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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Just like the first time I met Sarah Byrnes, I stayed up till I read it all the way through.
All things Chris Crutcher are awesome. These short stories that interconnect his characters from previous novels into an anger management class blew me away. Wow.
Rating: *** Upon closer examination this turned out to be three novelettes which featured characters from earlier Chris Crutcher novels. Since this is my first Chris Crutcher novel, I found it hard to say if I would have liked the novelettes better or worse having read the original books the characters are from. I did not really think the Chris Crutcher set up the book with the character of Nat being the leader of group therapy that all the characters went to was well thought out.
Plot:
Story 1: Has Angus and Sarah Brynes as the main characters. Angus and Sarah start dating. Angus takes Sarah to see her mother who abandoned her when she was little.
Characters: Angus is an overweight teens with homosexual parents. He is shy, loyal, caring. Sarah is an emotionally and physically scared teen who is very guarded.
Story 2: Montana West is a rebellious adopted teenager who wants the school newspaper to publish her article on medical marijuana. Her adopted father is the head of the school board and refuses to allow the paper to print articles that deal with controversial topics.
Characters: Montana is very head strong. She is very caring towards her foster sister Tara. Trey Chase is apparently a bit of a lady’s man. He is handsome, smart, and a good athlete. He helps Montana with her cause.
Story 3: Marcus James is the only black student in his high school. He also happens to be openly gay as well. One day Marcus walks into school to find a pink noose hanging from his locker. This story deals with hate crimes and how schools choose to deal or not deal with them.
Characters: Marcus is smart, witty, confident. Matt Miller is a wrestler who stands up for what he believes even if it goes against what his friends think or it gets him in trouble.
Themes: bigotry, abuse, foster care, free speech, growing up, teachers as mentors, hate crimes
Additional Information: I’d be interested to know if people who have read other Chris Crutcher books with these characters in them like this collection of short stories.
Plot:
Story 1: Has Angus and Sarah Brynes as the main characters. Angus and Sarah start dating. Angus takes Sarah to see her mother who abandoned her when she was little.
Characters: Angus is an overweight teens with homosexual parents. He is shy, loyal, caring. Sarah is an emotionally and physically scared teen who is very guarded.
Story 2: Montana West is a rebellious adopted teenager who wants the school newspaper to publish her article on medical marijuana. Her adopted father is the head of the school board and refuses to allow the paper to print articles that deal with controversial topics.
Characters: Montana is very head strong. She is very caring towards her foster sister Tara. Trey Chase is apparently a bit of a lady’s man. He is handsome, smart, and a good athlete. He helps Montana with her cause.
Story 3: Marcus James is the only black student in his high school. He also happens to be openly gay as well. One day Marcus walks into school to find a pink noose hanging from his locker. This story deals with hate crimes and how schools choose to deal or not deal with them.
Characters: Marcus is smart, witty, confident. Matt Miller is a wrestler who stands up for what he believes even if it goes against what his friends think or it gets him in trouble.
Themes: bigotry, abuse, foster care, free speech, growing up, teachers as mentors, hate crimes
Additional Information: I’d be interested to know if people who have read other Chris Crutcher books with these characters in them like this collection of short stories.
Not just for teens! All 3 novellas were excellent. The final novella, however, hits the hardest and is guaranteed to spark a discussion, or at least some deep thinking. Wonderful job, Chris Crutcher.
Crutcher revisits some old characters and fleshs out some minor characters in this collection of three short stories.
I didn't like this book much... it was sad and depressing, and I can usually live with those, but there wasn't any closure with the characters. It was three short novellas, and once one was done you never heard from the characters again. They all led sad lives and never found a resolution to their problems! I was not impressed, it was well written, but poorly thought out, in my opinion. I expected a lot more from Chris Crutcher
3 stars for the framework and the middle story.
4 stars for the first story.
5 stars for the last story. Ye Gods.
Hearing Crutcher speak on a panel at last fall's NCTE conference lends weight to my appreciation of his writing. He grew up in the inland Northwest. He's done counseling of kids who have been through shit like his characters have been through. He's the real deal.
4 stars for the first story.
5 stars for the last story. Ye Gods.
Hearing Crutcher speak on a panel at last fall's NCTE conference lends weight to my appreciation of his writing. He grew up in the inland Northwest. He's done counseling of kids who have been through shit like his characters have been through. He's the real deal.
This is every Crutcher fan's dream, combining characters from different books to make up three short stories. so good.
When I was first thinking about writing this review, I thought I would say that some authors only have one or two good books in them, and when they have written those books they should stop and move on to something else. Chris Crutcher wrote his two books and they were Deadline and Whale Talk.
However, as I got closer to finishing this book, I changed my mind.
Crutcher writes about love and evil and hate in all their forms, about the courage to stand up against injustice and how hard it can be to live the life you've been given. Maybe those kinds of stories need to be told, over and over again, in whatever form you can give them. Yes, he wrote two outstanding books with those themes, but perhaps with messages like those you SHOULD just keep writing and writing in the hope that someday, those messages (except the one about love) will no longer be relevant.
However, as I got closer to finishing this book, I changed my mind.
Crutcher writes about love and evil and hate in all their forms, about the courage to stand up against injustice and how hard it can be to live the life you've been given. Maybe those kinds of stories need to be told, over and over again, in whatever form you can give them. Yes, he wrote two outstanding books with those themes, but perhaps with messages like those you SHOULD just keep writing and writing in the hope that someday, those messages (except the one about love) will no longer be relevant.
Although I was already a fan of Chris Crutcher's work, this book shot to the top of my TBR pile when it was challenged by a parent in South Carolina. Because of Crutcher's willingness to take on a host of societal issues, his books are often challenged--and teens love them. I'm not generally a huge fan of short stories, but I enjoyed this collection of three novellas and the chance to revisit characters from several of Crutcher's previous novels. Highly recommended.
The characters in the three stories are loosely bound together by Mr. Nak's Angry Management group.
"Kyle Maynard and the Craggy Face of the Moon" features Sarah Byrnes and Angus Bethune. Sarah bears her burn-scarred face like a shield to protect herself from becoming too involved with anyone and Angus uses his girth and his sense of humor in a similar way. The teens become closer as they embark on a road trip to find Sarah's mother, who abandoned her to her abusive father.
In "Montana Wild," Montana West writes the kind of stories for her school newspaper that never get published, thanks to conservative administrators backed up by the right-wing head of the school board who happens to be her adoptive father. When her latest story, about medical marijuana, gets shot down, she is asked to write a human interest piece on a football player. Trey Chase is not a stereotypical "dumb jock" and Montana is drawn to him right away. His grandmother, Mari, is dying of cancer and uses marijuana to ease her pain and nausea. Mari suggests that Montana not give up on her medical marijuana article. Even knowing that the school paper won't publish it, Montana decides to push the issue and get it before the school board. Mari says, "You don't have to win to win. Just keep putting it in front of them. The truth rises." The showdown between Montana and Maxwell West is inevitable.
The third story, "Meet Me at the Gates, Marcus James" was my favorite. Marcus is the only African American student at his high school, which is run by football-obsessed bigots. Not only is Marcus whip-smart and outspoken, but he is also gay. When he strolls into Mr. Simet's U.S. Government class wearing the pink noose that had been hanging on his locker, no one misses its significance. Mr. Simet is supportive, but cautions Marcus about the statement he's making by wearing the noose. When the school administrators call an assembly to "address" the bigotry, Matt Miller, a devout Christian calls them out for appearing to address the issue, while making it impossible to resolve. I love this character, who embodies the best Christian behavior, rather than the holier-than-thou brand of Christianity that permeates American culture. He stands up and tells the truth, which unleashes an unforeseen shitstorm and connects him with Marcus forever. Marcus' father is another interesting character because, even though he understands what it's like to be hated for something he can't control (his race), his initial reaction to learning that Marcus is gay is anger. He eventually accepts his son and has this to say, "You know, teacher man, bein' homosexual isn't somethin' my boy chose. He just was. Somebody's readin' the good book all wrong. You ask me, God creates it, God loves it. Simple as that." Amen.
The characters in the three stories are loosely bound together by Mr. Nak's Angry Management group.
"Kyle Maynard and the Craggy Face of the Moon" features Sarah Byrnes and Angus Bethune. Sarah bears her burn-scarred face like a shield to protect herself from becoming too involved with anyone and Angus uses his girth and his sense of humor in a similar way. The teens become closer as they embark on a road trip to find Sarah's mother, who abandoned her to her abusive father.
In "Montana Wild," Montana West writes the kind of stories for her school newspaper that never get published, thanks to conservative administrators backed up by the right-wing head of the school board who happens to be her adoptive father. When her latest story, about medical marijuana, gets shot down, she is asked to write a human interest piece on a football player. Trey Chase is not a stereotypical "dumb jock" and Montana is drawn to him right away. His grandmother, Mari, is dying of cancer and uses marijuana to ease her pain and nausea. Mari suggests that Montana not give up on her medical marijuana article. Even knowing that the school paper won't publish it, Montana decides to push the issue and get it before the school board. Mari says, "You don't have to win to win. Just keep putting it in front of them. The truth rises." The showdown between Montana and Maxwell West is inevitable.
The third story, "Meet Me at the Gates, Marcus James" was my favorite. Marcus is the only African American student at his high school, which is run by football-obsessed bigots. Not only is Marcus whip-smart and outspoken, but he is also gay. When he strolls into Mr. Simet's U.S. Government class wearing the pink noose that had been hanging on his locker, no one misses its significance. Mr. Simet is supportive, but cautions Marcus about the statement he's making by wearing the noose. When the school administrators call an assembly to "address" the bigotry, Matt Miller, a devout Christian calls them out for appearing to address the issue, while making it impossible to resolve. I love this character, who embodies the best Christian behavior, rather than the holier-than-thou brand of Christianity that permeates American culture. He stands up and tells the truth, which unleashes an unforeseen shitstorm and connects him with Marcus forever. Marcus' father is another interesting character because, even though he understands what it's like to be hated for something he can't control (his race), his initial reaction to learning that Marcus is gay is anger. He eventually accepts his son and has this to say, "You know, teacher man, bein' homosexual isn't somethin' my boy chose. He just was. Somebody's readin' the good book all wrong. You ask me, God creates it, God loves it. Simple as that." Amen.