Holy Cow Foley Does it Again

Only from the twisted mind of professional wrestling legend Mick Foley could a book such as “Scooter” be born.

Warmer than cup of hot cocoa during winter and more bizarre than the first time you came across dad’s hidden porn collection, “Scooter” possess the kind of duality that makes the book so much more than a great literal tale. A story of life, love and gentrification, it’s equally as intellectual as it is heart-warming and shocking.

It also proves Foley is more than a hardcore legend.

He’s a great writer.

Following the exploits of Scooter Reilly, aptly named after the Yankees hall of fame shortstop Phil Rizzuto, this novel is a coming of age tale that although weird at times, will keep you hooked throughout. The son of a NYPD officer and grandson of a former New York fireman, Scooter is raised by a code of ethics and morals, with a story about baseball used as an example for every life lesson. However, in spite of his storybook childhood, Reilly realizes how ugly life can be, all before the age of 10.

Living in the Bronx through the ‘60s and ‘70s, Reilly’s life is a microcosm for the despair and uncertainty many Irish-Americans had during the time.

Changing drastically through the course of the book, Reilly’s metamorphosis is shocking, but completely realistic. In spite of that, he is a loveable character that simply doesn’t know what his purpose is. Regardless of his hard-working, patient, cunning and dedicated persona, he is unable to come through in the clutch for both his family and himself. Using classical baseball lore, music lyrics and history as his backbone, Foley guides us through Reilly’s life and this time period with authority, confidence and pizzazz.

Again, while the overall structure may be a bit too-far-fetched for some, with Reilly being thrown in a few situations that will remind many of an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Foley is able to keep the reader constantly guessing, patiently waiting for Reilly’s moment of vengeance, his moment to show the world exactly what he’s made of.

While that moment never comes, the slice of life that you eventually get instead is so much better than a typical ending to a story that desperately needed a happy ending.

Brash and cold at times, with the pity you feel for Reilly throughout the tale as your guide, Foley tells the story of a kid that is a victim forever. A victim of his youth, his family and his location, someone who just doesn’t have the stuff inside of him to make his dreams come true. But that’s only because he was never given a chance to truly dream.

Driven by hatred, Reilly ultimately finds his way and by the end of the book you’ll find a few tears on your cheek from his efforts.

Although unorthodox, “Scooter” is a tale worth reading for the simple fact that it’s an accurate telling of a time period [thanks to great scene setting and research from Foley] where dreams were crushed and even the brightest prospects seemed clouded in smoke. At the same time, it’s often funny and fun and a tale that you’ll find yourself drawing inspiration from.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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