In the spirit of full disclosure I want to say that I agreed to read and review this book because even though the main character is a white male and there’s been a lot of white male protagonist dissing going on in the diversity community I feel this story is important to tell. And here’s why this story is important;
- Overweight hero
- Hazing (need I say more?)
- Bullying
- Sexual harassment
- Suicide
Now if those topics don’t merit attention then I don’t know what book should! Devine is a high school teacher, so he knows the minutiae of a high schooler’s day. Having high schoolers of my own, I know that high school is more difficult today than it was when I went. Our “hero, Dun the Tun, is an overweight kid who documents his weight loss through film. He inadvertently captures some pretty violent hazing on the boys’ lacrosse team. As Greg is a frequent target of bullying from this group of kids, he struggles with what to do with this new information.
I must warn you that the book is graphic. There is graphic language and violence. It’s difficult to imagine that kids can be so cruel, but left unchecked by equally cruel adults, this is what kind of world we would live in. I must also warn you that Greg is an unreliable hero. He makes mistakes and he lies and that’s all part of what makes this story so gripping. It’s not always easy to do the right thing when you’re angry and you’ve got a debt to repay.
I stayed up late to finish this book and then I couldn’t turn my brain off. There were so many thoughts running around in my head. So many thoughts.
So many.
Good read for anyone who likes gritty realistic fiction. Think Fight Club for teens.
And we all know what the first rule of Fight Club is, right?