Mudville (MG)

Scaletta, Kurtis. 2009. Mudville. Random House. 265 pages.

Prologue: My father says the defining moment of his life came when he was twelve-years old.
Chapter one: To understand baseball, you have to understand percentages.

Why is Moundville called Mudville? One very good reason. It's been raining every day for twenty-two years straight. It all starts with a baseball game. Moundville against Sinister Bend. A game that ends up being called for rain--a game that has yet to have a rematch. But one fourth of July, the rain stops just as suddenly and as mysteriously as it began. Can baseball games and old rivalries be too far away? Roy McGuire stars in this little book about baseball, old curses, and mixed-up families.

What did I like about this one? The premise mostly. Imagine living in a town that rained all day, every day. Imagine what it would mean to you--as a child, as a grown-up. What would that look like, feel like. What would you do the first day of your life that it didn't rain?

As a few of you may remember, I'm not all that big on sports. And if I liked baseball, this one probably would have been better for me. The only reason I kept reading was because this little book about baseball was so quirky. But not everything worked for me. I thought a few things were underdeveloped. His family for one thing. Not that this book needed to be a problem novel. I just think there are some issues--bound to be some issues--going on in Roy's life that go unaddressed here. Especially his non-relationship with his mother. Maybe it is because I so wanted this book to be about more than baseball that I started looking for different directions to shift the focus. But the truth is this one is meant to appeal to fans of baseball, boys and girls, and that not much more is needed.

Other reviews of Mudville: Semicolon.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews