Review of The M&M Boys
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Joanna Olson
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Review of The M&M Boys
[Following is a volunteer review of "The M&M Boys" by Lara Reznik.]
The M&M Boys by Lara Reznik is a historical fiction novel covering the home run race of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Determined to beat Babe Ruth’s sixty home run record, the two Yankees baseball players each have their own struggles throughout their quest for greatness. Maris and Mantle find themselves living next door to an 11-year-old little league player, Marshall. Marshall is also chasing his own goal with his little league all-star team. He is determined to help his team beat the team from Jamaica even if he has other, major changes happening in his life. Though Marshall’s home life is less than perfect, living next door to his two idols proves to make the summer of 1961 the best one ever.
As a Yankees fan myself, I loved reading about the history of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. I grew up attending Yankees games regularly and this novel took me back to my Yankees loving childhood through Marshall’s eyes. I loved Marshall’s storyline and felt it gave more dimension to the historical aspect of the novel. I also appreciated how Roger, Mickey, Big Julie and Marshall each had their own voice in their respective chapters. For example, when I was reading Marshall’s chapters I felt as though I was reading a child’s thoughts. While reading Roger, Mickey and Big Julie’s sections, I found these sections to be more mature I appreciate the care that Lara Reznik took while depicting sensitive topics such as domestic abuse and miscarriage which could be triggering for some people.
At the beginning of each chapter there was a quote that was not particularly relevant to the story. I believe it gave insight as to what was going on in the world on the day the events of the chapter took place, but I did not find it added to the plot at all. For example, at the beginning of chapter 10 the quote referred to the Berlin crisis and the amount of troops in Berlin, which had nothing to do with the beginning of the chapter. These quotes seemed a bit unnecessary. There were a few grammatical errors throughout the novel but I personally did not feel like the errors took away from the story.
I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed learning about the quest to beat Babe Ruth’s home run record and I loved watching the relationship between Marshall and his two idols flourish. Roger and Mickey became surrogate fathers to him and there were multiple points in the book where I felt so happy for Marshall and his developing friendship with these two Yankees players. However, the quotes at the beginning of the chapter threw me off and I just didn’t see the purpose of them.
I would recommend this book to Yankees baseball fans and baseball aficionados. Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle both had exceptional baseball careers and looking into their back stories throughout this novel gave me a better understanding of them as people rather than just baseball players. Readers who were fans during the 1961 season would definitely appreciate the background that this novel provides. I would not recommend this novel to readers under the age of 13 because of the depiction of domestic violence and abuse present in The M&M Boys.
******
The M&M Boys
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The M&M Boys by Lara Reznik is a historical fiction novel covering the home run race of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Determined to beat Babe Ruth’s sixty home run record, the two Yankees baseball players each have their own struggles throughout their quest for greatness. Maris and Mantle find themselves living next door to an 11-year-old little league player, Marshall. Marshall is also chasing his own goal with his little league all-star team. He is determined to help his team beat the team from Jamaica even if he has other, major changes happening in his life. Though Marshall’s home life is less than perfect, living next door to his two idols proves to make the summer of 1961 the best one ever.
As a Yankees fan myself, I loved reading about the history of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. I grew up attending Yankees games regularly and this novel took me back to my Yankees loving childhood through Marshall’s eyes. I loved Marshall’s storyline and felt it gave more dimension to the historical aspect of the novel. I also appreciated how Roger, Mickey, Big Julie and Marshall each had their own voice in their respective chapters. For example, when I was reading Marshall’s chapters I felt as though I was reading a child’s thoughts. While reading Roger, Mickey and Big Julie’s sections, I found these sections to be more mature I appreciate the care that Lara Reznik took while depicting sensitive topics such as domestic abuse and miscarriage which could be triggering for some people.
At the beginning of each chapter there was a quote that was not particularly relevant to the story. I believe it gave insight as to what was going on in the world on the day the events of the chapter took place, but I did not find it added to the plot at all. For example, at the beginning of chapter 10 the quote referred to the Berlin crisis and the amount of troops in Berlin, which had nothing to do with the beginning of the chapter. These quotes seemed a bit unnecessary. There were a few grammatical errors throughout the novel but I personally did not feel like the errors took away from the story.
I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed learning about the quest to beat Babe Ruth’s home run record and I loved watching the relationship between Marshall and his two idols flourish. Roger and Mickey became surrogate fathers to him and there were multiple points in the book where I felt so happy for Marshall and his developing friendship with these two Yankees players. However, the quotes at the beginning of the chapter threw me off and I just didn’t see the purpose of them.
I would recommend this book to Yankees baseball fans and baseball aficionados. Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle both had exceptional baseball careers and looking into their back stories throughout this novel gave me a better understanding of them as people rather than just baseball players. Readers who were fans during the 1961 season would definitely appreciate the background that this novel provides. I would not recommend this novel to readers under the age of 13 because of the depiction of domestic violence and abuse present in The M&M Boys.
******
The M&M Boys
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Joanna Olson
@joannasbookshelf
@joannasbookshelf
Latest Review: One Hand Two Hearts by S.K. Alfstad
