Review of The life of Tony MARCEANO

[TrishaCleve]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The life of Tony MARCEANO" by Leon Mason.]

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1 out of 5 stars

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The Life of Tony MARCEANO, written by Leon Mason, is a book about a young man and the people that share his world. Based on true events of his own life, Mason's book unfolds on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. The reader is introduced right away to Tony, his immediate family, and the people that he grows up with.  Tony, the main character, plays many roles during his life. He is at times, a football player. Then at other times, he is a boxer. He also is a gun-toting trouble-maker on the streets. Most importantly though, we see as the story unfolds, he is a son, a brother, and a friend to many people.

Around every corner, the author writes about the importance of valuing one's family. This book tells of a group of people that are readily available for any family member at the drop of a hat. Loyalty is another moral value that Mason has no difficulty expressing. In addition to those points, this book shows that if hard work and determination are involved, anything is possible. 

I found this book to be riddled with things that point towards the author being very green about telling his story using written word. The Life of Tony MARCEANO ends with the simple-minded verbiage: ‘To Be Continued.’ which should leave a reader anticipating the next installment of this story. However, it did not happen for me. Within the first few pages, I read phrases such as, ‘Ring! Ring!’, ‘Ding! Dong!’, and 'Bling! Bling!’. The use of Onomatopoeia, like the few I mentioned, strikes me as a child-like writing style; They are used with dizzying frequency in this book. This is one reason why this read was unenjoyable for me.  

This book contains a startling amount of foul language, explicit drug use, and sexual stories; I am surprised that it doesn't have a warning about this on the front cover. I had difficulties understanding what was happening in the story from the beginning.  It was hard enough for me to follow the storyline, not to mention that I didn't fall in love with any of the characters or care what happened in their lives. I had a hard time pushing through to the end of the book.  One example, right from the beginning, on page six, is in the first paragraph.  It contains run-on and incomplete sentences.  I do not believe that a professional editor was involved in this work.  If there had been, grammatical errors would have been cleared up before publication.

I am going to give this work one out of five stars. I was very disappointed with this book. It did not live up to what was said about it in the reviews. I expected much more about a person returning to their 'normal' life after living through a traumatic event. That is the reason I chose The Life. I wanted to learn what this person’s life was like after a traumatic brain injury, and there was none of that. That is why Mason continues his story in another book. I will never know how it works out, and I couldn't care less. Leon Mason failed to grab my attention during The Life, so I will not give the author another chance to excite me about the Marceano's lives.

This book has sexual scenes between minor children, which is one reason I would not recommend this book to people under the age of eighteen. The use of foul language, conversations about gang violence, as well as candid conversations about sexual experiences between minors are reasons why I would suggest this book to adults only. I propose this book is best suited to people who have lived this type of life. Those kind of people would understand this story. On the other hand, I know nothing about that kind of lifestyle. Therefore, I had a difficult time finishing the book.

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The life of Tony MARCEANO
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[Mayang Bature]

Your review perfectly depicts what your opinions about the book are. I like how you gave an objective look to even things you didn't enjoy. It was great reading this.