From Publishers Weekly Eighteen-year-old Mickey DeFalco got dumped by his girlfriend and wrote a plaintive love ballad that became a huge hit. Since then, it's been downhill. Twenty years later, broke and drinking too much, DeFalco moves in with his parents in Queens, toting plenty of baggage: a stash of ill-gotten money and two items busted almost beyond repair, his career and his heart. The onetime teen heartthrob is reduced to mowing lawns for a living; a resurgence of interest in his song, to which he foolishly sold the rights, only rubs salt in his wounds. But when his runaway love resurfaces after a mysterious 20-year absence, secrets and lies come to light, revealing the unpredictability of life. Wry insights and ironic twists of fate mix a bit uneasily with nostalgia in the latest novel from the author of Raising Jake, which scored a more direct hit in exploring the theme of a middle-aged man trying to grow up. This one pounds the same notes a few times too many, but the likable loser hero and old neighborhood vibe make the journey rewarding all the same. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Read more From Booklist How does someone end up as a one-hit wonder? Mickey DeFalco, a normal teenager from Queens, shot to stardom in the 1980s with a song about love gone wrong. Twenty years later, he’s completely broke and living in his old room at his parents’ house. How he got there and how he’ll rebuild his life are both slowly revealed. The charm of this novel is slightly disrupted by anachronisms. Although Mickey’s childhood and his heyday supposedly take place in the 1980s, the descriptions and attitudes all seem closer to the 1960s and 1970s. The so-called modern-day parts of the story seem to take place in a world that’s never heard of Dancing with the Stars, VH1’s Where Are They Now, or any of the other mainstream avenues for today’s has-beens to make their comebacks. While the characters and plotline remain interesting (with the exception of a sledgehammer-subtle subplot about incest), the disconnected time line is jarring, especially to readers of the same generation as Mickey. A flawed but enjoyable read. --Marta Segal Block Read more See all Editorial Reviews
U**S
interesting premise, but...
I picked up this book as a free read from the Amazon Kindle book store. The premise seemed interesting enough, but this book never quite delivered for me. It is a relatively light read, although not necessarily a quick one. It did drag for me from time to time.The first half of the book follows the pattern of "here is a present day event that triggers a memory of a past event, so let me tell you about the past event, and now back to the present day..." This is how we learn about the main character Mickey and his past. Important to his past and future is the mention of his one true love Lynn.The second half of the book reads like a downward spiral resulting from the events presented earlier in the book. However, this is also where Lynn returns to the present day and the underlying story of love comes to the forefront. There is an up and down ride for the love story throughout the book that just got boring to me after a while. I started not to care, which is unfortunate since it is really a big part of the story.For most of the book, we only see a surface picture of Lynn. It is not until one of the last chapters where we finally get to learn of the mystery that is Lynn in a single chapter. By that time, though, smart readers will probably have already figured out at least part of her story.The ending reads more like a quick epilogue tying up the story, but at least there are not really any important loose ends.I could have done without this book, but, for free, I do not regret giving it a try.Note: This review was originally posted on Goodreads.com
S**
Lovable loser
Mickey DeFalco is a pathetic, yet somehow likable, one-hit wonder in this book by Charlie Carillo.When he was 18 years old, Mickey wrote a hit song about his first love, Lynn. Now, 20 years later, he is broke and moving back home to live with his parents.The story intertwines Mickey's present with his past as the two seem to repeatedly collide. He gets his old job back mowing lawns. He bickers with his parents as he comes to relate to them as adults and find out they really are interesting people. Most shocking of all is that Lynn, who ran away from home without so much as a goodbye, has also moved back to the neighborhood.Mickey has to cope with the embarrassment of people who are star struck when they recognize him and ask what he is doing now. He does manage to make the most of opportunities when women, who were teenagers when he was famous, throw themselves as him.The song wraps around the story nicely, appearing in the most unexpected places and giving the story a powerful connection. Anyone who has ever had to make peace with their teenage self will be able to relate.One Hit Wonder is a character-driven story with an edgy tone that reveals an unexpected sweetness. The plot was impossible to predict. I really enjoyed reading this book, despite some crass scenes.
D**N
A story of self-discovery and second chances - with the heart of a love song.
"One Hit Wonder" follows former pop star Mickey DeFalco. After falling in love as a teenager, the object of his affection - Lynn - ran away from home, leaving him heartbroken and alone. Channeling that pain, he wrote a song - "Sweet Days" - that catapulted him to superstardom. He dropped out of high school, moved to LA, and began to live his dream. The problem was this; he was young, foolish, and unable to pen a follow-up to his one smash hit.He survived in LA for years, taking the slow and painful career escalator down from pop superstardom to VH1 "where are the now?" trivia question fodder. After hitting rock bottom, he does the only thing he can think of - he goes home to New York. His working class parents are surprised, but glad to have him back. They give him the unconditional love that only family can and also give him the time and space he needs to work through his issues.Once home, Mickey discovers that Lynn is back in the neighborhood; caring for her dying mother. This unexpected news jolts him from his malaise and sets him on a collision course with the potential future that deserted him when Lynn boarded a bus 20 years earlier and rode out of his life.Whether you ended up with your first love from high school, or didn't find your soul mate until later in life - you will find something in this story. At times profound and at other times prurient, the book pulls no punches in examining where Mickey is and where he needs to be. Whether happy or unfulfilled, successful or utter failure, young or only wishing to still be young - it is human nature for all of us to ask "who am I?" from time to time. In "One Hit Wonder" you get to take that journey and find the answer to that question with Mickey and Lynn. Does life always work out that way? No. Very rarely do things work out with no loose ends and no unanswered questions. But this is, after all, fiction - and I can forgive the author for neatly wrapping everything up with a nice bow. In fact, I appreciate it. We all have our real lives we can turn to in order to get a taste of reality. In "One Hit Wonder", we have a story of self-discovery, second chances, and yes, a happy ending. An ending you would expect to find if this had been a love song, which - in very many ways - it was.
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