Golden Arm by Carl Decker is a 2025 high school Nutmeg nominee that explores privilege versus poverty in sport recruitment. It’s a realistic fiction book.
Laz is a solid pitcher, but he doesn’t get any attention at his current school. When his high school’s new principal cuts the baseball team, he is fortunate enough to get an offer to play at a nearby high school with way more opportunity.
Laz begins getting positive attention. But he is torn between this new life and his real life. In real life, he has a half brother caught up with a known drug dealer. And his family was just relocated to a new trailer home without enough space for him.
This book will appeal to sports fans, especially baseball. It was a straightforward story with a positive message about working hard and staying true to oneself.
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