The Youngest Hero (Abridged Fiction‪)‬

Jerry B. Jenkins, the author of
Hometown Legend and co-author of the
Left Behind series, returns with the story of a boy who has been bestowed a gift that presents the challenge of a lifetime, and of the mother determined to help him become
The Youngest Hero.

Miriam Woodell realizes that the man she married, though charming and athletic, is gripped by a dangerous darkness. She has no choice but to save herself and Elgin, her young son - leaving rural Mississippi for the big, cold city of Chicago.

Strong and resolute, Miriam struggles to survive. Meanwhile, Elgin pursues a seemingly impossible dream. Fueled by the lessons his father taught him, he plays ball on the concrete streets and even sets up a batting cage in the basement, using a decrepit, malfunctioning pitching machine to teach himself to hit.

By spring, Elgin is ready to find a team. By the end of the summer, everyone will be talking about the 11-year-old who plays baseball like a high school star - a prodigy on his way to greatness, despite staggering odds.

Yet Elgin must still come to terms with his father, whose life has reached a dead end. With a new man entering Miriam's life and scouts wooing Elgin, mother and son must learn painful lessons about themselves, each other, and the people they are forced to trust.