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A review by dlberglund
Angry Management by Chris Crutcher
4.0
There are other people on Goodreads who have written excellent reviews of this book, so many that I was tempted to "Like" a whole slew of them and call it quits on writing my own. For any of my friends who actually read my reviews, though, here is my take.
Angry Management is really a set of three short stories tied together with the premise that Mr. Nak is leading an anger management group for teens in rural northern Idaho/southeastern Washington. Each of the three stories tells about 2 kids in the anger management group, the schools they go to, and a conflict they face. Most of the characters appeared in some form in another of Crutcher's books; some of them I hadn't read and now would like to, to see their original context.
Overall, I liked the book a great deal. The first story, about Angus Bethune and Sarah Byrnes, was good, heartbreaking. The second story (about Montana Wild and Trey somebody) didn't ring true for me. The "bad guys" in the story were only 2 dimensional, and made me more frustrated than anything else. This story, on its own, was the piece of Crutcher writing I have liked least of anything of his I have read.
The third story, however, was excellent. (I won't say perfect--other reviewers have pointed out some flaws--but it was excellent.) Marcus James and Matt Miller are endearing, struggling high schoolers. The overall plot, with its dual bigotry, was riveting. Maybe it seems extreme to some, but I believed in Marcus. I have to let go of my hate for the town a little, but this story is worth the read. Unless you are an obsessive Crutcher fan, I actually think it might be better if you HAVEN'T read Whale Talk, which is the seed for this story.
Angry Management is really a set of three short stories tied together with the premise that Mr. Nak is leading an anger management group for teens in rural northern Idaho/southeastern Washington. Each of the three stories tells about 2 kids in the anger management group, the schools they go to, and a conflict they face. Most of the characters appeared in some form in another of Crutcher's books; some of them I hadn't read and now would like to, to see their original context.
Overall, I liked the book a great deal. The first story, about Angus Bethune and Sarah Byrnes, was good, heartbreaking. The second story (about Montana Wild and Trey somebody) didn't ring true for me. The "bad guys" in the story were only 2 dimensional, and made me more frustrated than anything else. This story, on its own, was the piece of Crutcher writing I have liked least of anything of his I have read.
The third story, however, was excellent. (I won't say perfect--other reviewers have pointed out some flaws--but it was excellent.) Marcus James and Matt Miller are endearing, struggling high schoolers. The overall plot, with its dual bigotry, was riveting. Maybe it seems extreme to some, but I believed in Marcus. I have to let go of my hate for the town a little, but this story is worth the read. Unless you are an obsessive Crutcher fan, I actually think it might be better if you HAVEN'T read Whale Talk, which is the seed for this story.