"'Don't make things more complicated than they should be' would be my philosophy if I had one." The year is 1975 and that's single-minded Richard Riley Moncrief talking, a Boston seventh grader too focused on his one true love--baseball, especially the Red Sox--to even contemplate that anything else in the universe might have significance. That endearing, maniacal obsession equips Richard with all the philosophy and metaphor he needs to navigate the insular world of St. Colmcille's parochial school, his working-class neighborhood, and all the baseball-related holy sites (the Northeastern U. batting cages, Fenway Park) in between. That is, until busing begins in Boston, racial tensions rise, and a polished, young Dominican émigré named Napoleon Charlie Ellis (who happens to be a bang-up cricket player) enrolls at St. Colmcille's.

The other major event in Richard's life is the arrival of touted rookies Fred Lynn and Jim Rice--the Gold Dust Twins--to the Sox roster. Not long after the two boys find themselves magnetically drawn together, Richard cooks up a new obsession: he will reform this cricket player, and the two of them will fulfill their destiny as the next Gold Dust Twins.

Chris Lynch's convincing sensitivity to a difficult age and topic--along with his clear love of the game--combine to make Gold Dust simply superb, a touching, subtle, and insightful book that comes across as clean as the crack of a bat. (Ages 9 to 12) --Paul Hughes