits: Manipulative, Narcissistic, Power-hungry, Aggressive, Desperate,Narcisstic,Villainous
Additional Character Details
Name: Lexi Henson
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Role: Logical
Key Traits: Aggressive, Blunt, Confident, Educated, Funny
Logline
A college baseball player competes in an elite summer league but risks his future in the game by coming forward about his abusive coach.
Short Summary
Shane Monoghan, a top-ranked collegiate shortstop, arrives in seaside Nailer's Cove to compete in a prestigious summer league when he learns that his former coach Mike Calloway, the man responsible for developing him as a player and bullying him relentlessly, has died in a car wreck.
After leading his Cove League team to victory, Shane tells the truth about his abusive past and Calloway's true nature. He returns to Oregon for another year of college when a forest fire strikes. Shane debates suicide, thinking the flame is his fate for waiting too long to confess.
Development Pitch
Wildball is a necessary story for the currently underserved YA market. It'd make a good film for the kid who has outgrown the Sandlot, but isn't quite ready for HBO. Shane's journey of coming forward about his past trauma with his former coach tackles themes of abuse and survivor's guilt while also intertwining positive charges in the narrative with moments of mentorship and brotherhood. The story has the Norman Rockwell imagery of a summer baseball league, but if David Lynch lifted the brush now and then, to add in some devilish skies over the seaside town where the action takes place. Its proven its merit by earning coverage in the Boston Globe, air-time on NPR stations, and spots on school summer reading lists. Engles, a BU Film & TV grad, is currently working on the screenplay of his novel.
Core Theme
Internal Journey/Rebirth,
Characters
Main Character
Name: Shane Monoghan
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Underdog, Complex, Empathetic, Lone Wolf, Naive, Secretive,Secretive,Lone Wolf,Clumsy,Insecure
Character 1
Name: Noah Kinton
Age: 13
Gender: Male
Role: Sidekick
Key Traits: Aspiring, Engaging, Modest, Selfless,Modest,Selfless
Character 2
Name: Mike Calloway
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Role: antagonist
Key Traits: Manipulative, Narcissistic, Power-hungry, Aggressive, Desperate,Narcisstic,Villainous
Character 3
Name: Lexi Henson
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Role: Logical
Key Traits: Aggressive, Blunt, Confident, Educated, Funny
Supplemental Materials
