Bullies, baseball, and kids who defy the odds. Hawk, a poor, half-Native boy who lives on the street, is eager to go back to school, to play baseball, and to please both his divorced parents. When Mr. Rizzuto, his baseball coach, tells him how the great Babe Ruth, playing on nearby Toronto Island in 1914, hit his first professional home run, the question arises: what happened to the baseball? Did it land in the waters of Lake Ontario and disintegrate over time? Or did someone fish it out?This is the story of a quest for a baseball treasure, and of a boy finding his own family roots and a place in the big city. A lively tale, it shows how kids who seem powerless can work together to take on some of life's daunting challenges as they deal with schoolroom bullies and street gangs.

Tom Blake is a likeable but shy high school student, who fantasizes about adventure, romance, and discovering "portholes" to the past. Little does he know that all are about to come his way. Tom discovers that a local computer company is conditioning his fellow students for what he suspects is some evil purpose. He soon finds himself up against a corrupt organization with an agenda of genetic experimentation. Mercury Man evokes all the excitement of the best scifi, fantasy, and hero myths while never losing touch with ordinary urban contemporary reality.Review"This is non-stop action.""What happens when an ordinary teenager discovers his friends are being brainwashed by a huge computer company? Action and suspense, with some super-heroics thrown in. With Tom Blake, Tom Henighan has created a character that teens will identify with."Aha Blume, 701.comAbout the AuthorTom Henighan's numerous works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry include The Maclean's Companion to Canadian Arts and Culture, The Well of Time, and the YA novel Viking Quest (2001). He lives in Ottawa, and teaches at Carleton University.