The Prodigy

by John Feinstein

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I find the lives of young, elite athletes fascinating, and was eager to meet Frank, the star of The Prodigy.

What I Liked

This book really pulled me into the world of golf. Feinstein took us on tours of world famous courses and stacked the deck with appearances by a ton of major PGA players. I enjoyed learning the ins and outs of the courses, and appreciated the way Feinstein wove the "stars" into Frank's story. They were his competition, but also his mentors, and these interactions showed why this is called the gentleman's sport.

With that said, there was a ton of golf in the book too. We follow Frank through a few practices, the Ams, and the Masters. As someone, who only knows a bit about golf, I enjoyed learning a lot more about the game, which owns my father. I was also sort of impressed, that Feinstein was able to convey a bit of excitement when describing the tournament play scenes. Golf is not known as a fast-paced, exciting game, but I found myself eager to see if Frank was able to get his head in the game and pull out the wins.

Not only was there sports, but there was lots of drama too. Frank's dad was pushing him to go pro, but Frank really wanted to keep his amateur status and attend college. From there, we follow Frank on his emotional journey as he tried to stay present in the game, but also navigate the soap opera, that his life has become. There are villains, cheating scandals, and nefarious plots with a really shocking reveal towards the end.

What I Didn't Like So Much

I have to admit, I am so exhausted with politics creeping its way into every nook and cranny of the world. If I elect to read a book, which involves politics, I make that choice, but even when I read a book which is far removed from politics, it seems to work its way into the story in some unnecessary and irrelevant way, and unfortunately, Feinstein did that in The Prodigy. Sometimes, I just want to read a book, watch a game, see a TV show without having to be subjected to judgement and hatred associated with most political outpourings. This is my current pet peeve, and the inclusion of any political commentary in this story sort of tainted it for me.

I also wanted a little more from the ending. I guess I would have liked to know how it all played out. Some things, major things, were left up in the air. As someone, who grew to like and care about Frank, I would have liked to have gotten a little more closure regarding certain issues.

Overall: This was a surprisingly entertaining and interesting look into the life of a young, elite golfer.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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