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Mia
"Never let the fear of striking out keep you from coming up to bat." BABE RUTH
THREE, FIVE STAR REVIEWS FOR "MIA," AT: readersfavorite.com
As the beloved, hard-working general manager of a Major League Baseball team in California, "Baseball Wizard" Joe Ciotola has given his life to the sport but lost too much in the bargain.
Single, childless, disillusioned about baseball, and swamped with regrets after missing the deaths of both of his parents, the 50-year-old Bronx native quits his job and goes looking for something -- anything -- more satisfying than a life spent juggling rosters, recruiting players, and balancing budgets.
On his way to Anywhere, U.S.A., he stops in a strange place called Salvation, a forgotten desert town where time seems to stand still and where Old Testament values divide the locals between the Saved and the Damned.
There, Joe meets Mia, a pitiful creature whose future has been written by the town's leaders, and who can't stay without making the ultimate sacrifice. The choices Joe and Mia make together, and the bonds they create with another woman who emerges from Joe's past, shape their lives forever, revealing the power of connections formed from the ashes of great loss.
A baseball book wrapped in a domestic drama, Mia teaches us as much about love and family as it does about the imperfect history of America's beautiful game.
THREE, FIVE STAR REVIEWS FOR "MIA," AT: readersfavorite.com
As the beloved, hard-working general manager of a Major League Baseball team in California, "Baseball Wizard" Joe Ciotola has given his life to the sport but lost too much in the bargain.
Single, childless, disillusioned about baseball, and swamped with regrets after missing the deaths of both of his parents, the 50-year-old Bronx native quits his job and goes looking for something -- anything -- more satisfying than a life spent juggling rosters, recruiting players, and balancing budgets.
On his way to Anywhere, U.S.A., he stops in a strange place called Salvation, a forgotten desert town where time seems to stand still and where Old Testament values divide the locals between the Saved and the Damned.
There, Joe meets Mia, a pitiful creature whose future has been written by the town's leaders, and who can't stay without making the ultimate sacrifice. The choices Joe and Mia make together, and the bonds they create with another woman who emerges from Joe's past, shape their lives forever, revealing the power of connections formed from the ashes of great loss.
A baseball book wrapped in a domestic drama, Mia teaches us as much about love and family as it does about the imperfect history of America's beautiful game.
340 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 27, 2020
9 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Sciuto
11 books171 followersJoseph Sciuto was born and raised in New York City, where he spent his early years listening to his Italian-American grandmother’s vivid stories about how their family was responsible for building much of the impressive Manhattan skyline, including the Empire State Building. The rich flavor of her stories about their family’s heritage still works its way through his writing.
Sciuto holds degrees from both John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Stony Brook University and a certificate in film studies from New York University. After studying psychology, film, theater, literature, and English as an undergraduate, he relocated to Southern California to attend graduate school at Loyola Marymount University, where he studied writing and film.
Sciuto holds degrees from both John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Stony Brook University and a certificate in film studies from New York University. After studying psychology, film, theater, literature, and English as an undergraduate, he relocated to Southern California to attend graduate school at Loyola Marymount University, where he studied writing and film.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 22, 2023
I was raised by a loving Italian-American family in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. My great-uncle, Joseph Mauro, was a highly talented baseball player and almost went pro. He was invited to the New York Yankees training camp and hoped to join their roster. But after a few days at the training camp, he grew homesick and realized that his family upstate was more important than a career in Major League Baseball. Uncle Joe left the Yankees training camp and came back to his family, where he has lived a life filled with the joy and laughter of his children and grandchildren. I distinctly remember playing wiffle ball with him in my grandparents’ backyard when I was a young boy, together with an indeterminant number of first and second cousins from our huge Italian-American family. Uncle Joe always had a huge smile on his face—he would rather play with us kids than with the Yankees. Nonetheless, he remains a die-hard Yankees fan to this very day.
I couldn’t stop thinking about my Uncle Joe as I read Mia, which is narrated by another Joe from a loving Italian-American family. The narrator, Joe Ciotola, makes the opposite decision as my uncle. He fully devotes himself to his career as General Manager of a Major League Baseball team in Los Angeles, on the opposite side of the country from his parents in the Bronx. Joe is the best in the business and is known for his unwavering integrity and commitment to people and the community. But this dedication to his job comes at the expense of starting a family of his own, and also being unable to care for his elderly parents in their last days back in New York. As indicated by the capitalized version of the book title, Joe was MIA—missing in action from his parents when they needed him most.
After turning 50 years old, Joe decides to retire from baseball and sets out on a road trip. During an unexpected stop in the desert town of Salvation, Joe meets his salvation in the form of Mia—a dirty, orphaned ten-year-old girl living in this small town of religious zealots. The cult members of the town ostracize Mia and refer to her as Satan’s daughter. Being the kind person that he is, Joe rescues Mia from the town and brings her back to California. A strong, loving father-and-daughter relationship soon forms, and Joe decides to adopt Mia. Mia is such a sweetheart. She is exceptionally intelligent and inquisitive. She loves chocolate, penguins, and spending time with her new father. She also loves her future adopted mother, Catherine, whose father owns the nearby San Diego baseball team. The love story among the three main characters—Joe, Catherine, and Mia—is truly beautiful. The characters are all so real and relatable. I really connected with each of them.
Mia is a beautifully written book. I was already impressed with Joe Sciuto’s elegant writing in his previous novel, Sofia, but he has raised the bar again in Mia. Sciuto’s delightful writing is a perfect match for the wholesome, loving characters in this book. As always in Sciuto’s books, the plot flows smoothly, without any lulls in the story.
While religion is not a main focus in the novel, I should note that Joe Sciuto has dealt with the topic of religion with grace and tact. Mia is, of course, the victim of religious extremists who twist the message of their religion as a means to suppress and control people. This is a far cry from, say, the actual teachings of Christianity, which professes an eternally loving God. Given her experiences, Mia is understandably traumatized by religious symbols such as crosses, since they were used by the cult members to abuse her. With Joe’s Italian-American (mainstream Catholic) upbringing, he favors showing the love of God through his kind actions rather than through words. Mia is so perceptive that she gradually comes to understand that the love he shows to her is the same love that Joe’s parents gave to him, which itself is a reflection of the grace of a loving God. Like I said, this isn’t a religious book, but I wanted to note how tactfully Sciuto deals with the subject of religion here, both the good and the bad.
I would like to send my thanks to the author, Joseph Sciuto, for sending me a copy of his book. Joe didn't ask me to write a review. In fact, he specifically told me that I didn’t need to write one. But I really loved this book and am delighted to share this review with my Goodreads friends. I think this is his best book yet.
I couldn’t stop thinking about my Uncle Joe as I read Mia, which is narrated by another Joe from a loving Italian-American family. The narrator, Joe Ciotola, makes the opposite decision as my uncle. He fully devotes himself to his career as General Manager of a Major League Baseball team in Los Angeles, on the opposite side of the country from his parents in the Bronx. Joe is the best in the business and is known for his unwavering integrity and commitment to people and the community. But this dedication to his job comes at the expense of starting a family of his own, and also being unable to care for his elderly parents in their last days back in New York. As indicated by the capitalized version of the book title, Joe was MIA—missing in action from his parents when they needed him most.
After turning 50 years old, Joe decides to retire from baseball and sets out on a road trip. During an unexpected stop in the desert town of Salvation, Joe meets his salvation in the form of Mia—a dirty, orphaned ten-year-old girl living in this small town of religious zealots. The cult members of the town ostracize Mia and refer to her as Satan’s daughter. Being the kind person that he is, Joe rescues Mia from the town and brings her back to California. A strong, loving father-and-daughter relationship soon forms, and Joe decides to adopt Mia. Mia is such a sweetheart. She is exceptionally intelligent and inquisitive. She loves chocolate, penguins, and spending time with her new father. She also loves her future adopted mother, Catherine, whose father owns the nearby San Diego baseball team. The love story among the three main characters—Joe, Catherine, and Mia—is truly beautiful. The characters are all so real and relatable. I really connected with each of them.
Mia is a beautifully written book. I was already impressed with Joe Sciuto’s elegant writing in his previous novel, Sofia, but he has raised the bar again in Mia. Sciuto’s delightful writing is a perfect match for the wholesome, loving characters in this book. As always in Sciuto’s books, the plot flows smoothly, without any lulls in the story.
While religion is not a main focus in the novel, I should note that Joe Sciuto has dealt with the topic of religion with grace and tact. Mia is, of course, the victim of religious extremists who twist the message of their religion as a means to suppress and control people. This is a far cry from, say, the actual teachings of Christianity, which professes an eternally loving God. Given her experiences, Mia is understandably traumatized by religious symbols such as crosses, since they were used by the cult members to abuse her. With Joe’s Italian-American (mainstream Catholic) upbringing, he favors showing the love of God through his kind actions rather than through words. Mia is so perceptive that she gradually comes to understand that the love he shows to her is the same love that Joe’s parents gave to him, which itself is a reflection of the grace of a loving God. Like I said, this isn’t a religious book, but I wanted to note how tactfully Sciuto deals with the subject of religion here, both the good and the bad.
I would like to send my thanks to the author, Joseph Sciuto, for sending me a copy of his book. Joe didn't ask me to write a review. In fact, he specifically told me that I didn’t need to write one. But I really loved this book and am delighted to share this review with my Goodreads friends. I think this is his best book yet.
June 4, 2020
This is the latest book offering from Mr. Sciuto. It is just as great as the previous novels. I have been a fan of Mr. Sciuto since the first book. I have read all the books written by this author. So far, I have been lucky as there has not been a "bad" book.
This book may been called a baseball book but it is more then just about baseball. Although, the main protagonist, Joe will tell you that baseball is a way of life...a good life. I personally have never been able to get into this sport but my one Aunt was a die heard fan of the Chicago Cubs. She sadly died before their win of the World Series in 2016.
Back to the book. The bond that Joe and Mia shared was special. As Mia emerged from her shell to before more animated; she won me over more and more. When she would come out of the bathroom after taking a shower and report that she was "all clean" was too cute. The way that Joe handled Mia was compassion was great. He never pushed her to heal too fast. The only thing Joe did do was to tell Mia to slow down on eating chocolate cake.
I recommend this book to everyone. This book will tug at your heart strings with engaging characters and a wonderful story about healing, compassion, love, second chances, forgiveness, and baseball.
This book may been called a baseball book but it is more then just about baseball. Although, the main protagonist, Joe will tell you that baseball is a way of life...a good life. I personally have never been able to get into this sport but my one Aunt was a die heard fan of the Chicago Cubs. She sadly died before their win of the World Series in 2016.
Back to the book. The bond that Joe and Mia shared was special. As Mia emerged from her shell to before more animated; she won me over more and more. When she would come out of the bathroom after taking a shower and report that she was "all clean" was too cute. The way that Joe handled Mia was compassion was great. He never pushed her to heal too fast. The only thing Joe did do was to tell Mia to slow down on eating chocolate cake.
I recommend this book to everyone. This book will tug at your heart strings with engaging characters and a wonderful story about healing, compassion, love, second chances, forgiveness, and baseball.
May 3, 2020
Mia is a heart-warming story of an abused little girl who is literally snatched from the grips of hell by Joe Ciotola, a former General Manager of a big league baseball team. The story begins at its lowest point, and only goes up from there. Joe is the perfect gentleman. His wife-to-be and future Father-in-law too are also all “perfect people.” Mia, whom this story wraps around, a traumatized ten year old who was horribly abused both mentally and physically, makes nothing less than a miraculous recovery as the story ensues. Now this could only be due to the fact that Joe, her soon to be adoptive father, absolutely adores her and knows how only to speak the ultimate kindest words of encouragement to this little urchin at every turn of the page; as does he with every character he befriends throughout the story. His conversations seeming to come from some ultimate source on how to speak perfect phrases of kindness, support, and love to everyone at all times.
I was impressed how Mr. Sciuto eased into the religious aspect of things – tip toing, as one must around such subject matter – Joe having been brought up in a religious household, and the little girl having been a victimized by Christianity gone askew. There was truly a tightrope walk there for a while, but Mr. Sciuto pulled it off with impeccable class and political correctness, as he has masterfully crafted a gripping novel with perfectly flawless characters (save for the religious zealots) in a rags to riches book where he manages to interweave the politics of baseball and the charitable lifestyles of the filthy rich.
With too numerous points of heart-warming scenes to choose from, one of my favorites had to have been the conversation between Joe and his soon to be father-in-law, Mr. Baker. The way the widowed father described his daughter, Catherine, and just exactly what she meant to him was truly a moving passage. Magnificent! Admittedly, the book actually got me choked up when there too was another heart-wrenching point as to the loss of a young boy whose mother Joe had befriended when she was waitressing in a restaurant. Very moving.
There is a lot of good, sound, fatherly advice in the novel, not to mention Joe’s helping of others, which shines throughout in this book, gracing the less fortunate with not only his riches, but his attention and in the end presence – something he is forever kicking himself for, not having been at his parent’s side during their dying times. Joe’s attention and concerns over the welfare of others is paramount to all else, seemingly overcompensating for the guilt he carries with him for not having been there for his parents. Having left the world of baseball management, Joe reinvents himself, learning through Mia and Catherine, and to an extent Mr. Baker, that greatness is achieved not by wins you direct your team through, but by the humanitarian deeds you make possible. The suffering of children in the world, either by terminal illnesses or physical/mental abuse, the concerns and actions by this man as he grows spiritually are nothing less than super-heroic in stature.
Finally I found the relationship Mia had with Rex to being positively enamoring; how that was carried throughout the book, as well as were the various themes of love, respect, and confidence-building were interwoven throughout the story, holding together the inspiring plot with enchanting cohesiveness. The last chapters were quite emotional upon his visit back to his old home in the Bronx where memories of childhood dance through his mind as he introduced Mia, now his legal daughter to his childhood. It summarized what Joe had been striving for his entire life, though never having the right “team” surrounding him – that is until he found Mia, Catherine, Mr. Baker and even his household staff. The book pulls at the heartstrings of the reader in so many ways and by incorporating the game of baseball presents a wonderful algorithm of life’s journey. Let us hope that whoever has the pleasure of reading this wonderful story can take a piece of Joe’s fanciful life with them and in the end too, win it all!
Great job Joe! Keep ‘em coming,
I was impressed how Mr. Sciuto eased into the religious aspect of things – tip toing, as one must around such subject matter – Joe having been brought up in a religious household, and the little girl having been a victimized by Christianity gone askew. There was truly a tightrope walk there for a while, but Mr. Sciuto pulled it off with impeccable class and political correctness, as he has masterfully crafted a gripping novel with perfectly flawless characters (save for the religious zealots) in a rags to riches book where he manages to interweave the politics of baseball and the charitable lifestyles of the filthy rich.
With too numerous points of heart-warming scenes to choose from, one of my favorites had to have been the conversation between Joe and his soon to be father-in-law, Mr. Baker. The way the widowed father described his daughter, Catherine, and just exactly what she meant to him was truly a moving passage. Magnificent! Admittedly, the book actually got me choked up when there too was another heart-wrenching point as to the loss of a young boy whose mother Joe had befriended when she was waitressing in a restaurant. Very moving.
There is a lot of good, sound, fatherly advice in the novel, not to mention Joe’s helping of others, which shines throughout in this book, gracing the less fortunate with not only his riches, but his attention and in the end presence – something he is forever kicking himself for, not having been at his parent’s side during their dying times. Joe’s attention and concerns over the welfare of others is paramount to all else, seemingly overcompensating for the guilt he carries with him for not having been there for his parents. Having left the world of baseball management, Joe reinvents himself, learning through Mia and Catherine, and to an extent Mr. Baker, that greatness is achieved not by wins you direct your team through, but by the humanitarian deeds you make possible. The suffering of children in the world, either by terminal illnesses or physical/mental abuse, the concerns and actions by this man as he grows spiritually are nothing less than super-heroic in stature.
Finally I found the relationship Mia had with Rex to being positively enamoring; how that was carried throughout the book, as well as were the various themes of love, respect, and confidence-building were interwoven throughout the story, holding together the inspiring plot with enchanting cohesiveness. The last chapters were quite emotional upon his visit back to his old home in the Bronx where memories of childhood dance through his mind as he introduced Mia, now his legal daughter to his childhood. It summarized what Joe had been striving for his entire life, though never having the right “team” surrounding him – that is until he found Mia, Catherine, Mr. Baker and even his household staff. The book pulls at the heartstrings of the reader in so many ways and by incorporating the game of baseball presents a wonderful algorithm of life’s journey. Let us hope that whoever has the pleasure of reading this wonderful story can take a piece of Joe’s fanciful life with them and in the end too, win it all!
Great job Joe! Keep ‘em coming,
May 30, 2020
Baseball General Manager Joe Ciotola gave up his personal life in pursuit of a lifelong passion for his job. When suddenly, he finds himself lonely and baron of family and meaningful companionship. No one to share life with during his early retirement. While pondering this plight leads him to a cold Bud at his regular hang The Starlight.
Lauren, a beautiful barmaid he had a heartfelt crush on when again his job took him out of town only to return to an engaged, pregnant Lauren. This night as many, he finds his battered barmaid a mother of two with bruises to severe for makeup to hide. After leaving two thousand dollars to tip, they find themselves acknowledging the way things might have been. Just before their final goodby Joe gives her a business card with a select phone number. He promised to be there for her if she needed him.
Joe now reflects on the Latino prospects he had scouted for and their love of home, family, and friends. Even surrounded by poverty and poor playing conditions, they stood in tears when leaving. The family was dear to them and Joe. He recalls the time he had taken away from his own family while in Central America when his parents die. Due to travel circumstances, he was unable to attend their service and arrived barely in time to see them lowered in the grave.
He blamed it on baseball, yet he knew it was he who controlled his life. Baseball was his crutch, and the time to stand was upon him. The wheels of fate are turning with a journey to a destination unknown. General Manager Joe Ciotola retires unexpectedly at the crest of his career. Now with family gone, left with only his trophies, records, magazine covers, and a big fat bank account to discover he has little worth remaining. On the road, he goes to ascertain the meaning of life without baseball.
The journey begins, first stop Du-par's diner and another brush with the reality that lies ahead. Joe makes acquaintance with Martha, his waitress. She recognizes him as being one of her son's favorite teams, GM. Idle chat leads to Joe, asking her if her son played little baseball? Martha discloses her nine-year son played past seasons but not this year. He had contracted a reasonably severe disease, so he was unable to play this year. Hearing this, Joe wrote a very inspirational letter to this fan and little leaguer. Joe paid his check and slipped a Martha a three thousand dollar tip, "why she asked," pathetically. " Because every kid deserves a chance to pursue his dreams, especially a fan of our team."
Joseph Sciuto begins to unfold the theme. I think Tennesse Williams said it best, "man's inhumanity to man. We begin to see how fate brings Joe to Mia as his attempt to right the wrongs. Off we go to southern Arizona, the desert lifeless and barren as Joe Ciotola's life has been. He then spots the small town of Salvation (Gateway to Heaven) population 550. Stopping in for a tank of gas and a cold Budweiser, he witnesses Holy Hell busting loose. The signs of religious zealots with their exclusive brand of dogma contrary to anything in modern times says to get the hell away. By this time, he has met Mia and saw the abuse she was enduring. Joe narrowly escaped this hell on earth, the population now 549 dragging Mia with him.
Joe returns to San Diego with Mia, and a story ensues so beautiful it would make Cinderella jealous. Joseph Sciuto can spin a yarn so eloquently you can see the waves crashing on the shore, taste the chocolate cake, and feel the love his new family radiates. Joe and partner Catherine, along with Mia, shows us the real joy of compassion and sharing life to lift others e.g.Lauren and kids, Martha and Stevie, Mia's childhood in Salvation, and the poverty-stricken villages of Central America. They all deserve HOPE.
.
Mia and her story give us hope. She is the catalyst that brought Catherine and Joe together, bringing Joe a new father figure and Mr. Baker, the grandchildren he never sees, and of course, Rex, who brings joy to us all. Thank you, Joseph Sciuto, for giving us, Mia. Now back to my Bud and chocolate cake. Do penguins eat chocolate cake?
Lauren, a beautiful barmaid he had a heartfelt crush on when again his job took him out of town only to return to an engaged, pregnant Lauren. This night as many, he finds his battered barmaid a mother of two with bruises to severe for makeup to hide. After leaving two thousand dollars to tip, they find themselves acknowledging the way things might have been. Just before their final goodby Joe gives her a business card with a select phone number. He promised to be there for her if she needed him.
Joe now reflects on the Latino prospects he had scouted for and their love of home, family, and friends. Even surrounded by poverty and poor playing conditions, they stood in tears when leaving. The family was dear to them and Joe. He recalls the time he had taken away from his own family while in Central America when his parents die. Due to travel circumstances, he was unable to attend their service and arrived barely in time to see them lowered in the grave.
He blamed it on baseball, yet he knew it was he who controlled his life. Baseball was his crutch, and the time to stand was upon him. The wheels of fate are turning with a journey to a destination unknown. General Manager Joe Ciotola retires unexpectedly at the crest of his career. Now with family gone, left with only his trophies, records, magazine covers, and a big fat bank account to discover he has little worth remaining. On the road, he goes to ascertain the meaning of life without baseball.
The journey begins, first stop Du-par's diner and another brush with the reality that lies ahead. Joe makes acquaintance with Martha, his waitress. She recognizes him as being one of her son's favorite teams, GM. Idle chat leads to Joe, asking her if her son played little baseball? Martha discloses her nine-year son played past seasons but not this year. He had contracted a reasonably severe disease, so he was unable to play this year. Hearing this, Joe wrote a very inspirational letter to this fan and little leaguer. Joe paid his check and slipped a Martha a three thousand dollar tip, "why she asked," pathetically. " Because every kid deserves a chance to pursue his dreams, especially a fan of our team."
Joseph Sciuto begins to unfold the theme. I think Tennesse Williams said it best, "man's inhumanity to man. We begin to see how fate brings Joe to Mia as his attempt to right the wrongs. Off we go to southern Arizona, the desert lifeless and barren as Joe Ciotola's life has been. He then spots the small town of Salvation (Gateway to Heaven) population 550. Stopping in for a tank of gas and a cold Budweiser, he witnesses Holy Hell busting loose. The signs of religious zealots with their exclusive brand of dogma contrary to anything in modern times says to get the hell away. By this time, he has met Mia and saw the abuse she was enduring. Joe narrowly escaped this hell on earth, the population now 549 dragging Mia with him.
Joe returns to San Diego with Mia, and a story ensues so beautiful it would make Cinderella jealous. Joseph Sciuto can spin a yarn so eloquently you can see the waves crashing on the shore, taste the chocolate cake, and feel the love his new family radiates. Joe and partner Catherine, along with Mia, shows us the real joy of compassion and sharing life to lift others e.g.Lauren and kids, Martha and Stevie, Mia's childhood in Salvation, and the poverty-stricken villages of Central America. They all deserve HOPE.
.
Mia and her story give us hope. She is the catalyst that brought Catherine and Joe together, bringing Joe a new father figure and Mr. Baker, the grandchildren he never sees, and of course, Rex, who brings joy to us all. Thank you, Joseph Sciuto, for giving us, Mia. Now back to my Bud and chocolate cake. Do penguins eat chocolate cake?
April 26, 2020
WOW! This is a different type of sports book; a novel about baseball that goes way beyond the sport itself and into areas of religion, culture, immigration, renewal, and the historical significance of the game as it mirrors American society. I cannot think of another sports book that I have read that transcends the subject of the game itself... with so much realism, empathy, spirituality, and unconditional love toward other human beings.
Joe Ciotola, is a successful General Manager of a major league baseball team in Southern California. He is known as a "Baseball Wizard," because with a payroll a third the size of teams like the Yankees, Red Sox's, Cubs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, he has managed to win three World Series titles and played in the World Series for a total of five times, while all his teams have been competitive and have made the playoffs almost every year since he became GM over twenty years ago. He has given his life to the game, and the game has made him famous and rich beyond his wildest dreams.
Yet, the success has come at a great cost. Single, childless, absent at the funerals of both his parents who sacrificed everything for him, he quits the game and goes on a road trip to "Anywhere, USA." He stops in a town called "Salvation,"to get something to eat and drink; a town where old Testament fanaticism rules, and infidels are outcasts. It is here that he meets Mia, a ten year old girl, malnourished, dirty and labelled "The Devil's Child." Her fate just about sealed, Joe takes her back with him to Southern California and together, along with an old female friend of Joe's, they rebuild their lives from the ashes of despair, and teach each other the truly important things in life and to Joe's astonishment he learns the answer to questions he never bothered asking such as, "Why is the Sky Blue?"
This is a truly remarkable book, not just for people who love sports, but for anyone interested in reading great and meaningful literature.
Joe Ciotola, is a successful General Manager of a major league baseball team in Southern California. He is known as a "Baseball Wizard," because with a payroll a third the size of teams like the Yankees, Red Sox's, Cubs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, he has managed to win three World Series titles and played in the World Series for a total of five times, while all his teams have been competitive and have made the playoffs almost every year since he became GM over twenty years ago. He has given his life to the game, and the game has made him famous and rich beyond his wildest dreams.
Yet, the success has come at a great cost. Single, childless, absent at the funerals of both his parents who sacrificed everything for him, he quits the game and goes on a road trip to "Anywhere, USA." He stops in a town called "Salvation,"to get something to eat and drink; a town where old Testament fanaticism rules, and infidels are outcasts. It is here that he meets Mia, a ten year old girl, malnourished, dirty and labelled "The Devil's Child." Her fate just about sealed, Joe takes her back with him to Southern California and together, along with an old female friend of Joe's, they rebuild their lives from the ashes of despair, and teach each other the truly important things in life and to Joe's astonishment he learns the answer to questions he never bothered asking such as, "Why is the Sky Blue?"
This is a truly remarkable book, not just for people who love sports, but for anyone interested in reading great and meaningful literature.
May 3, 2020
Joseph Sciuto is a favorite author, as I have stated here on numerous occasions. From his profiles on famous people, family members and friends to his amazing books I have never once been disappointed. After reading his last book, SOFIA, I did not think that even he could write a better book, but with his new book, “MIA,” I guess I was wrong.
I am not a big sports fan, even though I do know quite a bit about baseball from my brothers, so where as with any other author I would of been concerned about the subject of Mr. Sciuto’s book about baseball, I knew it had to be much more than about the sport, and more about the human connection between individuals that has made all his novels so wonderful, and I was not wrong. In fact, the connection between the famous General Manager, Joe Ciotola, and the little homeless girl, MIA, is so tender and beautiful that at times I cried. And like all his books, he reminds us how lucky we are to simply to go through life being able to see, and walk, and not to be hampered by terrible diseases and handicaps.
Yes, this book is about baseball. The beauty of the game, and its imperfect history but it is so much more. It is about second chances, regrets, hope, love, and the importance of family and the responsibility we all share in helping the less fortunate. Simply a great book. Thank you, Mr. Sciuto.
I am not a big sports fan, even though I do know quite a bit about baseball from my brothers, so where as with any other author I would of been concerned about the subject of Mr. Sciuto’s book about baseball, I knew it had to be much more than about the sport, and more about the human connection between individuals that has made all his novels so wonderful, and I was not wrong. In fact, the connection between the famous General Manager, Joe Ciotola, and the little homeless girl, MIA, is so tender and beautiful that at times I cried. And like all his books, he reminds us how lucky we are to simply to go through life being able to see, and walk, and not to be hampered by terrible diseases and handicaps.
Yes, this book is about baseball. The beauty of the game, and its imperfect history but it is so much more. It is about second chances, regrets, hope, love, and the importance of family and the responsibility we all share in helping the less fortunate. Simply a great book. Thank you, Mr. Sciuto.
April 26, 2020
If we can't watch baseball this year because of the pandemic, we can READ about America's great pastime in Joseph Sciuto's new novel, MIA, which I promise is going to be big hit. Sciuto's prose, like Hemingway's, is clean, direct, and lyrical and never better than in his new book about baseball. A book about renewal, regrets, second chances, family, and a clear and informative look at the historical record of this great American sport. His characters captivate us, become memorable; their strength, gained through life trials won, give them a resilience we admire and wish to have ourselves. We are immediately drawn into Sciuto's stories, and the tales he weaves move us profoundly. I've had students read his other books--Targeted Demographics and Per Verse Vengeance--and praise the transformative power of these engaging narratives. This book is no different, and very likely his best work. I strongly recommend this book.
April 27, 2020
MIA is so much more than just a wonderful Baseball book. It is a book about relationships, about love of humanity, and the hidden genius in so many children who are left behind. It is beautifully written, with great characters, and one exceptional child prodigy who will leave you speechless and forever in love with. I strongly, strongly recommend this book.
June 28, 2020
The novel, MIA, by Joseph Sciuto is a novel about baseball and so much more. It is not “Pride of The Yankees,” or “Field of Dreams,” or “The Natural,” it is simply better. Mr. Sciuto has managed to take the sport of baseball and transform it into something much bigger and more important than any sport can ever hope to achieve.
Joe Ciotola, General Manager of a Major League Baseball team in Southern California, has decided, at age fifty, to quit his job after twenty-five years.
His retirement is big news in the world of sports where news stories have a life expectancy of only a few hours. Joe is anything but a normal General Manager.
With a payroll one-third the size of the Yankees, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Boston Red Sox, Joe has managed to put together teams that are competitive every year. He has been to the World Series five times and has won three.
He success has garnered him the nickname “The Wizard.” Books have been written about him and a movie, that was a box office failure, have been made about him.
Although MIA and MONEY BALL are both stories about baseball GMs, MIA is not “MONEY BALL REDUX.” Not only is it better than MONEY BALL, it appeals to a wider audience. You don’t have to love baseball to love MIA.
Joe, “Baseball’s Nice Guy,” spends his winters scouting in Central America, South America, Japan, and South Korea, nurturing young talent that he hopes that one day he will be able to sign and bring up through his team’s farm system and eventually to the Major League team. He hopes that he is able to get at least five years from these youngsters, many of whom will become superstars under the tutelage of his staff.
The best Joe can hope from the young players is five years. Contracts are written in such a way that it is financially beneficial to all to trade after five years, and Joe’s team works on a shoestring budget that requires him to draft and trade players to stay in business.
Baseball has made Joe very rich and famous, but it has left him with many regrets. He is single, childless, and the two most important people in his life, his mother and father, have died without him being at their bedsides… barely making it to the cemetery before their coffins were lowered into the ground.
Joe’s regrets haunt him, especially concerning his parents who gave everything up for him. Joe is a really good guy, and in the world of baseball no one has a bad word to say about him. The morals and kindness that his parents and his religion instilled in him are apparent every day on the baseball field and off.
The day after he retires, he jumps into his SUV and takes off to ‘Anywhere, USA.’ After driving for endless hours, through barren country, he stops off at a town called ‘Salvation.’ He drops into a bar and restaurant where the customers at the table look like extras from the TV show “The Walking Dead.”
He sits down at the bar and orders a beer and turns his attention to the television that is showing repeats of the 1960’s western, “Bonanza.” He gets comfortable and orders many more beers. He has the owner/bartender call over a waiter to take a dinner order. He nearly jumps off his stool as the waiter gives him a menu. He/she is covered in dirt and he’s not sure if the waiter is ten-years-old or thirty-five.
Joe takes a chance and orders a burger and fries and to his surprise they turn out to be very good. He tips the waiter a hundred dollars and the waiter doesn’t know what to do with it, but he insists that the waiter keeps the money. After all, as he says throughout the book, “it’s easy to be generous when you have plenty of money.”
The hours pass by and he realizes that he can’t drive, and there are no hotels in the town. He ends up spending the night in the waiter’s decrepit apartment, but by this time he’s fairly certain that she’s a female.
He falls asleep on the couch and when he wakes up in the morning the female, Mia, is looking directly at him and offers him a beer. He refuses but feels disinclined about leaving for fear of seeming rude.
Joe is a runner and every morning, regardless of where he is, he goes for his 7-mile run and decides that going for a run will give him a chance to exit graciously afterward.
Not expecting Mia to follow him, he is surprised that she does. He is even more surprised that she can she run better than he can. Suddenly, she stops for no apparent reason and Joe asks, “Are you okay?”
Mia replies that she can’t go past this spot even though it doesn’t look any different than where they have been running. She tells him that she will wait for him, and so he continues running. In the distance, he sees a church and the crucifixion of Christ being re-enacted out by the parishioners.
He learns that, Mia, is called the Devil’s child and that her parents killed themselves because they believed themselves to be possessed by the Devil. The religious zealots in the town also believed Mia’s parents were possessed and that death was the only way to save their souls
Back at Mia’s apartment, Joe is faced with possibly the hardest choice of his life…take Mia, who is only ten-years-old away from this hell, or leave her in this insane place where she would face certain death.
As Joe stands by the window, looking out on the street, he swears he can hear his mother’s voice telling him that he has to take the little girl. He remembers his mother telling him that the worst sin one can commit ‘is to do nothing when you can help.’
He takes the child and her meager possessions, back to San Diego where he and Mia check into a suite in a luxury hotel overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean.
At the hotel, Joe runs into Catherine, a woman he had met many years ago. She was still a teenager attending winter baseball meetings in Chicago with her father.
Together, Joe and Catherine provide a safe, healthy environment for Mia. In turn, she turns out to be supremely gifted and intelligent, and she’s the one that ends up teaching Joe about life. Because of Mia, he has a chance to consider all he has missed because he never took time to ask such obvious questions like “Why is the sky blue?”
The book is an examination of so many different issues, about the troubled and dark history of baseball, the importance of family and acceptance, and the rebirth of a man who thought he had everything and the emergence of a child genius who would have died if not for one unselfish random act of kindness by a man who didn’t know he was lost.
When asked by reporters, why one of the team owners doesn’t spend more of his immense fortune on getting high-priced free agents he responds, “Because I would rather give my money to research and hospitals in our community so that every child who has pediatric cancer has a chance to grow up to play baseball.”
That is the underlying hope of MIA…the chance to prove that we are more than we think we are, and to act on that hope by helping others.
This is truly an amazing book, insightful, honest, exceptionally well written and researched, and yes, there were a few times I cried. MIA reassures us that there is great strength in the human spirit and that much can be accomplished if one is given the opportunity.
Joe Ciotola, General Manager of a Major League Baseball team in Southern California, has decided, at age fifty, to quit his job after twenty-five years.
His retirement is big news in the world of sports where news stories have a life expectancy of only a few hours. Joe is anything but a normal General Manager.
With a payroll one-third the size of the Yankees, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Boston Red Sox, Joe has managed to put together teams that are competitive every year. He has been to the World Series five times and has won three.
He success has garnered him the nickname “The Wizard.” Books have been written about him and a movie, that was a box office failure, have been made about him.
Although MIA and MONEY BALL are both stories about baseball GMs, MIA is not “MONEY BALL REDUX.” Not only is it better than MONEY BALL, it appeals to a wider audience. You don’t have to love baseball to love MIA.
Joe, “Baseball’s Nice Guy,” spends his winters scouting in Central America, South America, Japan, and South Korea, nurturing young talent that he hopes that one day he will be able to sign and bring up through his team’s farm system and eventually to the Major League team. He hopes that he is able to get at least five years from these youngsters, many of whom will become superstars under the tutelage of his staff.
The best Joe can hope from the young players is five years. Contracts are written in such a way that it is financially beneficial to all to trade after five years, and Joe’s team works on a shoestring budget that requires him to draft and trade players to stay in business.
Baseball has made Joe very rich and famous, but it has left him with many regrets. He is single, childless, and the two most important people in his life, his mother and father, have died without him being at their bedsides… barely making it to the cemetery before their coffins were lowered into the ground.
Joe’s regrets haunt him, especially concerning his parents who gave everything up for him. Joe is a really good guy, and in the world of baseball no one has a bad word to say about him. The morals and kindness that his parents and his religion instilled in him are apparent every day on the baseball field and off.
The day after he retires, he jumps into his SUV and takes off to ‘Anywhere, USA.’ After driving for endless hours, through barren country, he stops off at a town called ‘Salvation.’ He drops into a bar and restaurant where the customers at the table look like extras from the TV show “The Walking Dead.”
He sits down at the bar and orders a beer and turns his attention to the television that is showing repeats of the 1960’s western, “Bonanza.” He gets comfortable and orders many more beers. He has the owner/bartender call over a waiter to take a dinner order. He nearly jumps off his stool as the waiter gives him a menu. He/she is covered in dirt and he’s not sure if the waiter is ten-years-old or thirty-five.
Joe takes a chance and orders a burger and fries and to his surprise they turn out to be very good. He tips the waiter a hundred dollars and the waiter doesn’t know what to do with it, but he insists that the waiter keeps the money. After all, as he says throughout the book, “it’s easy to be generous when you have plenty of money.”
The hours pass by and he realizes that he can’t drive, and there are no hotels in the town. He ends up spending the night in the waiter’s decrepit apartment, but by this time he’s fairly certain that she’s a female.
He falls asleep on the couch and when he wakes up in the morning the female, Mia, is looking directly at him and offers him a beer. He refuses but feels disinclined about leaving for fear of seeming rude.
Joe is a runner and every morning, regardless of where he is, he goes for his 7-mile run and decides that going for a run will give him a chance to exit graciously afterward.
Not expecting Mia to follow him, he is surprised that she does. He is even more surprised that she can she run better than he can. Suddenly, she stops for no apparent reason and Joe asks, “Are you okay?”
Mia replies that she can’t go past this spot even though it doesn’t look any different than where they have been running. She tells him that she will wait for him, and so he continues running. In the distance, he sees a church and the crucifixion of Christ being re-enacted out by the parishioners.
He learns that, Mia, is called the Devil’s child and that her parents killed themselves because they believed themselves to be possessed by the Devil. The religious zealots in the town also believed Mia’s parents were possessed and that death was the only way to save their souls
Back at Mia’s apartment, Joe is faced with possibly the hardest choice of his life…take Mia, who is only ten-years-old away from this hell, or leave her in this insane place where she would face certain death.
As Joe stands by the window, looking out on the street, he swears he can hear his mother’s voice telling him that he has to take the little girl. He remembers his mother telling him that the worst sin one can commit ‘is to do nothing when you can help.’
He takes the child and her meager possessions, back to San Diego where he and Mia check into a suite in a luxury hotel overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean.
At the hotel, Joe runs into Catherine, a woman he had met many years ago. She was still a teenager attending winter baseball meetings in Chicago with her father.
Together, Joe and Catherine provide a safe, healthy environment for Mia. In turn, she turns out to be supremely gifted and intelligent, and she’s the one that ends up teaching Joe about life. Because of Mia, he has a chance to consider all he has missed because he never took time to ask such obvious questions like “Why is the sky blue?”
The book is an examination of so many different issues, about the troubled and dark history of baseball, the importance of family and acceptance, and the rebirth of a man who thought he had everything and the emergence of a child genius who would have died if not for one unselfish random act of kindness by a man who didn’t know he was lost.
When asked by reporters, why one of the team owners doesn’t spend more of his immense fortune on getting high-priced free agents he responds, “Because I would rather give my money to research and hospitals in our community so that every child who has pediatric cancer has a chance to grow up to play baseball.”
That is the underlying hope of MIA…the chance to prove that we are more than we think we are, and to act on that hope by helping others.
This is truly an amazing book, insightful, honest, exceptionally well written and researched, and yes, there were a few times I cried. MIA reassures us that there is great strength in the human spirit and that much can be accomplished if one is given the opportunity.
April 28, 2020
MIA is a phenomenal book! It held my interest and was a fast read. Once I started, I couldn't stop. As usual, Joseph Sciuto's descriptions of people, places and things put you right in the middle of the scene as an onlooker instead of a reader. His portrayal of a 10-year-old girl is heart-wrenching where appropriate and immensely satisfying throughout the book.
Set in the world of baseball, the characters reveal that time-proven truth...money is great and success is fabulous, but there is no adjective great enough to define love adequately. Giving means more than receiving and love is worth the sometimes rocky path. It is the one thing that truly conquers all.
In these times of worldwide trauma, MIA is the book for you. It helps with the stress and the sadness and gives you a reason to fight for the future.
Set in the world of baseball, the characters reveal that time-proven truth...money is great and success is fabulous, but there is no adjective great enough to define love adequately. Giving means more than receiving and love is worth the sometimes rocky path. It is the one thing that truly conquers all.
In these times of worldwide trauma, MIA is the book for you. It helps with the stress and the sadness and gives you a reason to fight for the future.
May 20, 2020
What a great story. I loved the characters, the flow of the story and the saving of a child in need, Each of the characters had their endearing qualities and as the story progressed you learned more about each one. The relationships between them were encouraging to see, and the religious aspects of the good and bad in people were handled well. It was a story about people who made the most of the opportunities they received, even though life had not always been perfect. They seemed made for each other, each filling a space in the lives of the others. I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange of a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
August 4, 2021
A cannolo novel
I am not sure what is the better taste of the Italian cake cannolo, the tube around or the filling. This novel sure made me wish to go back to Sicily and taste the Sicily version. I try to use the cannolo as a metaphor for this novel. The novel is certainly sweet, and the novel even ends up with a Christmas celebration.
The wrap around is the story of Joe Ciotola, the baseball manager from Bronx, that quit his job. He first meets Mia, (she could be a Little Lord Fauntleroy- by Frances Hodgson Burnett ), then Catherine Baker and last Mr. Baker, that almost is the old lord.
A morale fable. The content of the story is a morale fable: why could not black people play baseball before 1947? p. 143. Why are women not allowed to be general managers of a baseball team? why can some religious people be so mean and brutal? In fact, the story starts with Joe visiting a “Winter’s bone” place called Salvation. There are also other dilemmas that are encountered: How do children develop when they start with a horrible (religious) past, like Mia? “They (people in Salvation) were dangerous – as dangerous as the religious zealots infiltrating our governments and courts, their ideologies base on twisted interpretations of obscure passages from the bible”. p.119. Is it believable that Mia just don’t seem to be affected by it? ( I decide to believe everything in the novel, since reality also is unbelievable- sometimes). Is it OK with home schooling for gifted children? (this reader thinks “no”), Is it OK to favor private funding of cancer research? (“yes” but is it OK that private persons determine what type of cancers are important to give priority?).
Growing up and being clever. I just read another novel, Riahul Rana’s “How to kidnap the rich”, not an informative title, but it is about Rudi being a gifted child in India. The timelines for Mia and Rudi are extremely different. The reasons for the different trajectories could be random events, but I would think the countries’ culture (and prejudices), and the human stratification is important. Thus, a comparative study- in a novel format- would be nice to read. If that is not what I actually read, reading the books by Sciuto and Raina in a sequence.
Language. The language in Mia is to me too much USA: “ of course, honey” p. 121. But I suppose it is due to my non- USA mother language. The language in Rana’s book is what probably could be called “kebab” language, but it does not offend me as much as the language in Mia. But again, it may be because some of the persons in Rana’s book are supposed to speak non-traditional.
The author Joseph Sciuto was so kind as to send me the book Mia and I very much appreciate his kindness, and for letting me speak about baseball a little more confidently. However, baseball was difficult to understand, and maybe my confidence is ill funded.
I am not sure what is the better taste of the Italian cake cannolo, the tube around or the filling. This novel sure made me wish to go back to Sicily and taste the Sicily version. I try to use the cannolo as a metaphor for this novel. The novel is certainly sweet, and the novel even ends up with a Christmas celebration.
The wrap around is the story of Joe Ciotola, the baseball manager from Bronx, that quit his job. He first meets Mia, (she could be a Little Lord Fauntleroy- by Frances Hodgson Burnett ), then Catherine Baker and last Mr. Baker, that almost is the old lord.
A morale fable. The content of the story is a morale fable: why could not black people play baseball before 1947? p. 143. Why are women not allowed to be general managers of a baseball team? why can some religious people be so mean and brutal? In fact, the story starts with Joe visiting a “Winter’s bone” place called Salvation. There are also other dilemmas that are encountered: How do children develop when they start with a horrible (religious) past, like Mia? “They (people in Salvation) were dangerous – as dangerous as the religious zealots infiltrating our governments and courts, their ideologies base on twisted interpretations of obscure passages from the bible”. p.119. Is it believable that Mia just don’t seem to be affected by it? ( I decide to believe everything in the novel, since reality also is unbelievable- sometimes). Is it OK with home schooling for gifted children? (this reader thinks “no”), Is it OK to favor private funding of cancer research? (“yes” but is it OK that private persons determine what type of cancers are important to give priority?).
Growing up and being clever. I just read another novel, Riahul Rana’s “How to kidnap the rich”, not an informative title, but it is about Rudi being a gifted child in India. The timelines for Mia and Rudi are extremely different. The reasons for the different trajectories could be random events, but I would think the countries’ culture (and prejudices), and the human stratification is important. Thus, a comparative study- in a novel format- would be nice to read. If that is not what I actually read, reading the books by Sciuto and Raina in a sequence.
Language. The language in Mia is to me too much USA: “ of course, honey” p. 121. But I suppose it is due to my non- USA mother language. The language in Rana’s book is what probably could be called “kebab” language, but it does not offend me as much as the language in Mia. But again, it may be because some of the persons in Rana’s book are supposed to speak non-traditional.
The author Joseph Sciuto was so kind as to send me the book Mia and I very much appreciate his kindness, and for letting me speak about baseball a little more confidently. However, baseball was difficult to understand, and maybe my confidence is ill funded.
February 21, 2021
First off I give this book 3 1/2 stars.
Joe Ciotola is 5o year old man who is a well respected gentleman and until recently a General Manager for a very successful small market Major league baseball team. The only dream that is seems to have missed is to work for the beloved Yankees who were his childhood favorite team. Maybe it had something to do with being from the Bronx. But with all this success there have plenty that he has sacrificed to get there and now it is time to take a break. But his life is fixing to take a major changed when he stops in a town called Salvation this has to be a town straight out of a Stephen King story and meets a person by the name of Mia. This was a decent story and held my attention but I did have a couple problems the first is that the first have of the book seem that there were instances that were repeated over and over maybe just a little different version and the other is overall the story is just a little to sappy and a little forced at the end. Thank you to Netgalley and BookGoSocial for an ARC for a fair and honest review.
Joe Ciotola is 5o year old man who is a well respected gentleman and until recently a General Manager for a very successful small market Major league baseball team. The only dream that is seems to have missed is to work for the beloved Yankees who were his childhood favorite team. Maybe it had something to do with being from the Bronx. But with all this success there have plenty that he has sacrificed to get there and now it is time to take a break. But his life is fixing to take a major changed when he stops in a town called Salvation this has to be a town straight out of a Stephen King story and meets a person by the name of Mia. This was a decent story and held my attention but I did have a couple problems the first is that the first have of the book seem that there were instances that were repeated over and over maybe just a little different version and the other is overall the story is just a little to sappy and a little forced at the end. Thank you to Netgalley and BookGoSocial for an ARC for a fair and honest review.
July 9, 2023
Mia is a love story with a different kind of message. The main character, Joe, was fabulously rich but lacked the most important wealth of all: Love. That was until he miraculously met someone who came into his life and loved him and his beautiful yet troubled daughter. It was as if this special someone was sent from Heaven. In his novel, Mr. Sciuto has brought together a wonderfully blended cast of characters. People whom I could emotionally connect with and feel their passions. The storyline, in several instances, brought me dangerously close to thinking that some of his characters were about to slip into devious escapades but were quickly redeemed by sudden, masterful strokes of redemption. Mr. Sciuto certainly adds depth of content to his writing, and why not? From what I have learned of him and his interestingly varied experiences in life, he certainly has a boundless reserve of true-to-life adventures from which to draw. This, no doubt, is a blessing unto itself.
November 3, 2020
Joseph Sciuto is masterful story teller. I have read several of his novels and they are all different. But one thing is true with all of them. They are all so hard to put down. This one it took me awhile to pick up thinking baseball in a book? But I was wrong. It is so much more than baseball but in a good way! Also reading this book made me crave chocolate cake the whole time. I would love to see a film or tv adaptation of this book. It's so beautiful and heart warming! Easily 5 stars!
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