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The Prince of Fenway Park
1919
The Boston Red Sox sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. And with that act, the Curse—and the lives of the Cursed Creatures—begins. Oscar Egg believes he is cursed, just like his favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. Oscar's real parents didn't want him, and now his adopted mom has dumped him off to live with her estranged husband—Oscar's strange and sickly adoptive father. But Oscar's dad has a secret. He lives deep below Fenway Park, and is one of a number of strange magical souls called the Cursed Creatures, a group that has been doomed to live out their existence below Fenway until the Curse is broken. What no one could have predicted is that Oscar is the key to breaking the curse. But someone wants Oscar to fail—and the Curse to remain. Forever .
The Boston Red Sox sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. And with that act, the Curse—and the lives of the Cursed Creatures—begins. Oscar Egg believes he is cursed, just like his favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. Oscar's real parents didn't want him, and now his adopted mom has dumped him off to live with her estranged husband—Oscar's strange and sickly adoptive father. But Oscar's dad has a secret. He lives deep below Fenway Park, and is one of a number of strange magical souls called the Cursed Creatures, a group that has been doomed to live out their existence below Fenway until the Curse is broken. What no one could have predicted is that Oscar is the key to breaking the curse. But someone wants Oscar to fail—and the Curse to remain. Forever .
352 pages, Paperback
First published March 11, 2009
21 people are currently reading
397 people want to read
About the author
Julianna Baggott
39 books1,479 followersCritically acclaimed, bestselling author Julianna Baggott has published more than twenty books under her own name as well as pen names Bridget Asher and N.E. Bode. Her recent novel, Harriet Wolf’s Seventh Book of Wonders, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year (2015). Her novel Pure, the first of a trilogy, was also a New York Times Notable Book of the Year (2012) and won an ALA Alex Award. Her work has been optioned by Fox2000, Nickelodeon/Paramount, and Anonymous Content and she currently has work in development at Netflix with Shawn Levy attached to direct, Paramount with Jessica Biel attached, Disney+, Lionsgate, and Warner Brothers, to name a few. For more on her film and TV work, click here. There are over one hundred foreign editions of Julianna’s novels published or forthcoming overseas. Baggott’s work has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Modern Love column, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The International Herald Tribune, Glamour, Real Simple, Best Creative Nonfiction, Best American Poetry, and has been read on NPR’s Here and Now, Talk of the Nation, and All Things Considered. Her essays, stories, and poems are highly anthologized.
Baggott began publishing short stories when she was twenty-two and sold her first novel while still in her twenties. After receiving her M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she published her first novel, the national bestseller Girl Talk. It was quickly followed by The Boston Globe bestseller, The Miss America Family, and then The Boston Herald Book Club selection, The Madam, an historical novel based on the life of her grandmother. She co-wrote Which Brings Me to You with Steve Almond, A Best Book of 2006 (Kirkus Reviews); it has been optioned by Anonymous Content, and currently by BCDF, with a screenplay penned by playwright Keith Bunin.
Her Bridget Asher novels, published by Bantam Dell at Random House, include All of Us and Everything, listed in “Best New Books” in People magazine (2015), The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted, The Pretend Wife, and My Husband’s Sweethearts.
Although the bulk of her work is for adults, she has published award-winning novels for younger readers under the pen name N.E. Bode as well as her own name. Her seven novels for younger readers include, most notably, The Anybodies trilogy, which was a People Magazine summer reading pick alongside David Sedaris and Bill Clinton, a Washington Post Book of the Week, a Girl’s Life Top Ten, a Booksense selection, and was in development at Nickelodeon/Paramount. Other titles include The Slippery Map, The Ever Breath, and the prequel to Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, a movie starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and Jason Bateman. For two years, Bode was a recurring personality on XM Sirius Radio. Julianna’s Boston Red Sox novel The Prince of Fenway Park (HarperCollins) was on the Sunshine State Young Readers Awards List and The Massachusetts Children’s Book Award for 2011-2012.
Baggott also has an acclaimed career as a poet, having published four collections of poetry – Instructions: Abject & Fuming, This Country of Mothers, Compulsions of Silkworms and Bees, and Lizzie Borden in Love. Her poems have appeared in some of the most venerable literary publications in the country, including Poetry, The American Poetry Review, and Best American Poetry (2001, 2011, and 2012).
She is an associate professor at Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts where she teaches screenwriting. From 2013-2017, she held the William H.P. Jenks Chair in Contemporary American Letters at the College of the Holy Cross. In 2006, Baggott and her husband, David Scott, co-founded the nonprofit organization Kids in Need – Books in Deed which focuses on literacy and getting free books into the hands of underprivileged children in the state of Florida. David Scott is also her creative and business partner. They have four children. Her oldest daughte
Baggott began publishing short stories when she was twenty-two and sold her first novel while still in her twenties. After receiving her M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she published her first novel, the national bestseller Girl Talk. It was quickly followed by The Boston Globe bestseller, The Miss America Family, and then The Boston Herald Book Club selection, The Madam, an historical novel based on the life of her grandmother. She co-wrote Which Brings Me to You with Steve Almond, A Best Book of 2006 (Kirkus Reviews); it has been optioned by Anonymous Content, and currently by BCDF, with a screenplay penned by playwright Keith Bunin.
Her Bridget Asher novels, published by Bantam Dell at Random House, include All of Us and Everything, listed in “Best New Books” in People magazine (2015), The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted, The Pretend Wife, and My Husband’s Sweethearts.
Although the bulk of her work is for adults, she has published award-winning novels for younger readers under the pen name N.E. Bode as well as her own name. Her seven novels for younger readers include, most notably, The Anybodies trilogy, which was a People Magazine summer reading pick alongside David Sedaris and Bill Clinton, a Washington Post Book of the Week, a Girl’s Life Top Ten, a Booksense selection, and was in development at Nickelodeon/Paramount. Other titles include The Slippery Map, The Ever Breath, and the prequel to Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, a movie starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and Jason Bateman. For two years, Bode was a recurring personality on XM Sirius Radio. Julianna’s Boston Red Sox novel The Prince of Fenway Park (HarperCollins) was on the Sunshine State Young Readers Awards List and The Massachusetts Children’s Book Award for 2011-2012.
Baggott also has an acclaimed career as a poet, having published four collections of poetry – Instructions: Abject & Fuming, This Country of Mothers, Compulsions of Silkworms and Bees, and Lizzie Borden in Love. Her poems have appeared in some of the most venerable literary publications in the country, including Poetry, The American Poetry Review, and Best American Poetry (2001, 2011, and 2012).
She is an associate professor at Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts where she teaches screenwriting. From 2013-2017, she held the William H.P. Jenks Chair in Contemporary American Letters at the College of the Holy Cross. In 2006, Baggott and her husband, David Scott, co-founded the nonprofit organization Kids in Need – Books in Deed which focuses on literacy and getting free books into the hands of underprivileged children in the state of Florida. David Scott is also her creative and business partner. They have four children. Her oldest daughte
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
July 24, 2019
Oscar goes to live with his father, and discovers that he is one of many cursed creatures that live under Fenway Park and that Oscar is the one who needs to break the curse.
This was a sweet story, but growing up and living in Australia, I didn't have a particular understanding or fondness for the baseball references. So I think probably best for those who understand baseball culture and/or are baseball fans.
This was a sweet story, but growing up and living in Australia, I didn't have a particular understanding or fondness for the baseball references. So I think probably best for those who understand baseball culture and/or are baseball fans.
June 13, 2009
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 and watch below:
Click here for a music video trailer for the book created by student D. S. using Animoto: http://dowdell.mysdhc.org/bucket/prince.wmv
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!
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 and watch below:
Click here for a music video trailer for the book created by student D. S. using Animoto: http://dowdell.mysdhc.org/bucket/prince.wmv
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!
February 18, 2021
I enjoyed this book. Not one I would have picked for myself; it's targeted toward a young middle-grade audience and honestly, there are only so many "Red Sox Curse Ending" books one can read.
I'm glad it was given to me though. The story was engaging and mythical in both the sports & faerie meanings of the word. It was also refreshing to have Game 4 of the ALCS described in a new way, not simply a transcription of the play-by-play from the night.
I also want to acknowledge the fact that Julianna Baggott not only addressed the racism MLB participated in, but specifically called out the intentional and flagrant racism the Red Sox asked to linger within the organization well after the other teams integrated. Her attention to racism was pointed should not be easily ignored or glossed over by the middle-grade reading audience. Nor was it full of platitudes and apologetics.
I'm not sure I recommend this book to anyone who is not already a Red Sox fan or a fan of baseball in general; much of the baseball content is very specifically fan-service. I also don't recommend this to anyone who wants a purely baseball-focused book; the fantasy element is strong, which was very engaging to me as a fan of both.
I'm glad it was given to me though. The story was engaging and mythical in both the sports & faerie meanings of the word. It was also refreshing to have Game 4 of the ALCS described in a new way, not simply a transcription of the play-by-play from the night.
I also want to acknowledge the fact that Julianna Baggott not only addressed the racism MLB participated in, but specifically called out the intentional and flagrant racism the Red Sox asked to linger within the organization well after the other teams integrated. Her attention to racism was pointed should not be easily ignored or glossed over by the middle-grade reading audience. Nor was it full of platitudes and apologetics.
I'm not sure I recommend this book to anyone who is not already a Red Sox fan or a fan of baseball in general; much of the baseball content is very specifically fan-service. I also don't recommend this to anyone who wants a purely baseball-focused book; the fantasy element is strong, which was very engaging to me as a fan of both.
September 21, 2017
The main character name is Oscar he is adopted and a mix race. He lives in Boston with his divorced mom and dad. At school he gets bullied and messed with by other kids. His mom dropped him off with his dad for the day and hid dad does not want to keep him. His mom goes on a date with another man. Oscar feels weird about staying with his dad, he thinks bad things will happen.
They talk about the curse in the book from the Boston Red Sox which is is a myth that all red sox fans think is real. I think the book was good because I am I baseball fan and I like the red sox baseball club. How they talk about the baseball stadium fenway park, i think is cool how they put that in the book because it is a really cool place to go.
They talk about the curse in the book from the Boston Red Sox which is is a myth that all red sox fans think is real. I think the book was good because I am I baseball fan and I like the red sox baseball club. How they talk about the baseball stadium fenway park, i think is cool how they put that in the book because it is a really cool place to go.
March 5, 2013
The Prince of Fenway Park by Julianna Baggot is one of my favorite books I ever read. This fiction book takes place in Boston. The main character is Oscar. Oscar is an adopted, mixed-race boy living in Boston in 2004, was bullied and misunderstood at school, abandoned by his real parents, and thought his white adoptive parents, who were divorced, didn’t really want him. I think that Julianna Baggot does a great job in combining the real world, with fiction all in this one book.
An example of Julianna Baggot combining the real world with fiction was when the story talk about how Babe Ruth was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees. Also, when they talked about how the Red Sox won five world titles but when Babe Ruth was traded, they started to do worse without him. Then she added a fairyland to Boston. She talked about how creatures living under the stadium. They were cursed and could't do anything until the curse was broken. Then in the climax, she makes a small war to see if oscar can reverse the curse or they would have to keep the curse forever.
In conclusion, I think that Julianna Baggot did a great job in combining the real world with fiction. She talk about Babe Ruth and how the Red Sox where doing great with him. Then the fictional side with creatures that live under the park. That is why I think Julianna Baggot did a good job in combining the real world with fiction.
An example of Julianna Baggot combining the real world with fiction was when the story talk about how Babe Ruth was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees. Also, when they talked about how the Red Sox won five world titles but when Babe Ruth was traded, they started to do worse without him. Then she added a fairyland to Boston. She talked about how creatures living under the stadium. They were cursed and could't do anything until the curse was broken. Then in the climax, she makes a small war to see if oscar can reverse the curse or they would have to keep the curse forever.
In conclusion, I think that Julianna Baggot did a great job in combining the real world with fiction. She talk about Babe Ruth and how the Red Sox where doing great with him. Then the fictional side with creatures that live under the park. That is why I think Julianna Baggot did a good job in combining the real world with fiction.
June 28, 2011
I think that this book is pretty good and I like the fact that it is a true story (partly). Of course, I like it a lot because I am a die-hard red sox fan. Overall, I think that this is a very intriguing book about one of baseballs biggest coincidences: The curse.
March 9, 2017
The Prince of Fenway Park Book Review
The Prince of Fenway Park by Julianna Baggott is a pretty fascinating book. The book takes place in the year of 1919, in Boston, Massachusetts. I really enjoyed my experience while reading this book because I enjoy watching and playing sports and I played baseball for eight years when I was younger. Playing baseball when I was younger was also a personal connection I was able to make to the book and the book was easy to keep up with because I know a lot about baseball. I expected it to be somewhat factual and packed with sports action and I was glad that it was. Playing baseball when I was younger and enjoying playing and watching sports was also why I chose this book.
A quote that I feel really stands out than all others is one that was very meaningful and powerful. “What didn’t help was that just this year it seemed as if the white kids he’d been friends with in elementary school didn’t have much to say to him anymore, and there weren’t many black kids in Hingham Middle. Occasionally a Hispanic kid would ask him something in Spanish assuming he spoke it. He’d just shrug" (Baggott 74). This shows that the main character did not care what people thought of him and it did not matter, he was still able to do something very powerful, and on a very big stage. Major League Baseball. Also, I think that this has to do with some things that go on today. People form stereotypical thoughts about people just by judging them at a first look which is somewhat like this quote. Which all leads to the essential question of this book.
How do we form and shape our identities? Oscar, the main character in this book, who is twelve years old, deals with school and everything else going on in his life while also having a major responsibility on his hands. I will not spoil anything, but basically Oscar is sent to live under with his dad somewhere deep under Fenway Park where the curse is alive, and there are all these creatures that live down there that were affected by the curse. Oscar ends up having to figure out how to break the curse. So I think it is more about how he did not care what anyone said or thought about him and he was still able to do something remarkable.
I would recommend this book to kids of all ages, especially teenagers. I really feel like teenagers would like this, but younger kids could read it as well. The main character is just about to be a teenager so it is right there in the teenage age range. Younger kids could enjoy this because it is not that hard to follow and the fiction really appeals to children, especially children who play or watch baseball. Kids of all ages would enjoy this book just like I did and that is what makes this book very good.
The Prince of Fenway Park by Julianna Baggott is a pretty fascinating book. The book takes place in the year of 1919, in Boston, Massachusetts. I really enjoyed my experience while reading this book because I enjoy watching and playing sports and I played baseball for eight years when I was younger. Playing baseball when I was younger was also a personal connection I was able to make to the book and the book was easy to keep up with because I know a lot about baseball. I expected it to be somewhat factual and packed with sports action and I was glad that it was. Playing baseball when I was younger and enjoying playing and watching sports was also why I chose this book.
A quote that I feel really stands out than all others is one that was very meaningful and powerful. “What didn’t help was that just this year it seemed as if the white kids he’d been friends with in elementary school didn’t have much to say to him anymore, and there weren’t many black kids in Hingham Middle. Occasionally a Hispanic kid would ask him something in Spanish assuming he spoke it. He’d just shrug" (Baggott 74). This shows that the main character did not care what people thought of him and it did not matter, he was still able to do something very powerful, and on a very big stage. Major League Baseball. Also, I think that this has to do with some things that go on today. People form stereotypical thoughts about people just by judging them at a first look which is somewhat like this quote. Which all leads to the essential question of this book.
How do we form and shape our identities? Oscar, the main character in this book, who is twelve years old, deals with school and everything else going on in his life while also having a major responsibility on his hands. I will not spoil anything, but basically Oscar is sent to live under with his dad somewhere deep under Fenway Park where the curse is alive, and there are all these creatures that live down there that were affected by the curse. Oscar ends up having to figure out how to break the curse. So I think it is more about how he did not care what anyone said or thought about him and he was still able to do something remarkable.
I would recommend this book to kids of all ages, especially teenagers. I really feel like teenagers would like this, but younger kids could read it as well. The main character is just about to be a teenager so it is right there in the teenage age range. Younger kids could enjoy this because it is not that hard to follow and the fiction really appeals to children, especially children who play or watch baseball. Kids of all ages would enjoy this book just like I did and that is what makes this book very good.
January 2, 2025
12 year old Oscar Egg is an adopted, biracial child of divorced white parents. When his mother goes to Baltimore to pursue a possible, new husband, she sends him to stay with his bedfuddled, sickly father. When Malachai Egg reluctantly takes Oscar in, the secret of the 86 year curse on the Red Sox is revealed because Malachi is one of the Cursed Creatures who live under Fenway Park. When Oscar declares that he is the one to break the curse, he must assemble a team of 12 year olds to play against his great aunt's team in a game of epic proportions. Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Johnny Pesky, Ted Williams, Bill Buckner, and Pumpsie Green join Oscar to play against a team of cheaters and racists in a game which eerily mirrors game 4 against the Yankees in 2004. This book was filled with Red Sox information which residents of Red Sox Nation should enjoy.
September 8, 2021
It was fun; had important themes and great snippet of baseball and Red Sox history... Although.. it says one sings Sweet Caroline in the 7th inning... (It's the 8th) but other than that a fun read.
January 13, 2023
Cute book involving the thrill of the 2004 World Series. Great for young Red Sox fans. Some details of the story are pretty out there, especially vis a vis the reason for the curse.
May 2, 2024
this is a children's book but it's really well written and a great take on fantasy in a modern setting :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2018
This book was very interesting for the whole book because it always had something exciting happening on every page. However, the ending of the book was very different than I expected it to be. overall this book was one of the best books I have ever read! This book reminded me a lot of how much I love baseball.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2011
For a book about reversing the curse of the Red Sox, there was shockingly little baseball performed by the Red Sox in the season that they reversed the curse.
Usually I like books that take you somewhere normal and you enter a fantastical universe. Books like The Chronicles of Narnia or Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman are good examples of this working. This book did not work in that way.
For starters, Fenway Park is cool enough that you don't have to make up a crazy underground fairy land full of magical creatures for it to be interesting. But even putting that aside, I thought that somewhere at some point Oscar, the main character, would attend and watch a live Red Sox game. Nope, he just hears or watches it underground.
Also, reversing the curse didn't seem that difficult. Sure he encountered problems but there was always someone helping him along the way. Including several baseball legends such as Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. Usually I would think that is cool. But instead what happens is Oscar meets all of those players when they are twelve, before they are baseball greats. After lots of runaround with barely believable magical creatures Oscar must lead his team in their baseball game where they have to defeat "bad guys" such as Pete Rose, Jose Canseco and Ty Cobb. Oscar tells Jackie and the gang that their forgiveness for future injustice done to them by the Red Sox will overcome the curse. If you ask me, pre-emptively forgiving an institution for its racist attitude is giving the team a go ahead to be a racist instituition.
Also, the "bad guys" are bad but the "good guys" have some issues of their own that aren't mentioned. Yes, Ty Cobb was known to make horrible comments and I am not defending those. But Babe Ruth was not a saint. He was a notorious womanizer, drank heavily, and on occasion, let a less than p.c. comment about race fly from his own mouth. The author argues that Billy Buckner should be forgiven for his colossal error in the 1986 World Series where he let a ball go through his legs, because, that play aside, he was an excellent player. I will give you that. He was. But so was Pete Rose who is labeled a bad guy. Pete should not have gambled as he did, but if you saw him play, you cannot deny that he had as much skill, if not more than Billy Buckner ever did. Also, Gaylord Perry is singled out for his use of the spitball, grease ball and other illegal pitches. But it wasnt until his 21st season in the majors that he was even ejected for it, so baseball was turning a blind eye to that and I am sure he just thought of it as another way of winning. Not to mention, Babe Ruth took supplements and concoctions that would for his day be the equivalent of steroids now. Babe knew that cheating was, is and always will be a part of baseball. I am not saying that is a good thing, I am just saying that it is a bit judgemental to leave out the information from both sides. And in one play during the fictional game, Oscars dad uses his fairy wings to get to first base before a throw. I haven't checked the rule book but I bet flying is not strictly any more legal than a spitball.
Finally, the curse was that the Red Sox wouldn't win the World Series. Now I know it was not possible for them to get there without their stunning defeat of the Yankees after being down three games to none, but the World Series itself gets only a brief mention at all. The Red Sox did have to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in order to actually reverse their curse.
On the plus side, this book does give some baseball history and it is fairly accurate on that count. On the minus side there are weird creaturse like a horse-headed man called a pooka, and lots of less than believable time travel going on that has nothing to do with the actual Red Sox win.
If you love baseball, I do not recommend this book. If you love fantasy stories, I do not recommend this book. If you are a kid who doesn't know any better, sure give it a try. It's not for me though.
Also, if you think that the 86 year drought the Red Sox had was significant, any Chicago Cubs fan will laugh in your face. They are going on 103 years so far. The longest drought of any notable North American sports team in history. Now that is a curse.
Usually I like books that take you somewhere normal and you enter a fantastical universe. Books like The Chronicles of Narnia or Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman are good examples of this working. This book did not work in that way.
For starters, Fenway Park is cool enough that you don't have to make up a crazy underground fairy land full of magical creatures for it to be interesting. But even putting that aside, I thought that somewhere at some point Oscar, the main character, would attend and watch a live Red Sox game. Nope, he just hears or watches it underground.
Also, reversing the curse didn't seem that difficult. Sure he encountered problems but there was always someone helping him along the way. Including several baseball legends such as Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. Usually I would think that is cool. But instead what happens is Oscar meets all of those players when they are twelve, before they are baseball greats. After lots of runaround with barely believable magical creatures Oscar must lead his team in their baseball game where they have to defeat "bad guys" such as Pete Rose, Jose Canseco and Ty Cobb. Oscar tells Jackie and the gang that their forgiveness for future injustice done to them by the Red Sox will overcome the curse. If you ask me, pre-emptively forgiving an institution for its racist attitude is giving the team a go ahead to be a racist instituition.
Also, the "bad guys" are bad but the "good guys" have some issues of their own that aren't mentioned. Yes, Ty Cobb was known to make horrible comments and I am not defending those. But Babe Ruth was not a saint. He was a notorious womanizer, drank heavily, and on occasion, let a less than p.c. comment about race fly from his own mouth. The author argues that Billy Buckner should be forgiven for his colossal error in the 1986 World Series where he let a ball go through his legs, because, that play aside, he was an excellent player. I will give you that. He was. But so was Pete Rose who is labeled a bad guy. Pete should not have gambled as he did, but if you saw him play, you cannot deny that he had as much skill, if not more than Billy Buckner ever did. Also, Gaylord Perry is singled out for his use of the spitball, grease ball and other illegal pitches. But it wasnt until his 21st season in the majors that he was even ejected for it, so baseball was turning a blind eye to that and I am sure he just thought of it as another way of winning. Not to mention, Babe Ruth took supplements and concoctions that would for his day be the equivalent of steroids now. Babe knew that cheating was, is and always will be a part of baseball. I am not saying that is a good thing, I am just saying that it is a bit judgemental to leave out the information from both sides. And in one play during the fictional game, Oscars dad uses his fairy wings to get to first base before a throw. I haven't checked the rule book but I bet flying is not strictly any more legal than a spitball.
Finally, the curse was that the Red Sox wouldn't win the World Series. Now I know it was not possible for them to get there without their stunning defeat of the Yankees after being down three games to none, but the World Series itself gets only a brief mention at all. The Red Sox did have to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in order to actually reverse their curse.
On the plus side, this book does give some baseball history and it is fairly accurate on that count. On the minus side there are weird creaturse like a horse-headed man called a pooka, and lots of less than believable time travel going on that has nothing to do with the actual Red Sox win.
If you love baseball, I do not recommend this book. If you love fantasy stories, I do not recommend this book. If you are a kid who doesn't know any better, sure give it a try. It's not for me though.
Also, if you think that the 86 year drought the Red Sox had was significant, any Chicago Cubs fan will laugh in your face. They are going on 103 years so far. The longest drought of any notable North American sports team in history. Now that is a curse.
September 25, 2009
If you like fantasy, or Boston Red Sox. You'll love this book., June 2, 2009
By teachantoun (York, PA) - See all my reviews
Mrs. Antoun's Fifth Grade Class
Sinking Springs Elementary
In The Prince Of Fenway Park the main character , Oscar, dwells with his single-mother. He is bullied because he's adopted by two white people and he is bi-racial (he was born from a white and African American family). His dad and him are Boston fans even though Oscar's mom is going to visit her boyfriend "The King of Condos" in Baltimore.
Eventually, Oscar's mom abandons Oscar with his dad who Oscar never lived with one day in his life. So his father has to reveal himself to his son and tell him he's a fairy. Also, Oscar learns his dad's secret he lives in the underside of Fenway Park and that he is cursed. That is that his Aunt's and his dad and all of the other mystical creatures are cursed. Until, someone breaks the curse. Who will it be/ How will that person do it?
Some opinions of people who read the Prince of Fenway Park were: "I was surprised that a book based on baseball, curses, and magical creatures could get that good. It's as interesting as a baseball book can get." "It's really good especially if your a fantasy lover because it has magical creatures and stories," "I thought it was a good book because of the baseball knowledge and the good use of magical creatures," "liked the suspense of who and how they would break the curse.
Review #2
Do you know about the Red Sox baseball game curse that was made in 1919? If you want to know more about it then read this book. It starts when a boy named oscar who was adopted is fed up with his parent's divorce and bullies at school. Then when his mother wants him to stay with his father. His father refused to take Oscar in, but then has no choice. Oscar has never been to his fathers house before. He figures out he lives under Fenway park in Boston where his favorite team the Red Sox play. Where his father lives there is many cursed creatures because of the baseball curse. When Oscar finds out about the curse he goes through obsticalls to try and break the curse. Read more to find out what happens and who breaks the curse!
Review #3
The Prince Of Fenway Park could be for baseball fans and fantasy lovers. The main character Oscar, an orphan, feels like his family doesn't love him. Oscar lives with his mom above a steamy laundromat, but his dad lives in Boston near Fenway park, home of the Red Sox. The adventure really begins when Oscar gets dropped off where he and his father, Malacai Egg meet, so his mom can go off with her boyfriend Marty Glibb, A.K.A, King of the Condos. Oscar wasn't that thrilled because his farther always acts sickly. As night falls, Oscar must return to his father's home where he figures out he's not the only one that's cursed. Oscar is determined to break it. Will he break the curse? Read more to find out! We thought the book was a great mixture of baseball, fantasy, and realistic fiction.
Review #4
The Prince of Fenway Park is a magical story about the 86 year old curse on the Boston Red Sox. An 11 year old boy named Oscar got dumped off in Boston to suddenly realize that he has to live with his sickly farther. When they were walking to his father's house and found himself living in the underbelly of Fenway Park through a sewer passage. He found out he was not going to live with his dad alone, but 3 aunties, cursed creatures, and his dad. He finally realized with the help of Auntie Gormley, the cursed creatures, and Babe Ruth that he was the one to break the 86 year Red Sox curse. Will the curse be broken?, or will the Boston Red Sox be cursed forever and never win a game ever again. It's all up to Oscar!
You should read this book for the following reasons: Rachel- People should read this book because it teaches you in a exciting way about the curse of the Boston Red Sox. Greta- People should read this because it is very exciting, and you always are edging to know what will happen next. Sarah- People should read this book because it is very interesting story and when you pick up the book you will never put the book down.
October 23, 2009
I read this baseball fantasy at an especially apt time, as the Dodgers crashed and burned for the second year in a row on their way to the World Series. Those who wear Dodger Blue know something about curses…
Still, the Dodgers have nothing on the Boston Red Sox, which as everyone knows suffered a curse that began in 1919 when they sold off Babe Ruth and didn’t end until the 2004 World Series. And how did they shake off that losing streak? Readers of The Prince of Fenway Park will thank one Oscar Egg, a 12-year-old mixed-race child adopted as a baby by two well-meaning but imperfect parents, who soon divorce. As a result, Oscar has always felt a bit out of place.
When his mom abruptly drops Oscar off with his dad so she can be with her boyfriend, Oscar learns why his dad has always seemed so hangdog and sickly and why he has never invited Oscar to his home. It turns out that his dad lives under Fenway Park and, like all its other unhappy denizens, is half-fairy and half-human. And, like the Boston Red Sox, they are laboring under the Curse, which has afflicted the entire Park not just with baseball losses, but with a screaming Banshee, weasels, mice, an alarming Pooka, and assorted other strange creatures. Oscar not only feels immediately at home, but decides to set about breaking the Curse – with help from his dad, his aunties, and Babe Ruth himself.
The mechanics of this fantasy are a bit clunky – Oscar is gifted with the ability to “read signs,” meaning he can decode anything from a song’s hidden message to a weasel’s snapping communication to a mute auntie’s blinking, and there is also a tunnel and key that allow him and his nemesis to go back and forth in time. However, the strange and seedy magical underworld of Fenway Park is enthralling and its doomed denizens, all never failing to wear their Red Sox caps, are fascinating. I was reminded of Tim Powers’ contemporary novels – such as Expiration Date - featuring magical beings living their marginal and dangerous lives on the seedier edges of Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
The climax, in which the 12-year-old versions of famous ball players in history (Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Pumpsie Green) face off against such disgraced players as Ty Cobbs, Jose Canseco, Eddie Cicotte, and Pete Rose in a ball game that will determine whether or not the Curse is lifted, is sure to be a treat for kids who are familiar with these players and their styles. It’s the scene before it, in which Oscar goes to these kids one by one, asking them to come play ball, that is moving and heartfelt, especially as the author has taken pains to explain why each of Oscar’s team members was marginalized or felt like an outsider during his career. This part goes on a bit too long and some kids may not have the patience for it, but those who don’t skim through it will find plenty of interesting history.
This is an obvious choice for baseball fans and for kids who love Dan Gutman’s “baseball card” time-travel fantasies, but I think the premise – and the appealing jacket art – will attract all kinds of readers. Recommended for kids ages 9 to 12.
Still, the Dodgers have nothing on the Boston Red Sox, which as everyone knows suffered a curse that began in 1919 when they sold off Babe Ruth and didn’t end until the 2004 World Series. And how did they shake off that losing streak? Readers of The Prince of Fenway Park will thank one Oscar Egg, a 12-year-old mixed-race child adopted as a baby by two well-meaning but imperfect parents, who soon divorce. As a result, Oscar has always felt a bit out of place.
When his mom abruptly drops Oscar off with his dad so she can be with her boyfriend, Oscar learns why his dad has always seemed so hangdog and sickly and why he has never invited Oscar to his home. It turns out that his dad lives under Fenway Park and, like all its other unhappy denizens, is half-fairy and half-human. And, like the Boston Red Sox, they are laboring under the Curse, which has afflicted the entire Park not just with baseball losses, but with a screaming Banshee, weasels, mice, an alarming Pooka, and assorted other strange creatures. Oscar not only feels immediately at home, but decides to set about breaking the Curse – with help from his dad, his aunties, and Babe Ruth himself.
The mechanics of this fantasy are a bit clunky – Oscar is gifted with the ability to “read signs,” meaning he can decode anything from a song’s hidden message to a weasel’s snapping communication to a mute auntie’s blinking, and there is also a tunnel and key that allow him and his nemesis to go back and forth in time. However, the strange and seedy magical underworld of Fenway Park is enthralling and its doomed denizens, all never failing to wear their Red Sox caps, are fascinating. I was reminded of Tim Powers’ contemporary novels – such as Expiration Date - featuring magical beings living their marginal and dangerous lives on the seedier edges of Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
The climax, in which the 12-year-old versions of famous ball players in history (Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Pumpsie Green) face off against such disgraced players as Ty Cobbs, Jose Canseco, Eddie Cicotte, and Pete Rose in a ball game that will determine whether or not the Curse is lifted, is sure to be a treat for kids who are familiar with these players and their styles. It’s the scene before it, in which Oscar goes to these kids one by one, asking them to come play ball, that is moving and heartfelt, especially as the author has taken pains to explain why each of Oscar’s team members was marginalized or felt like an outsider during his career. This part goes on a bit too long and some kids may not have the patience for it, but those who don’t skim through it will find plenty of interesting history.
This is an obvious choice for baseball fans and for kids who love Dan Gutman’s “baseball card” time-travel fantasies, but I think the premise – and the appealing jacket art – will attract all kinds of readers. Recommended for kids ages 9 to 12.
October 24, 2012
The Prince Of Fenway Park is a book filled with suspense and action. I think that this book is a "good read" because of the interesting story and because it is about my favorite sport, baseball. I really enjoyed this book because I love to hear about the great baseball players that played for the Red Sox like Babe Ruth. I also enjoyed this book because the Yankees are my favorite team and I like to see the Red Sox being cursed for over 10 years. I was very happy with the interesting plot that went along with this book. This book is about a huge Boston Red Sox fan that tries to break the curse the Red Sox endure once they trade Babe Ruth. The fan's name is Oscar, who is just a little boy. The Red Sox have been under this curse for many years because during this time, they have not won a World Series. Oscar's dad has a mysterious family background. His dad has a family that lives under Fenway Park along with other people called “creatures”. These creatures are living under Fenway Park because the curse has not been broken to set them free. In order for Oscar to break the curse, he has to find the mysterious clues that enable him to set the Red Sox free. One of these clues was when Oscar’s aunt gave him the ability to break codes. Oscar could break codes meaning that he could understand unclear messages that were given to him as signs.
“She rolled her eyes as if to say Nonsense! ‘Do you think I can help?’ She blinked. ‘Do you think I’m the one who can save us?’ She blinked. (Baggot, 84).
Oscar then realized that he could break curses and messages. He figured out that whenever his aunt blinked, it meant yes. This is the special ability that helped Oscar break the Curse of the Boston Red Sox.
I gave this book five stars because the plot was clear, it had suspense, it was action packed, and it told a great story about the Red Sox's curse. I also gave this book five stars because since baseball is my favorite sport, this book relates to me because it has a baseball plot. Overall, this book was just right for me because of my interests in baseball. If I had to change one thing about this book, it would be to change the intro because Oscar's mother is a big part of his life. In the book, she sends Oscar to his dad for a year because she needs to go to Baltimore. In the beginning, Oscar is always thinking about his mother but towards the end, his mother isn't mentioned as much. I think that if Oscar's mother were mentioned more often, the reader would be reminded that Oscar's mother still plays an important role in the book. However, I do think that this book deserves five stars because of it's plot, suspense, action, and because readers can relate to baseball. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys baseball and also to anyone that enjoys suspenseful books.
“She rolled her eyes as if to say Nonsense! ‘Do you think I can help?’ She blinked. ‘Do you think I’m the one who can save us?’ She blinked. (Baggot, 84).
Oscar then realized that he could break curses and messages. He figured out that whenever his aunt blinked, it meant yes. This is the special ability that helped Oscar break the Curse of the Boston Red Sox.
I gave this book five stars because the plot was clear, it had suspense, it was action packed, and it told a great story about the Red Sox's curse. I also gave this book five stars because since baseball is my favorite sport, this book relates to me because it has a baseball plot. Overall, this book was just right for me because of my interests in baseball. If I had to change one thing about this book, it would be to change the intro because Oscar's mother is a big part of his life. In the book, she sends Oscar to his dad for a year because she needs to go to Baltimore. In the beginning, Oscar is always thinking about his mother but towards the end, his mother isn't mentioned as much. I think that if Oscar's mother were mentioned more often, the reader would be reminded that Oscar's mother still plays an important role in the book. However, I do think that this book deserves five stars because of it's plot, suspense, action, and because readers can relate to baseball. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys baseball and also to anyone that enjoys suspenseful books.
April 10, 2009
Twelve-year-old biracial Bostonian Oscar Egg feels cursed. Bullies pick on him at school. Ignorant adults point out that he doesn’t look like his white adoptive mom. His parents are divorced and he only sees his sad, sickly dad now and then at Pizzeria Uno. He’s never met his mom’s boyfriend – is she ashamed of her brown-skinned boy? He feels like he doesn’t belong anywhere. And to make matters worse, his beloved Red Sox are losing – as they have since 1919, when they sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
Oscar knows that selling the Babe “cursed” his team. But he only learns how real that curse is when his dad takes him home to a weird alternate world below Fenway Park, where Oscar reads the actual curse and meets the Cursed Creatures: bizarre fairies, a horned organist, Weasel-Man, and more. Since 1919, they have been waiting for the one person who can break the cryptic curse and set them, and the Red Sox, free …
Although there’s no mystery how things will turn out (the cover proclaims “There was a curse. It was reversed. This is the boy who did it”), the story has plenty of drama and suspense and some nice plot twists. The writing is vivid and the characters and dialogue are terrific. The moral point, about moving beyond the legacy of bigotry, is presented straightforwardly and eloquently. And if the book reminded me from time to time of Field of Dreams mixed with Finian’s Rainbow, Monsters, Inc. and A Wrinkle in Time, the story always stands on its own unique feet.
If I have one quibble, it is that about three-quarters of the way through the book I began to question whether some of the motivations driving essential plot points really made sense. However, my fourteen-year-old daughter – a voracious but critical reader – assured me that they did. So maybe they do – or maybe the book is just such fun that it doesn’t really matter.
Oscar knows that selling the Babe “cursed” his team. But he only learns how real that curse is when his dad takes him home to a weird alternate world below Fenway Park, where Oscar reads the actual curse and meets the Cursed Creatures: bizarre fairies, a horned organist, Weasel-Man, and more. Since 1919, they have been waiting for the one person who can break the cryptic curse and set them, and the Red Sox, free …
Although there’s no mystery how things will turn out (the cover proclaims “There was a curse. It was reversed. This is the boy who did it”), the story has plenty of drama and suspense and some nice plot twists. The writing is vivid and the characters and dialogue are terrific. The moral point, about moving beyond the legacy of bigotry, is presented straightforwardly and eloquently. And if the book reminded me from time to time of Field of Dreams mixed with Finian’s Rainbow, Monsters, Inc. and A Wrinkle in Time, the story always stands on its own unique feet.
If I have one quibble, it is that about three-quarters of the way through the book I began to question whether some of the motivations driving essential plot points really made sense. However, my fourteen-year-old daughter – a voracious but critical reader – assured me that they did. So maybe they do – or maybe the book is just such fun that it doesn’t really matter.
August 16, 2011
This is a book about the Boston Red Sox and a curse. The main characters are Oscar Egg, his father, Malachi Egg, a Coach Odonnel and his friend who isn't very nice, Mean Friend. The town is close to Fenway Park and the underground. The bad part of the book is that Oscar's mom is passing him off so that she can go see her boyfriend. Maybe he should go live with his Dad, so he doesn't have to feel like he is being pushed out from his mom?
In the underground, the gate keepers, one nice and the other mean are repairing the infield that was destroyed. The field was destroyed by by an animal and others, it is part of a curse. Yes a curse in the underground of baseball. This book was sort of confusing to me, because it made me feel bad for the main character, Oscar and about things that happen in major sports that you don't hear about.
When Malachai Egg lets Oscar come live with him, which he didn't want to do, the secret of the 86 year curse on the Red Sox is opened because Malachi is one of the Cursed Creatures who live under Fenway Park. When Oscar tells everyone that he is the only one that can break the curse, he has to assemble a team of 12 year olds to play against a team in a huge game.
This book was not really good to me, it was hard to follow. At first I thought this book was going to be a sports book, a book about baseball and I really didn't get the part that there was going to be this curse and all of the bad things that happened in underground baseball. I would not recommend this book if you are big into sports, maybe if you follow baseball really close and you know about some curse that happens you will understand it better, but for me I had a hard time.
In the underground, the gate keepers, one nice and the other mean are repairing the infield that was destroyed. The field was destroyed by by an animal and others, it is part of a curse. Yes a curse in the underground of baseball. This book was sort of confusing to me, because it made me feel bad for the main character, Oscar and about things that happen in major sports that you don't hear about.
When Malachai Egg lets Oscar come live with him, which he didn't want to do, the secret of the 86 year curse on the Red Sox is opened because Malachi is one of the Cursed Creatures who live under Fenway Park. When Oscar tells everyone that he is the only one that can break the curse, he has to assemble a team of 12 year olds to play against a team in a huge game.
This book was not really good to me, it was hard to follow. At first I thought this book was going to be a sports book, a book about baseball and I really didn't get the part that there was going to be this curse and all of the bad things that happened in underground baseball. I would not recommend this book if you are big into sports, maybe if you follow baseball really close and you know about some curse that happens you will understand it better, but for me I had a hard time.
August 7, 2011
This is one of those books that I figured I wouldn't like because it looked like a sports book, but then thought I might like because it is a fantasy book. But then I realized I LOVE this book because among all that fantasy, there are real facts and real depths to this book. It made me think (a lot). It made me mad. It made me happy. It made me cry, more than once. How does an author manage to cover racism with such delicate skill? I was amazed, and as a person in what some would call a "mixed" marriage with children that are half hispanic, I really could relate to the pain and anger expressed by some of the characters in this book. I'm grateful we live in a loving community where it's never been an issue, but I'll never forget some of the nasty incidents Mr. G and I experienced while living in Georgia. Some people just don't have a clue.
Read this book! It's worth it. The author uses the "N" word three times in this book, even though she believes it's the most hateful word in the English language. And I agree with her. However, the author has a good point as to why she chose to use it. "In each of the three cases, I was relying on facts and real quotes." And she also stated, "Although it is morally wrong to use this word, censoring it would be an attempt to sanitize the past. I refuse to do so- for the sake of children or any readers, for that matter. When we try to alter histroy, we cannot truly understand and learn from our mistakes, and we are guilty of diminishing the truly great acts of heroism in the battle against racism."
I wish this book could be a school-wide read. I like it that much!
Read this book! It's worth it. The author uses the "N" word three times in this book, even though she believes it's the most hateful word in the English language. And I agree with her. However, the author has a good point as to why she chose to use it. "In each of the three cases, I was relying on facts and real quotes." And she also stated, "Although it is morally wrong to use this word, censoring it would be an attempt to sanitize the past. I refuse to do so- for the sake of children or any readers, for that matter. When we try to alter histroy, we cannot truly understand and learn from our mistakes, and we are guilty of diminishing the truly great acts of heroism in the battle against racism."
I wish this book could be a school-wide read. I like it that much!
March 19, 2012
I liked this book a lot more than I expected to. Oscar is a mixed race child who was adopted by two white parents as a baby. His entire life, he's dealt with issues of identity and racism for his whole life. His adoptive parents split when he was still a baby. Now his mom wants to have him live with his dad for awhile, and he finds out why his father has always been distant. It turns out that his father is actually half-fairy, and his is tied to a curse in Fenway Park. No one who is aware of the curse can leave the park permanently, and this now includes Oscar. He has to find a way to break the curse - or he's stuck under Fenway Park forever.
This book had really fun and interesting character. I loved watching Oscar try to solve the mystery and seeing how each character played their part. *SPOILER* The only thing I didn't like was the ending, where Oscar goes back in time to get some of the greatest baseball players together for a game to win the key to ending the curse. This felt somewhat forced, and it seems unlikely that every single one of those players would agree to come. It also suddenly became too much of a message book at this point, focusing a lot on the ugly part that racism played in baseball. While I agree that this is an important issue and shouldn't be ignored, it almost felt like the book was turning into an after school special.
Also, sports fans might be disappointed that very little baseball is actually played until the end. Those who don't like baseball (like me) will be bored by how long the game at the end of the novel takes.
Overall though, I thought this book was pretty good.
This book had really fun and interesting character. I loved watching Oscar try to solve the mystery and seeing how each character played their part. *SPOILER* The only thing I didn't like was the ending, where Oscar goes back in time to get some of the greatest baseball players together for a game to win the key to ending the curse. This felt somewhat forced, and it seems unlikely that every single one of those players would agree to come. It also suddenly became too much of a message book at this point, focusing a lot on the ugly part that racism played in baseball. While I agree that this is an important issue and shouldn't be ignored, it almost felt like the book was turning into an after school special.
Also, sports fans might be disappointed that very little baseball is actually played until the end. Those who don't like baseball (like me) will be bored by how long the game at the end of the novel takes.
Overall though, I thought this book was pretty good.
January 19, 2010
I understand what the author of "The Prince of Fenway Park" was trying to accomplish: teach young readers the nuances of race and racism, its devastating effects on the psyche, baseball's illustrious colored (negro) past and present, how to deal with family issues, and trying to tie it all in to the amazing Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series comeback. Lofty goals, but I am just not enjoying the story. I don't think it works. I can't believe in the curse, and the other-worldly characters had me laughing because the language, their thoughts and actions seemed absurd. I don't relish the thought of recommending a kids' book which shows the parents abandoning and not appreciating their child; the mother finds a rich boyfriend more compelling and dumps her adopted son off with her ex, who hasn't been much of a parent to the boy. I'm on page 106 of about 320 pages, but I'm not sure I want to finish this book. It is a quick read, though!
May 14, 2009
What a wonderful book. What an important book and not just because I love the Red Sox. I knew that players of color suffered mightily at the hands of racist managers, coaches, team mates and fans early on, but I never realized that the Sox were the most bigoted at all and the last to integrate. Had I really thought about this, I probably would have reconsidered my love and loyalty for the team. The beauty of it is that things have changed for the better. Players are respected for their ability and not slandered for their skin tone; teams are teams, playing to get the job done. We are a diverse world nation, multicultural always have been. Tolerance finally found its way and as a result, the game is even more beautiful. Things are better, this is true, but still, a lot must be done for us to peacefully coexist in a multicultural world.
November 3, 2009
A historical baseball fantasy set in a hidden world below Fenway Park which is populated by cursed magical creatures. Oscar discovers this strange world when he unexpectedly has to go live with his father who turns out to be a half-fairy. It soon becomes apparent that Oscar may hold the key to ending the infamous Red Sox curse and freeing his family and all the other cursed creatures. In the process he takes a wild pooka ride and a dizzying time travel journey all leading to a final wild baseball game. The Prince of Fenway Park was loads of fun--full of baseball history and trivia, strange creatures, and an interesting look at racism in baseball. It was also fun to see the author's take on certain members of Red Sox nation including Bill Buckner (is she friends with him?) and sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy.
June 25, 2010
12 year old Oscar Egg is an adopted, biracial child of divorced white parents. When his mother goes to Baltimore to pursue a possible, new husband, she sends him to stay with his bedfuddled, sickly father. When Malachai Egg reluctantly takes Oscar in, the secret of the 86 year curse on the Red Sox is revealed because Malachi is one of the Cursed Creatures who live under Fenway Park. When Oscar declares that he is the one to break the curse, he must assemble a team of 12 year olds to play against his great aunt's team in a game of epic proportions. Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Johnny Pesky, Ted Williams, Bill Buckner, and Pumpsie Green join Oscar to play against a team of cheaters and racists in a game which eerily mirrors game 4 against the Yankees in 2004. This book was filled with Red Sox information which residents of Red Sox Nation should enjoy.
February 18, 2013
Originally I thought this book was for baseball fans in 5th and 6th grade - and it is - but there are so many fantasy elements that the reader needs to be comfortable with that genre as well. Baggott imagines that the curse that kept the Red Sox from winning the World Series for 80+ years was an actual curse, with mystical creatures effected by the curse, living below Fenway Stadium. Oscar's father is one of the cursed creatures, so it falls on his 12-year-old shoulders to help break the curse. Quite a bit of baseball history is included, with special attention to the role race has played in the game, as Oscar is biracial. Straight-up sports fans will struggle with this title, it will only work for those who like fantasy too. The audio version, which I listened to, was pretty solid with a decent narrator.
October 17, 2011
A very clever sports/fantasy. Oscar Egg is sent to live with his dad for the first time since his parents split up. He had no idea that his dad lived UNDER Fenway Park with an entire population of fantastic creatures who are victims of the famous Red Sox curse. Oscar arrives in the fall of 2004 as the Red Sox are locked in a seemingly losing battle with their arch-rivals the New York Yankees. It soon becomes apparent that Oscar may be the one sent to reverse the curse, but only if he can bravely navigate a world where many of the creatures want the curse to remain. This book is great fun for Red Sox fans in particular, but any kid who likes baseball is sure to be captivated by this story.
May 7, 2009
After finishing this book, I almost feel that this will have more appeal for adults rather than kids because there are so many old baseball players that are mentioned in the last third of the book. It's a cool fantasy story that explains the supposed curse that the Red Sox suffered under for 86 years included a whole bunch of creatures that populate the area underneath Fenway Park! I really wanted to read this book because I read and enjoyed a book this author co-wrote called "Which Brings Me To You" but I had not read any of her children's books which she has written under a pseudonym. Love the story but I feel like it's too sophisticated for kids.
July 9, 2009
As an avid member of the Red Sox Nation who looks at the 2004 World Series as a long awaited miracle, I had to read this book about Reversing the "Curse". I usually avoid most sports stories but this one was truly unique...combining an element of fantasy with the historical fact (a curse in and of itself) of the undercurrent of rascism that pervaded baseball for far too long. I would definitely recommend this to fans of sports fiction... Red Sox fans or not. (Well, maybe not Yankees fans!) ;0) This one falls in the gap between junior and YA fiction. Any 5th grader and up would probably enjoy it.
September 13, 2009
What a fun book! The year is 2004. There is something odd about Oscar's Dad, and when Oscar is sent to live with him he finds out what it is---he lives in a secret passageway underneath Fenway Park. Complete with many "cursed" creatures like Wesealman and the Pooka,they desperately want to break the curse that has been cast on their beloved Red Sox. I think it's the magical sense of place that makes this book so much fun. Who wouldn't want to live in a crawl space inches below the pitcher's mound at Fenway?!
You will leave with a new respect for Bill Buckner and a serious insight into how racism has played a part in MLB.
You will leave with a new respect for Bill Buckner and a serious insight into how racism has played a part in MLB.
June 6, 2011
In this very interesting fantasy, we meet a character named Oscar Egg, an avid Red Sox fan who is looking forward to the day when the Sox will finally break the curse of the Bambino. Set during the 2004 American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, Oscar gets caught up in the excitement of hoping that finally their time has come, which of course all Red Sox fans know that it had. What part, if any, does Oscar play in this drama? I could not put the book down until I found out. If you are a Red Sox fan and enjoy reading books written for 9-12 year olds I believe that you will not be disappointed with having spent the time reading this book.
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