In the book, Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip, by Jordan Sonnenblick, the author starts off by introducing Peter and AJ, his best friend, as star pitchers. However after an accident, Peter ruins his arm and his doctors said he will never ever throw again. Now, Peter focuses on photography, which is a special talent he shares with his grandfather, Grampa, and it is here he meets Angelika his soon to be girlfriend. Throughout the book, Peter keeps secrets from his friends and family. The purpose of the book is to learn keeping and hiding secrets will only make things worse.
To start off, the first secret Peter keeps is about Grampa and him possibly Alzheimer’s disease. When Angelika comes over to Peter’s house for the first time, she notices Peter’s bond with Grampa. She tells him that Grampa may have Alzheimer’s disease, since it has happened with her grandmother. Although Peter knows it may be true he denies it. The author states, “‘Yeah, but my mom said he's fine. And he's her dad- she knows him better than I do.’” Peter is saying this to Angelika because he knows it may be true, but he’s trying to deny it by using his mom as an excuse. It is his maternal grandfather, so it may seem very likely that his mom knows what's best for him, but it is also seems like Peter trying to avoid the problem and blame it on his mom. There are many times when Peter was able to tell his mom the truth and get help, such as the slip. While Peter was walking home, Grampa called him from the house and calls for help. Luckily, Peter got there quick and found Grampa on the floor of the bathroom. Grampa slipped and that was all he said. This shows, Grampa was trying to hide something because when Peter was trying to ask him what had happened, Grampa just said, “‘Peter, sometimes people fall. I’m fine.’” Peter had a chance to tell his mom about the slip accident, but he never does. This could’ve been something very serious and Grampa was hiding his pain, but Peter and his mom will never known because Peter didn’t speak up. He was hiding a secret making things even worse. Therefore, Peter should've told his mom about Grampa possibly having Alzheimer's disease rather than keep it a secret and hide accidents that can be effects of the disease.
In addition, Peter kept secrets from AJ. It would seem that Peter would not hide anything from his life long friend, but he finds a way to somehow do it. Baseball were Peter and AJ's life but when Peter hurts his arm that all changes. They have a discussion about Angelika possibly having a love interest in Peter because he's an athlete. Knowing he's injured, Peter says he's not an athlete anymore, but AJ says he's just an injured athlete and they joke about Angelika nursing him back to health. Peter thinks, "Actually, I was being dishonest. The doctor had flat-out said that I WOULD never pitch again." However, he doesn't tell AJ that he can't play. By keeping this secret, he is proving that he is a dishonest friend and this will hurt AJ even more when AJ finds out. Peter thinks hiding may be his best bet, but lying to his best friend is probably way worse than telling him he can't play baseball with him because of an injury. Also, Peter did not saying anything when AJ talks to him about baseball hinting that he is agreeing. For instance, the author writes, "'But what I really can't wait for is baseball. You and me, together again, showing everyone what we could do- its gonna be sick.' [AJ says] ... It was one of those times I'm really glad AJ never notices whether I reply or not." As you can see, Peter is trying to hide from the truth and kind of leading AJ on by not responding. AJ may take the silence as a yes, but in reality Peter is just trying to not tell him not his arm is going to make him unable to play baseball. Keeping this arm secret, is making things worse because AJ will keep thinking he can play and it will probably just break his heart when he finds out his lifelong best friend and pitching partner can't play with him this season or the next. It will be really hard to let go of this secret once it is created, so Peter should've just never lied to him and say he can't play anymore. Overall, Peter should not be keeping his secret towards AJ because it can just ruin his friendship really quickly.
All in all, in the book, Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip, by Jordan Sonnenblick, Peter faces a phase where he has to learn whether to hide a secret or tell his family and friends about it. Peter keeps it for a pretty long time until in the end he is forced to tell when Grampa ends up in the hospital and is checked into an assisted living place. Also, he tells AJ finds out when tryouts occur, and Peter can’t play. Although Peter hid it, he eventually spilled them at the end making his life a whole lot easier. From the book, the reader should learn if they have to keep their own secret about the truth, it probably won’t end well if the person they’re avoiding finds out on their own. The best way to handle the truth is to share it with someone else, so help can be there whenever needed. Therefore, avoiding the truth is the worst way to handle, especially if it can affect another’s life.
