Overweight, somewhat timid Mitch reluctantly agrees to be the sports reporter for the Lincoln High newspaper because he's determined to be a writer, but he senses a real story in Angel, a talented football player who refuses to stand out on the field--or to discuss his past.

"Twelve-year-old Ella loves visiting her grandparents in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina every summer, and this year her grandfather announces they are going catfish noodling--but Ella is unsure about catching a fish with her bare hands"--Title verso page.