Mia is a heart-warming story of an abused little girl who is literally snatched from the grips of hell by Joe Ciotola, a former General Manager of a big league baseball team. The story begins at its lowest point, and only goes up from there. Joe is the perfect gentleman. His wife-to-be and future Father-in-law too are also all “perfect people.” Mia, whom this story wraps around, a traumatized ten year old who was horribly abused both mentally and physically, makes nothing less than a miraculous recovery as the story ensues. Now this could only be due to the fact that Joe, her soon to be adoptive father, absolutely adores her and knows how only to speak the ultimate kindest words of encouragement to this little urchin at every turn of the page; as does he with every character he befriends throughout the story. His conversations seeming to come from some ultimate source on how to speak perfect phrases of kindness, support, and love to everyone at all times.
I was impressed how Mr. Sciuto eased into the religious aspect of things – tip toing, as one must around such subject matter – Joe having been brought up in a religious household, and the little girl having been a victimized by Christianity gone askew. There was truly a tightrope walk there for a while, but Mr. Sciuto pulled it off with impeccable class and political correctness, as he has masterfully crafted a gripping novel with perfectly flawless characters (save for the religious zealots) in a rags to riches book where he manages to interweave the politics of baseball and the charitable lifestyles of the filthy rich.
With too numerous points of heart-warming scenes to choose from, one of my favorites had to have been the conversation between Joe and his soon to be father-in-law, Mr. Baker. The way the widowed father described his daughter, Catherine, and just exactly what she meant to him was truly a moving passage. Magnificent! Admittedly, the book actually got me choked up when there too was another heart-wrenching point as to the loss of a young boy whose mother Joe had befriended when she was waitressing in a restaurant. Very moving.
There is a lot of good, sound, fatherly advice in the novel, not to mention Joe’s helping of others, which shines throughout in this book, gracing the less fortunate with not only his riches, but his attention and in the end presence – something he is forever kicking himself for, not having been at his parent’s side during their dying times. Joe’s attention and concerns over the welfare of others is paramount to all else, seemingly overcompensating for the guilt he carries with him for not having been there for his parents. Having left the world of baseball management, Joe reinvents himself, learning through Mia and Catherine, and to an extent Mr. Baker, that greatness is achieved not by wins you direct your team through, but by the humanitarian deeds you make possible. The suffering of children in the world, either by terminal illnesses or physical/mental abuse, the concerns and actions by this man as he grows spiritually are nothing less than super-heroic in stature.
Finally I found the relationship Mia had with Rex to being positively enamoring; how that was carried throughout the book, as well as were the various themes of love, respect, and confidence-building were interwoven throughout the story, holding together the inspiring plot with enchanting cohesiveness. The last chapters were quite emotional upon his visit back to his old home in the Bronx where memories of childhood dance through his mind as he introduced Mia, now his legal daughter to his childhood. It summarized what Joe had been striving for his entire life, though never having the right “team” surrounding him – that is until he found Mia, Catherine, Mr. Baker and even his household staff. The book pulls at the heartstrings of the reader in so many ways and by incorporating the game of baseball presents a wonderful algorithm of life’s journey. Let us hope that whoever has the pleasure of reading this wonderful story can take a piece of Joe’s fanciful life with them and in the end too, win it all!
Great job Joe! Keep ‘em coming,
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