Customer Reviews

The Prince of Fenway Park

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I've been a Red Sox fan my whole life, which is why I picked up the book.
The path that the protagonist takes, a mixed-race adopted child of what turns out to be a mixed-race (though not how you'd expect) parents goes from our reality to the fantasy world of Irish folklore to be entwined with baseball history and then back to our present reality.
Although this book is targeted at young adults (Oscar, the title-character has his 12th birthday during the course of the story), the book deals with issues that anyone with a love for the game and a respect for its history will understand as central to the game's importance in American history.
And then there's a baseball game of 12-year-old greats and how cool is that!

I'm a Tampa Bay Ray's fan here and was a little hesitate about a tween book that promotes the Red Socks. The story begins with a orphan, Oscar that just does not fit in at school or at home. He finally finds a "home" after being deserted and unwated once more and discovers that he has gift. He could be the one to break the curse. This book continues with Jullianna Baggott's aka N.E. Bode's style of writing. There are twists and turns with magical creatures that live underneath Fenway Park. There is a battle between good and evil to release the curse. Some history is also sprinkled in. Overall a must read for those that enjoy a baseball adventure and root for the underdog!

As a lifelong baseball fan, and in particular, as a Red Sox fan, I thoroughly enjoyed The Prince of Fenway Park. It was a wonderful mix of fantasy, family relationships, and baseball. I was especially pleased that the author directly addressed the issue of race within the Red Sox organization. It's almost never talked about, but deserves to be. I plan to read it to my class this year, and use it as a springboard for discussions about America's problem dealing with race.

I enjoyed reading this book. I would recommend this for kids 9 & up. If you are familiar with the Anybody series, or The Slippery Map, you know what to expect. If not, you should expect lots of fantasy, with creatures, lots of creatures. There is also mystery, baseball history, and more. You don't have to know baseball history to enjoy this book, it is also about racism, fitting in, and being cursed. Keep all this in mind and enjoy reading The Prince of Fenway Park.

My 10 year old son and I read this wonderful book together. It was a present from his grandmother and aunt. We absolutely loved it. It combined a thrilling mystery story with a huge, full heart of emotion. Both my son and his little brother are adopted and mixed race. It is challenging to find books which speak to their experiences. To come across this book was a huge gift to our family. The hero is an adopted, mixed race boy. My son's face lit up with wonder and recognition when we started reading. We were also able to share in his grandmother's fanatical love of the Red Sox. It is a book we will read together again and again. Thank you, Ms.Baggott, for writing this book and for giving us a cherished memory!

Julianna Baggot does it again!! After the Anybodies series we know that we will always be in for amazing fantasy and creatures with most unusual abilities. I will never think of fairies the same way again. Oscar is an unlikely hero that you will root for from the very beginning. The serious issue of racism is made very real with the curse and it's fallout for the fans. Any rabbid fan will identify with the heartbreak so vividly brought to bear on this story. Thank you, Julianna, for an adventure that will be enjoyed by baseball and fantasy fans alike. You hit a home run!!!

After reading this book with 30 8th grade students, I asked them to write a review of the book and here is a snip it of the comments from the kids! What high remarks! Kudos to you, Julianna!

"A homerun for me! I loved listening to this book. Fantasy and reality collide, giving us an amazingly exciting book full of twists and turns. It was fun and a great page-turner, leaving me wanting more after every chapter."

"Kept me on the edge of my seat. This book had some excitement and funny parts in it. It was a bit confused at first when the fairies and other mystical characters entered the story."

"Good research about the baseball players. I don't like that the characters were fairies, but the final game was EXCITING!!!!"

"Learning facts about baseball and still hearing a mythical tale? GENIUS!!!! I stayed focused on the story through every page."

"I liked how there was a constant theme of good vs. evil present in the story."

"Remember the Titans for baseball"

"Connects to real people and struggles and makes the story heartfelt."

"At first, when it started talking about fairies, I didn't like the transition between reality and fairytale. I thought the Aunties and dad were just faking it and pretending for Oscar because he was young. When it got going, I got used to the make-believe concept, and I REALLY enjoyed it! It was a rollercoaster from beginning to end."

As a teacher, I am constantly searching for books that get kids interested and involved. The kids were begging for more of this book! I would definitely recommend this book to the young adult crowd and to media specialists for their collections. Boys and girls were enthralled!

I am lucky enough to live about eight blocks away from one of the most storied spots in baseball: Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. Fenway has been the site of some of the most legendary (and infamous) episodes in baseball history. And now, in the pages of Julianna Baggott's terrific new novel, THE PRINCE OF FENWAY PARK, it also plays a starring role in a great story about fathers, sons, history and the enduring power of baseball.

The book is set during what many still regard as the best League Championship Series in history: the 2004 ALCS showdown between the Red Sox and their archenemies, the New York Yankees. As any fan knows, the Red Sox became the first team ever to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series, to beat the Yankees and eventually best the St. Louis Cardinals to win their first World Series since 1919.

To the youngest Red Sox fans, these events might seem like ancient history, as the Red Sox have actually won the Series twice in their short lifetimes. But to their parents and grandparents, most of their lifelong relationship with the Red Sox could be summed up in two words: The Curse. The Curse refers to the long-held belief that the Red Sox were cursed when they traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees, a pivotal event that happened just after the last time the Sox won the Series and ensured that they would never again win baseball's highest honor.

Sox fans used to take The Curse more or less seriously. In THE PRINCE OF FENWAY PARK, 12-year-old Oscar Egg knows all about The Curse, but he's sure it's just a myth. That is, until Oscar winds up moving in with his mysterious, secretive father when his mother goes to Baltimore to be with her new boyfriend. Oscar --- a black boy who was adopted by white parents --- has always wanted to find out more about his elusive father. All he knows is that he lives near Fenway Park. But, when he follows his dad through a manhole and into a whole new world, he discovers that his dad lives not just near Fenway Park, but right in it --- to be specific, in a cozy little room right under the pitcher's mound.

There, Oscar discovers that Fenway is full of creatures --- Cursed Creatures --- even when there's not a home game. It turns out that that nefarious curse affected far more than just the Sox's chances of winning the Series. These miserable creatures are doomed to live miserably forever in the bowels of the park, existing in parallel to the more public faces of Fenway. The Curse has ruined all of their lives, and can only be broken by one very special person. Could it possibly be Oscar himself?

In THE PRINCE OF FENWAY PARK, Julianna Baggott cleverly combines sports mythology and classic folklore with real baseball history. In particular, she ties the history of The Curse in with the Red Sox's equally infamous (and far more insidious) history of racism. Fantasy and real life combine as Oscar defines himself in terms of who he is and what he does, not in terms of who his birth parents are or what color his skin is. Given its focus on sports and its rich father-son relationships, THE PRINCE OF FENWAY PARK would be a great book for dads and kids to read aloud together. Great storytelling means that this sports novel will reach beyond Red Sox Nation to appeal to fans of all kinds of teams --- maybe even a Yankees fan or two!

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

I highly recommend The Prince of Fenway Park to anyone who loves baseball, baseball history, magical creatures, ballpark junkfood, and a rollicking good story. Baggott's deliberate use of the "N" word not once but three times is appropriate to the setting and offers teachers and parents an opportunity to talk about racial issues long-resolved and issues yet to be overcome. When is the movie coming out?!

[...]

One Librarian Plus His Students' Take on this New Book:

I have been a fan of the author's work since The Anybodies first introduced me to her unusual blend of humor and emotion that fills her books for young adult/juvenile readers. Reading this book I found that same mixture but with a sharper theme and a more fleshed-out main character.

This was clearly written by an author who loves baseball, the stories of legends, but also wanted to educate and make people think about the undercurrent of racial discrimination in sports and the courage it took individuals to stand up to and eventually overcome it. To that end the fantastic and horrifying creatures that roam its pages, are in sharp contrast with the historical use 3 times of the foul n-word. The author explains in the back why she made this choice and I agree with her reasoning. It gives the curse more depth, adds historical accuracy and makes the victory all the sweeter in the end. I highly recommend this book for all middle school students and librarians! My students agree as you will read below:

A Female Student's Wellthought Out Review and Commentary:

The book "Prince of Fenway Park" is about a young orphan who is given to his adopted father for a short period of time while his adopted mother is away. While staying with his adopted father he is given the challenge of reversing the curse of Fenway Park and although he is doubted by most he is to go on and try to free all of the creatures cursed in the process. This one visit with his father gives him the opportunity of a lifetime to try and save all the cursed people with the help of the cursed themselves.

In my opinion "Prince of Fenway Park" was a remarkably written story. It was exciting and adventurous, reaching into even the darkest corners of reality, bringing light to the truth of the past and showing a purpose to even the cruelest parts of life. It was an amazing fantasy for all of the curse believers and opens the eyes of the people who don't even acknowledge what everyone had to experience in the past . Although it was a fiction it also holds the truth and the key to the real world, and even though it seems so horrible to read something that explains everything that most people would try to avoid, I believe that everyone should read this book because it brings light to the dark and liberates the heart from fear giving all a shocking realization of forgiveness, for those who are able to forgive the past can live in the present and will no longer have to dwell on something that is diminishing and withering away.

-N. T.

The prince of Fenway park
By:Julianna Baggott

This book is about a twelve year old
Named Oscar Egg believes that he is
Cursed, just like the Boston Red Sox.
He is living with his adopted parents,
His real parents abandoned him, but he
Lives with the adopted parents.

But Oscar doesn't know that the Red
Sox and the creatures inside Fenway
Park really are cursed-a curse that
must be broken before the Sox can
finally win the World series and the
Cursed Creatures can live free.It's
Really up to him to Oscar to break
And he'll have some help...but old
Curses aren't broken easily.

This book to me is a very good book because
Even though Oscar is a adopted child he
Is a strong kid who goes through a lot?
Trying to break the curse he goes through a
Lot of trouble to break and ends up breaking
It with some help but I think this book has a
Little strong racist terms which is kind of un-
Comfortable.

Reported by; V. B.

Another Male Middle School Student's Take:

In the "Prince Of Fenway Park" the Red Sox have failed to win A World Series since 1919 when they traded Babe Ruth To the Yankees.
Ever since then everyone felt like they were cursed. Oscar Egg was one of those fans who thought so. But nobody ever thought that the curse was real. They definitely did not know that the curse involved banshee's, fairies, Horse men and even an orphan named Oscar Egg. Oscar was only 11 When He found out his adopted parents, who split up, and supposed aunts Were all hiding a secret from him ... his dad has another life under Fenway Park! ,He also has 3 very old aunties that give him a special power when he turns 12.

Find out how how the genius known as N.E. Bode has out done herself again. This is a book that millions will enjoy before the first month this novel is out!