Two Seasons by Paul Burgoyne is the detailed and sport-filled story of eleven-year-old Boone Martin and his interior conflict between choosing his family or choosing baseball. His childhood takes place in the 70’s, but apart from his baseball dreams and loss, we also get to see the social context of the time and some family dynamics that are quite common nowadays. The kid’s dream is to play baseball in the big leagues, but he has to deal with his parents’ difficulties, moving to another city and his father’s non-violent riots against the Vietnam war.

Author Paul Burgoyne writes in a beautiful and quite descriptive way, giving us insights into the kid’s life and his emotions. His style gives the reader the opportunity to feel empathy and get a better understanding of the kid’s feelings. As a reader keen on details, I appreciated the quantity of details put into describing what the protagonist feels during different moments of his life. This really make you appreciate what a kid can go through and survive. Furthermore, the relationship between Boone and his coach and Boone and his grandfather Pop is a great moral lesson for those who go through loss, people close to him shared his loss and helped him more than he thought.

With its deep and touching themes and the lighthearted nostalgia that only childhood can evoke, this is a novel that will catch any reader’s heart. The book explores themes from baseball to loss to early-teen years. This is a stirring coming-of-age story that will speak to young adult readers as well as adults. I would also recommend this book to anyone interested in American History concerning the late 60’s and 70’s, along with baseball fans as well, and to anyone who has been through a loss or feels like they have an identity crisis. Two Seasons is an impassioned sports fiction story that surprised me in many ways because I wasn’t ready for how emotionally resonant this novel would be.

Pages: 284 | ASIN: B0995J4TYM