Summary:
Red is the quarterback of the last Muckers football team. His little town is crumbling around him. He will be one of the final members to graduate from his high school and the last quarterback of the high school football team. Along with the town pretty much shutting down because of loss of jobs and people suffering from the losses from the war, Red has to deal with a father that has become very distant since the death of his older brother in the war. In order to win his father's attention and endear his last year of high school, Red has to lead his team to victory. Their goal is an undefeated season to send them to the state championships. Will this dying town be able to pull it through?
My thoughts:
As a fan of school sports and the way that they bring everyone together, I was on board with this novel from the beginning. After reading about the true story through a quick Google search, I was even more impressed. Muckers really brings your heart into the game and the trials that Red goes through. Everything seems to come to life and I feel myself rooting as if I was at the games. Along with that, this book investigates family dynamics and a lot of racial tensions. Muckers is one of the few football teams that is not segregated. Because of this, there are some moments of questioning who belongs and who does not. Ultimately though, this is an against all odds type of story that will warm the heart. I'd like to think this is a cross over book. While it is marketed towards young adults, adults will also clearly love the story. There isn't a lot of language or scenes that I would be particularly worried about for a middle school audience either. It's rare that books can touch so many audiences with the same amount of joy. I'm glad to have had the chance to read Red's story.
Red is the quarterback of the last Muckers football team. His little town is crumbling around him. He will be one of the final members to graduate from his high school and the last quarterback of the high school football team. Along with the town pretty much shutting down because of loss of jobs and people suffering from the losses from the war, Red has to deal with a father that has become very distant since the death of his older brother in the war. In order to win his father's attention and endear his last year of high school, Red has to lead his team to victory. Their goal is an undefeated season to send them to the state championships. Will this dying town be able to pull it through?
My thoughts:
As a fan of school sports and the way that they bring everyone together, I was on board with this novel from the beginning. After reading about the true story through a quick Google search, I was even more impressed. Muckers really brings your heart into the game and the trials that Red goes through. Everything seems to come to life and I feel myself rooting as if I was at the games. Along with that, this book investigates family dynamics and a lot of racial tensions. Muckers is one of the few football teams that is not segregated. Because of this, there are some moments of questioning who belongs and who does not. Ultimately though, this is an against all odds type of story that will warm the heart. I'd like to think this is a cross over book. While it is marketed towards young adults, adults will also clearly love the story. There isn't a lot of language or scenes that I would be particularly worried about for a middle school audience either. It's rare that books can touch so many audiences with the same amount of joy. I'm glad to have had the chance to read Red's story.
There are two things that matter to the town of Hatley, Arizona: mining and football. And that's about it. In 1950, when the copper veinsthe town's largest source of laborbegin to dry up and threaten to shut down not only the mine, but also the entire town, the future seems bleak with only the smallest feather of hope remaining: Hatley High School's football team's final season.
Set in the grim, desperate backdrop of the Korean War during the second Communist scare, Muckers is a story about the team that had all odds against them, but still found a way to run and fight and survive through the muckand emerge not only alive, but also triumphant. This is a football story, yes, but it's also a war story, as well as a family story, a love story, a personal storya very real story.
Red O'Sullivan is no stranger to wartime's tragic effects; the last war that swept the globe changed everything in his life, and this new one is about to do the same. As quarterback, he has a sense of dismay knowing his team's the smallest, scrawniest in Arizona, but it's certainly not the weakestand that's what keeps him holding on, because it may be the only thing Hatley has left. The last time the town saw something so hopeful was when Red's older brother, Bobby, brought home the Northern title nine years back. Now, everyone's counting on Red to redeem the collapsing town, and this just may be his last shot.
This book was really slow-paced, which had me skimming a lot; I feel it wouldn't hold the attention of younger readers well. However, I'm a huge fan of sports novels and so I refused to give in too easily, and in the end, I am so, so glad I did.
Muckers combines Red's frank, but heartbreakingly tenacious narrative with local newspaper clippings of the time, to expose the untold, valiant history of the real-life Jerome Muckers. Wallace gives careful, stimulating attention to period detail and breathes life into the inspired fictional town of Hatley. There are so many different issues within this book that she handles well, including those on politics, race, the real meaning of family, teamwork, and never giving up; Muckers could really teach our middle and high schoolers about succeeding in even the most disadvantageous of circumstances, just by persevering.
I was particularly intrigued by the origins of this novel, explained beautifully in the author's note. This football team literally had nothing left for them, but they fought hard to earn the only type of victory they could reach. The civil rights issues are interesting, as well; while most American high schools at this time were segregated, Jerome, and Hatley, were rare in that it was inhabited by both caucasians and Mexican-Americans. However, even though they all lived together, the racial tensions are still clearly prevalent, and the way the town manages to overcome themeven if only for the sake of the football teamis glittering, exultant.
Pros: Raw; hits exactly the right notes // Moving story // Captures the genuine hopes and worries and fears of the age // Vibrant, distinct characters // Forbidden romance sidestory // Detailed, suspenseful sports fiction // Preserves the amazing Muckers football team in literature
Cons: On the slow side // The writing style itself isn't particularly impressive
Verdict: Friday Night Lights meets Remember the Titans in this highly-charged, visceral young adult novel that has both spirit and soul. Harrowing, eye-opening, and tenderly honest, Muckers masterfully recounts an inspiring story about how one resilient high school football team finds victory through enduring the tragic, unforgiving demands of war and the injustices of racial divide. Sandra Neil Wallace did a marvelous thing by digging up the forgotten letters and faded newspapers that made up this previously overlooked narrative, and bringing it to light. This is the kind of story that deserves a special spot in American football history. Fortunately, through this novel, the Hatley Muckers get the chance to prove themselves, while the real-life Jerome Muckers, in their blazing glory, get the chance to be remembered.
Rating: 8 out of 10 hearts (4 stars): An engaging read that will be worth your while; highly recommended.
Source: Complimentary copy provided by publisher via tour publicist in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, Random House and TLC!).
Set in the grim, desperate backdrop of the Korean War during the second Communist scare, Muckers is a story about the team that had all odds against them, but still found a way to run and fight and survive through the muckand emerge not only alive, but also triumphant. This is a football story, yes, but it's also a war story, as well as a family story, a love story, a personal storya very real story.
Red O'Sullivan is no stranger to wartime's tragic effects; the last war that swept the globe changed everything in his life, and this new one is about to do the same. As quarterback, he has a sense of dismay knowing his team's the smallest, scrawniest in Arizona, but it's certainly not the weakestand that's what keeps him holding on, because it may be the only thing Hatley has left. The last time the town saw something so hopeful was when Red's older brother, Bobby, brought home the Northern title nine years back. Now, everyone's counting on Red to redeem the collapsing town, and this just may be his last shot.
This book was really slow-paced, which had me skimming a lot; I feel it wouldn't hold the attention of younger readers well. However, I'm a huge fan of sports novels and so I refused to give in too easily, and in the end, I am so, so glad I did.
Muckers combines Red's frank, but heartbreakingly tenacious narrative with local newspaper clippings of the time, to expose the untold, valiant history of the real-life Jerome Muckers. Wallace gives careful, stimulating attention to period detail and breathes life into the inspired fictional town of Hatley. There are so many different issues within this book that she handles well, including those on politics, race, the real meaning of family, teamwork, and never giving up; Muckers could really teach our middle and high schoolers about succeeding in even the most disadvantageous of circumstances, just by persevering.
I was particularly intrigued by the origins of this novel, explained beautifully in the author's note. This football team literally had nothing left for them, but they fought hard to earn the only type of victory they could reach. The civil rights issues are interesting, as well; while most American high schools at this time were segregated, Jerome, and Hatley, were rare in that it was inhabited by both caucasians and Mexican-Americans. However, even though they all lived together, the racial tensions are still clearly prevalent, and the way the town manages to overcome themeven if only for the sake of the football teamis glittering, exultant.
Pros: Raw; hits exactly the right notes // Moving story // Captures the genuine hopes and worries and fears of the age // Vibrant, distinct characters // Forbidden romance sidestory // Detailed, suspenseful sports fiction // Preserves the amazing Muckers football team in literature
Cons: On the slow side // The writing style itself isn't particularly impressive
Verdict: Friday Night Lights meets Remember the Titans in this highly-charged, visceral young adult novel that has both spirit and soul. Harrowing, eye-opening, and tenderly honest, Muckers masterfully recounts an inspiring story about how one resilient high school football team finds victory through enduring the tragic, unforgiving demands of war and the injustices of racial divide. Sandra Neil Wallace did a marvelous thing by digging up the forgotten letters and faded newspapers that made up this previously overlooked narrative, and bringing it to light. This is the kind of story that deserves a special spot in American football history. Fortunately, through this novel, the Hatley Muckers get the chance to prove themselves, while the real-life Jerome Muckers, in their blazing glory, get the chance to be remembered.
Rating: 8 out of 10 hearts (4 stars): An engaging read that will be worth your while; highly recommended.
Source: Complimentary copy provided by publisher via tour publicist in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, Random House and TLC!).
