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nat_montego's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, and Violence
rereader33's review against another edition
5.0
Allow me to get these obvious out of the way: this was an amazing novel! Neal Shusterman has been a favorite of mine since Challenger Deep, but the more I read the more I love his work. His writing is well-done, most of his characters are fun or at least interesting, and the pacing is spot on. I can never seem to put down his books once I start them and they always seem to fill my thoughts afterwards. Anyway, let's discuss this hidden gem, shall we?
I don't have much to say about the story aside from I'm glad it went in the direction it did. It was briefly touched on in the story that if the general public learned about Brew's abilities, he could be sent to a lad to be researched or used as a tool. I was worried this was where the story was headed, but thankfully it stayed grounded. I really liked that because, aside from Brew's abilities, this was a grounded story. That's all I really have to say, on to characters.
At first, I had mixed feelings about all of the characters sans Brew. Bronte was pretty obnoxious for most of the novel, but I was glad she remained consistent. She did change her personality on a dime and she didn't change for Brew, which could be either a good or bad thing. I didn't like how headstrong she was about fixing problems mostly because she always thought what she was doing was right. That kind of thinking can be dangerous and it proved to be just that when she and Tennyson practically blackmailed their parents into fostering Brew and Cody. However, I will say that I loved her interactions with Tennyson, I found them to be realistic and the banter enjoyable. Tennyson was a good character, a foil to Bronte in one way yet similar to her in another. On one hand, Tennyson tended to act in his own interests, which clashed with Bronte's need to help others. On the other hand, both are selfish if you consider how Bronte tends to help others without their permission, so in a way both exhibit selfish behavior, it's just Tennyson is aware of his selfishness while Bronte isn't. Brew himself was a great character, I loved his POV. I'm not much of a poetry person, but I loved, loved, loved how his POV was written in verse. It added depth to his character and was an absolute joy to read. Cody was a completely realistic child and as such I wanted to punch him for some of the decisions he made. Not a bad character, mind you, just kind of annoying. The parents were pretty awful, but this is YA, what do you expect?
As for the writing, I adore Neal Shusterman's writing. It's fun, casual, profound in places but heart-wrenching in others. Yes, it can be very on the nose, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. Also, I understand some YA fans have complained about the number of snarky, sarcastic characters proliferating YA novels. To add my two cents, I totally get where people are coming from and having so many characters like that in YA can be frustrating, but I will probably never be frustrated by Shusterman's sarcastic, snarky characters. Call me biased, I don't care.
Also, that ending was great. Loved it.
Overall, loved this novel, love this author, highly recommend it and his other novels.
I don't have much to say about the story aside from I'm glad it went in the direction it did. It was briefly touched on in the story that if the general public learned about Brew's abilities, he could be sent to a lad to be researched or used as a tool. I was worried this was where the story was headed, but thankfully it stayed grounded. I really liked that because, aside from Brew's abilities, this was a grounded story. That's all I really have to say, on to characters.
At first, I had mixed feelings about all of the characters sans Brew. Bronte was pretty obnoxious for most of the novel, but I was glad she remained consistent. She did change her personality on a dime and she didn't change for Brew, which could be either a good or bad thing. I didn't like how headstrong she was about fixing problems mostly because she always thought what she was doing was right. That kind of thinking can be dangerous and it proved to be just that when she and Tennyson practically blackmailed their parents into fostering Brew and Cody. However, I will say that I loved her interactions with Tennyson, I found them to be realistic and the banter enjoyable. Tennyson was a good character, a foil to Bronte in one way yet similar to her in another. On one hand, Tennyson tended to act in his own interests, which clashed with Bronte's need to help others. On the other hand, both are selfish if you consider how Bronte tends to help others without their permission, so in a way both exhibit selfish behavior, it's just Tennyson is aware of his selfishness while Bronte isn't. Brew himself was a great character, I loved his POV. I'm not much of a poetry person, but I loved, loved, loved how his POV was written in verse. It added depth to his character and was an absolute joy to read. Cody was a completely realistic child and as such I wanted to punch him for some of the decisions he made. Not a bad character, mind you, just kind of annoying. The parents were pretty awful, but this is YA, what do you expect?
As for the writing, I adore Neal Shusterman's writing. It's fun, casual, profound in places but heart-wrenching in others. Yes, it can be very on the nose, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. Also, I understand some YA fans have complained about the number of snarky, sarcastic characters proliferating YA novels. To add my two cents, I totally get where people are coming from and having so many characters like that in YA can be frustrating, but I will probably never be frustrated by Shusterman's sarcastic, snarky characters. Call me biased, I don't care.
Also, that ending was great. Loved it.
Overall, loved this novel, love this author, highly recommend it and his other novels.
joana_stormblessed's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
I really loved this book. It was nothing like I expected it to be like, yet it was everything I needed at this moment. As I was reading this book, some pretty traumatic and sad events happened to me, and I was wishing for someone like Brew in my life, but by the end of the book, I really understood that going through our afflictions, trials and pains makes us who we are. We have to accept the pain life brings, and we have to deal with it on our own. No one can live the experiences for us. Our troubles, bruises, trials and pains, are ours to take and live.
In this book we follow Tennyson and Bronte who are twins. They are children from English teacher parents, which explains their names. Their parents however are going through a separation / divorce face, which kind of lets the siblings to fend for themselves. At the same time, Bronte starts to date this Brewster, whom everyone calls Bruiser. He is a dark and mysterious teenager that keeps to himself. It starts off by Brewster being Bronte's project, but quickly she realizes that she truly cares for him. Tennyson doesn't like this, because he wants to protect his sister. So he tries to scare the Bruiser away from Bronte, ends up following him home, and uncovers a secret that is impossible to carry. Brewster has a "gift" that seems completely impossible and that explains a lot about his attitude.
As I have said, this book was really great and I think that the fact that I read it at this moment in time has a lot to do with my feelings for this book. Definitely recommend it.
I really loved this book. It was nothing like I expected it to be like, yet it was everything I needed at this moment. As I was reading this book, some pretty traumatic and sad events happened to me, and I was wishing for someone like Brew in my life, but by the end of the book, I really understood that going through our afflictions, trials and pains makes us who we are. We have to accept the pain life brings, and we have to deal with it on our own. No one can live the experiences for us. Our troubles, bruises, trials and pains, are ours to take and live.
In this book we follow Tennyson and Bronte who are twins. They are children from English teacher parents, which explains their names. Their parents however are going through a separation / divorce face, which kind of lets the siblings to fend for themselves. At the same time, Bronte starts to date this Brewster, whom everyone calls Bruiser. He is a dark and mysterious teenager that keeps to himself. It starts off by Brewster being Bronte's project, but quickly she realizes that she truly cares for him. Tennyson doesn't like this, because he wants to protect his sister. So he tries to scare the Bruiser away from Bronte, ends up following him home, and uncovers a secret that is impossible to carry. Brewster has a "gift" that seems completely impossible and that explains a lot about his attitude.
As I have said, this book was really great and I think that the fact that I read it at this moment in time has a lot to do with my feelings for this book. Definitely recommend it.
abaugher's review against another edition
3.0
pretty good story, strange ability in the young man, somewhat too abrupt an ending.
amesthechamp's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting plot/idea. I loved it. Really made me think after I finished it.
katieb99's review against another edition
5.0
It took me a while to get into this book. I'm so happy that I stuck with it. This story is so unique because it's so different from any other story. Having a character that is an outcast because of his special characteristics that nobody knows about and slowly but surely you see that brew needs people in his life. I love how through the story you see how brew has to fight so hard to be happy and the people around him happy. Definitely worth the read.
estock36's review against another edition
4.0
First book from Neal Shusterman that I had read. Liked the overall story, but the ending fell short for me.
sweetrosegirl76's review against another edition
3.0
It was interesting but not AMAZING. The concept was good and I feel horrible for Brew. I really like him, my heart breaks for him.
thelibrarylady42's review against another edition
2.0
Bruiser took me a really long time to finish, much longer than it should have. I had a lot of trouble getting into it but once I did (about 100 pages in) it moved much faster.
They say what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. This is true for most people except friends of Brewster Rawlins. Brewster has the ability to take away pain from the people he cares about, not only take the pain away but completely heal them as well.
While it was an interesting premise it mostly fell flat for me. Tennyson and Bronte are not stupid, in fact they are quiet bright, and figure out part of what Brewster is able to do right away. I can't understand why it takes them so long to figure out he is not only taking away physical pain but emotional as well. Tennyson does figure it out eventually but keeps it to himself for selfish reasons. He doesn't want the good feelings to go away and becomes almost like a drug addict.
The other major problem I have is with the uncle. After all he has done to Brew how can Brew still love him enough to take away his pain. I understand he is the only family Brew has left besides his brother but it seems a bit of a stretch to me that Brew still cares enough.
I just don't seen teens sticking with this one. It was hard for me to stick with it.
They say what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. This is true for most people except friends of Brewster Rawlins. Brewster has the ability to take away pain from the people he cares about, not only take the pain away but completely heal them as well.
While it was an interesting premise it mostly fell flat for me. Tennyson and Bronte are not stupid, in fact they are quiet bright, and figure out part of what Brewster is able to do right away. I can't understand why it takes them so long to figure out he is not only taking away physical pain but emotional as well. Tennyson does figure it out eventually but keeps it to himself for selfish reasons. He doesn't want the good feelings to go away and becomes almost like a drug addict.
The other major problem I have is with the uncle. After all he has done to Brew how can Brew still love him enough to take away his pain. I understand he is the only family Brew has left besides his brother but it seems a bit of a stretch to me that Brew still cares enough.
I just don't seen teens sticking with this one. It was hard for me to stick with it.