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The Marlboro Road Gang: A Novel
A teenager’s idyllic summer of freedom is shaded by the growing weight of responsibility and a recognition of the fallibility of the adults around him.
Actor and director Ed Burns returns with the continuing fictionalized saga of growing up on Marlboro Road.
In this his second Marlboro Road novel, Edward Burns continues the tale, loosely based on his own childhood. The Guardian called Burns’s first novel, A Kid from Marlboro Road, “keenly felt…vivid…a tender-hearted complement to the Irish-American stories that Burns captures in his films.” The boy that was twelve in the first novel is now fourteen, about to turn fifteen, when he will enter an all-boys Catholic High School. He spends a lot more time with his best friends, Mark, T-Mac, Zeppo, Louie and Cakes than he does with his given family.
But for all their newfound freedom, the kids find the larger world of Valley Stream and the neighboring towns a more dangerous place than they’re prepared for, where dads can hurt you when they reveal their own emotional scars and the local beach might be ruled by gangs of older kids you might have to defend yourself from. In this larger world our narrator starts to see even his own family as not so perfect.
The Marlboro Road Gang is a novel where darker currents start to invade the innocent pastorale of childhood, and where a boy might lose his bearings in the confusion.
Actor and director Ed Burns returns with the continuing fictionalized saga of growing up on Marlboro Road.
In this his second Marlboro Road novel, Edward Burns continues the tale, loosely based on his own childhood. The Guardian called Burns’s first novel, A Kid from Marlboro Road, “keenly felt…vivid…a tender-hearted complement to the Irish-American stories that Burns captures in his films.” The boy that was twelve in the first novel is now fourteen, about to turn fifteen, when he will enter an all-boys Catholic High School. He spends a lot more time with his best friends, Mark, T-Mac, Zeppo, Louie and Cakes than he does with his given family.
But for all their newfound freedom, the kids find the larger world of Valley Stream and the neighboring towns a more dangerous place than they’re prepared for, where dads can hurt you when they reveal their own emotional scars and the local beach might be ruled by gangs of older kids you might have to defend yourself from. In this larger world our narrator starts to see even his own family as not so perfect.
The Marlboro Road Gang is a novel where darker currents start to invade the innocent pastorale of childhood, and where a boy might lose his bearings in the confusion.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published October 6, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The marlboro road gang by Edward Burns. This is the second book in the series the first being A kid from Marlboro Road.
In this book, Ed is now 15 and about to spend his last summer with his friends before entering a catholic high school.
It is a time where work begins, realities of the world set in and sometimes friendships end.
Thank you to NetGalley, RB media and the author
Thank you to Ed Burns for gifting me an audiobook copy. I leave my review honestly and voluntarily.
I love that the audiobook was narrated by the author himself. It lends a sense of authenticity to the story and allows you to hear the story as it is supposed to be told. The story drew me in, and I quickly binge listened to the whole book. It was like listening to my dad retell fascinating stories from back in the day.
I was left eager to hear more, and will be looking up the first book to do just that.
Expected publication October 6 2026
In this book, Ed is now 15 and about to spend his last summer with his friends before entering a catholic high school.
It is a time where work begins, realities of the world set in and sometimes friendships end.
Thank you to NetGalley, RB media and the author
Thank you to Ed Burns for gifting me an audiobook copy. I leave my review honestly and voluntarily.
I love that the audiobook was narrated by the author himself. It lends a sense of authenticity to the story and allows you to hear the story as it is supposed to be told. The story drew me in, and I quickly binge listened to the whole book. It was like listening to my dad retell fascinating stories from back in the day.
I was left eager to hear more, and will be looking up the first book to do just that.
Expected publication October 6 2026
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I listened to the audiobook The Marlboro Road Gang, written and narrated by author, actor and director Edward Burns.
This audiobook was a joy. It was like being in the car with my nephew when he was 14, listening to him tell me all about his summer. Including all the tangential & circumstantial colorful side trips. It also took me back to my own early teens & the nostalgia had me laughing out loud & getting all the feels.
Actually laughing out loud in identification. As in if people saw me while I was driving & listening, they might have wondered about me. I also sang along with the main character to a short snippet of a Doors song.
If you have ever lived through 14 or raised a 14 years old. If you ever had a paper route, gone to Catholic Church or school, had a best group of friends you knew all through early school, had to get a summer job or practice an instrument making you miss summer fun, tried your first drink, or started to notice how your self view changed as high school approached, this book with resonate.
Books from the POV of kids are precious. They speak out their mouths whatever comes into their minds. They don’t have the skepticism or cynicism that can come with adulthood. And they have the enthusiasm only the young are blessed with. I find it always to be a breath of fresh air.
The first half the book was lighter and funnier to me while the second half landed a bit more sober as the main character inched closer to summers’ end & a new beginning at a new school. All of it felt authentic & relatable.
I am looking so forward to reading the first book about this young man, A Kid From Marlboro Road in the near future. I’ll do it on audio too, as the narration hits an absolute home run with this one.
Definitely recommend.
Thank you to the author, RB media and NetGalley for letting me be an early listener. This is my voluntary and honest review.
This audiobook was a joy. It was like being in the car with my nephew when he was 14, listening to him tell me all about his summer. Including all the tangential & circumstantial colorful side trips. It also took me back to my own early teens & the nostalgia had me laughing out loud & getting all the feels.
Actually laughing out loud in identification. As in if people saw me while I was driving & listening, they might have wondered about me. I also sang along with the main character to a short snippet of a Doors song.
If you have ever lived through 14 or raised a 14 years old. If you ever had a paper route, gone to Catholic Church or school, had a best group of friends you knew all through early school, had to get a summer job or practice an instrument making you miss summer fun, tried your first drink, or started to notice how your self view changed as high school approached, this book with resonate.
Books from the POV of kids are precious. They speak out their mouths whatever comes into their minds. They don’t have the skepticism or cynicism that can come with adulthood. And they have the enthusiasm only the young are blessed with. I find it always to be a breath of fresh air.
The first half the book was lighter and funnier to me while the second half landed a bit more sober as the main character inched closer to summers’ end & a new beginning at a new school. All of it felt authentic & relatable.
I am looking so forward to reading the first book about this young man, A Kid From Marlboro Road in the near future. I’ll do it on audio too, as the narration hits an absolute home run with this one.
Definitely recommend.
Thank you to the author, RB media and NetGalley for letting me be an early listener. This is my voluntary and honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I absolutely loved this and having Ed Burns narrate it was like having your own personal show. My husband is from Long Island, and we’re the same age as the author, so listening to the various stories from his youth was like listening to my husband, his brother, dad and friends all tell their stories. I laughed throughout and fully enjoyed this. The Marlboro Road Gang is delightful and nostalgic & should be added to your TBR list.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews