An admirable story with shades of Rocky and Boyz N the Hood, told in an uncompromising and original voice.
In Sheridan’s debut novel, a mixed martial arts fighter struggles to raise a teenage son while dealing with unsavory elements in Woodbridge, New Jersey.
In 2001, 20-something MMA competitor Franco—who evidently resembles both Sylvester Stallone and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson—trains hard when he’s not busy supporting his wife, Julie, and son, TJ, by working as a temporary worker at the docks for a man known as “The Frog.” But Franco’s potential fighting career is cut short by a devastating loss, during which he breaks his ankle. Seven years later, he’s divorced from his wife, but his MMA comeback may finally be on the horizon. He still handles unpleasant tasks for The Frog, such as cleaning up maggots or rat excrement at the docks. But his latest job is even dirtier: The Frog offers him a hefty sum to kill someone. Meanwhile, TJ, who lives with his mother, is staying with Franco for a few days. Father and son bond as Franco shows TJ some moves to use on a school bully. Unfortunately, criminal types soon threaten Franco’s return to the MMA cage—and threaten his loved ones, as well. Despite offering a sometimes-harrowing view of Franco’s life, Sheridan’s novel is surprisingly upbeat in tone; its resolute protagonist trains relentlessly and never gives up on his family, no matter what. The tale also addresses issues of race and social class in inspired ways, as Franco is an orphan of unknown heritage. Along the way, Sheridan’s exuberant prose entails rhythmic passages (“Had money for booze but not for shoes”) and copious wordplay (“Then onto Elizabeth and all its asphalt. Exhausted immigrants wonderin if it’s they own ass fault”). This results in a breezy narrative that complements the ever hopeful protagonist at its center.
An admirable story with shades of Rocky and Boyz N the Hood, told in an uncompromising and original voice.Pub Date: June 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-73217-581-5
Page Count: 252
Publisher: Streets Creations
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
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