Former pro wrestler Foley proves his authorial chops with this hard-edged coming-of-age tale (after Tietam Brown)
about a turbulent childhood amid the decay of the Bronx in the late '60s and '70s. Scooter Riley's comfortable existence disintegrates in sudden, steep drops, mirroring the fall of the Bronx as it transitions from working-class stability to urban desolation. Scooter's dad, a drunken yet good-hearted Irish-American cop stuck on the Harlem beat, accidentally shoots his eight-year-old son in the leg during a beer-fueled 1969 Mets-Orioles World Series fracas, saddling the boy with a bad limp. Growing up on the streets of the Bronx, Scooter weathers racial violence, dabbles in heroin and eventually turns his rage on his father, crippling him with a baseball bat. Soon, mom runs off, and the tense household, already beset by family secrets, struggles to regain traction. The family—Scooter also has a mentally handicapped younger sister—manages to rally in the late 1970s when they move to Long Island. Scooter, named after Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto, ultimately finds a form of salvation in his life's passion: baseball. With adroitly drawn characters, dark humor and a plot that never loses momentum, Foley shapes a story of resilience and courage. (Aug.)
