Review of The Rotary Park Gang

[EternalD]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Rotary Park Gang" by Basil Martin.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Historical fiction is one of the most remarkable genres out there. It's also one of the most fun ways to learn about new subjects. The Rotary Park Gang lives up to the genre. This book, written by Basil Martin, tells the story of colored teens who lived in Rhodesia during the Rhodesian Bush War. For those who don't know, Rhodesia was an unrecognized country by the international community ruled by a minority of whites of European origin.

They were born in a hostile environment (because of the war and racial segregation). Still, these young people found in football and friendship ways to overcome a difficult period in African history. At the beginning of the book, these young people played park soccer with much older workers. Over time, however, they began to play in a league that for a long time only accepted whites.

I will list several points that caught my attention. I loved seeing how sport - in this case, soccer - has the power to transform people's lives even in terrible situations. The friendship between colored friends in a racist environment was also something that touched my heart. If I were to point out what I liked the most, I would say it was the description of how the segregated society in Rhodesia worked. The friends had no right to come and go, could not watch movies in closed movie theaters, and were considered suspects in all imaginable situations.

There is hardly any negative to mention. However, the humor is repetitive. Don't take this the wrong way: the book is hilarious. Rusty is an amusing character. It's almost surreal how unlucky he is. That being said, some jokes appear repeated dozens of times. There are more fart jokes in this book than in the works of Aristophanes. That's the only negative aspect that came to mind while writing this review. The author's grammar skills seemed very good. There are only three grammatical errors.

Now is the moment of truth. Will the problems mentioned above prevent me from giving the maximum score? Absolutely not. As I said, such a minor issue will not prevent the reader from enjoying such an amusing and exciting book. Therefore, I rate The Rotary Park Gang four out of four stars.

I recommend this book to those interested in books that address the issue of racism and segregated societies. Those who don't like football should avoid this book as there are descriptions of dozens of games. Minors should also avoid this book as there is a massive amount of swear words.

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The Rotary Park Gang
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[RHD]

Historical fiction is usually riveting. There's mostly something to learn and eventually we appreciate how far we've come as a society. Great review, EternalD!

[Kirsi Cultrera]

I could not agree more with your opening statement! Well-written historical fiction can be both fun and educating. This book sounds like a real treat, although I could live without the fart jokes. It is hard to imagine how the life would be if you are always rated trouble or second class citizens.

Thanks for the interesting review!

[Medhansh Bhardwaj]

Since I am a football fanatic, I think this book will be very well-suited for me. I am definitely reading this one. Thanks for the honest review!

[Amy Luman]

I don’t normally like historical fiction, I like my fiction, fiction and my history, history. Having said that this story sounds very intriguing. Can soccer help these boys overcome the prejudices that exist?