Ernie’s Bleachers is about a lot of different things. It’s about growing up in Chicago, especially its northside ethnic neighborhoods, in the mid-to-late 1940s. It’s about Pareti’s family and friends. It’s a little bit about politics and corruption too. It’s also about the Negro Leagues, Major League Baseball and especially the Cubs and what it means to be a Cubs fan. Book Trib

The book is a masterpiece of storytelling, which brings one back to the way things were “back in the days”. Reader Views 

"ERNIE’S BLEACHERS by Tim Pareti is a multidimensional, layered coming-of-age book centered on the mischievous adventures of Eddy, the endearing teenage son of an Italian-American family. The author beautifully executes the novel’s setting in Chicago in the 1940s using fascinating visual and sensory imagery–in particular the eponymous family tavern–which comes alive with its politics, baseball scene and spirit effortlessly portrayed in a different age and time." Indie Reader Book Review

“It’s themes like these – love, grief, the highs and lows of day-to-day life – which give Ernie’s Bleachers its power. Pareti makes a winding, complex narrative accessible and relatable throughout, all while keeping its focus true and its details interesting. It’s about baseball, sure, just as much as it’s about war, boyhood, family, and friendship. But above all, Tim Pareti has created a book about people. As an homage to his father’s past, it is hard to imagine a more effective and captivating approach. Ernie’s Bleachers is a beautifully personal work of biographical fiction, bursting at the seams with personality. Storytellers, take note: This is how it’s done." Ovunque Siamo (New Italian American Writing)