Perhaps one of Chris Crutcher's most personally reflective novels, THE CRAZY HORSE ELECTRIC GAME is also one of his best.

Willie Weaver is a teenage legend in his Montana hometown --- the baseball genius who single-handedly secures his team's victory against the batting boys sponsored by Crazy Horse Electric. He is a hero, an all-star, a wonder boy...until a boating accident leaves him bloodstained, crippled, and robbed of his dreams.

How does a teenage boy whose whole world revolves around athletic excellence rebuild his life when sports are no longer an option? Willie makes the only choice he sees as viable. He packs his bags, climbs on a bus and leaves the memories of his old life behind.

"...A choking fear creeps in, almost paralyzing Willie, telling him to turn back before he's in so deep there's no way out," Crutcher writes. "But each time he looks at what he'd be turning back to, he strengthens his resolve. He'd rather be dead than be the person he is in his parents' and his friends' lives."

Weaver lands on the mean streets of Oakland, California and finds his challenges have only just begun. After enrolling in classes at an inner-city alternative school, Weaver begins to see himself through new eyes, thanks to the cavalcade of magnificent characters Crutcher writes around him.

The stories of his fellow students help him realize how narrow his perspective on "weakness" has always been. His teachers help him see how the truth will broaden his reach and eventually offer him hope.

As in all Crutcher books, Willie Weaver discovers we can never go back to the way things were after fate makes its random strike. Weaver discovers his only practical choice is to move forward, with courage and honesty and hard-won strength.

  --- Reviewed by Kelly Milner Halls

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