Review of The Clemente Spell

[Vivian Stones]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Clemente Spell" by John DeFelice.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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John DeFelice grew up under abnormal circumstances. He was born a left-handed child, and because of this, his parents thought him to be an evil being. He always felt neglected as a child. His parents did everything humanly possible to make him right-handed, and this caused him to develop a disability later in life.

John developed a passion for baseball after a “spell” took over his city. He started working towards playing for a team. His parents got separated, but this did not deter him. After eavesdropping on his family's conversation on one fateful day, the “spell” took over him, and he went back in time to his great-grandparents’ days. He learned about their history and how his family members came to be. He also discovered that as a result of some horrible secrets, his family was cursed.

The Clemente Spell: A Novel by John DeFelice is an interesting work of mystery and historical non-fiction. There are so many things to love about this book. It is about what a little boy faced while growing up and how he was able to navigate through life. The plot of this novel is very interesting, and the development of it was incredible. From John's condition at birth to his disability and later to his love for baseball made the novel much more beautiful. I love how the author was able to navigate through everything that life threw at him positively. As a child, whenever he felt neglected, he always played in the backyard with his toys. I like the fact that the novel didn’t go off-point as most other stories do. I also loved the emotional aspects of this book. It made me cry and also laugh at some point. I cried when I learned about what John went through as a child. I was so happy when God came through for him through his prayers and also how Roberto Clemente influenced him to aspire to be the best baseball player. I learned about baseball back in the 60s and how it was played then. I also learned a lot of life lessons from John. This novel is well written and very interesting; it kept me glued from the beginning to the end.

However, I found a host of errors in this book, and because of this solitary point, I would be deducting a star from my rating. Apart from this, I did not dislike anything else about this book. Therefore, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. This book was not professionally edited. That’s why I deducted a star from my rating. I did not also give it a lower rating because I enjoyed this book so much. I learned so much about the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and how baseball was played in each year.

I recommend this book to lovers of mystery and historical non-fiction. This book is also recommended to people interested in books with biblical passages. This book has some biblical passages. So, if they don’t appeal to you, I would advise that you don’t read this book.

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The Clemente Spell
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[Aisha Yakub]

It's okay to be left handed. Sad to see what he had to go through. I'd like to read this book. Thank you for the review.

[Svogel11766]

What a sad story. I’d love to read this book and find out more. Thanks for the review.

[Amy Luman]

I know that even just a few years before I was born being left-handed was considered a curse. I’m not sure where this started, but it’s not important. What is, is that John grew up healthy despite everyone’s best efforts.

[Itz Savaga]

This book really sounds interesting, I would love to know this history and secrets that he learnt about his family. I would definitely read this book. Thanks for the review.

[Mike Bakala]

It's disturbing how people could possibly discriminate against look down upon a left handed child. I would love to read how this child felt as he lived with this environment, including the experiences he faced and epiphanies he may have had. The book seems really interesting, thank you for your great and honest review.

[Lynda Mitchell]

A very informative review, but the story does sound sad.

[Adaeze Joan]

This seems like an interesting mystery thriller. I feel part of the secrets John found out when he went back in time, was the reason why he was left-handed. Well, I would have to read this book to find out how this story plays out. Nice job on the review.

[Christopherio]

John's story is touching because his parents who were supposed to be by his side at all times neglected him for his differences instead of accepting him for who he was. I'm glad to see that he didn't stop his determination to chase his goals. great review.

[Sarah Sonbol]

It's really weird when you find that being left-handed was considered as a curse for some people. The book looks interesting. Thanks for the nice review.