Changes

|website=|video=|summary=A bullied child with suicidal intentions should not make for easy reading, but this book is well done and very thought -provoking.

There are lots of ways to interpret Butter’s actions. This could be a cry for help or simply an attention -seeking ploy (and it works…he does get lots and lots of attention). It’s hard to know whether he intends to go with through with it, and of course , if he does it’s hard to know whether it will work (can you actually die from just one, albeit massive, meal? Well…throw in some allergens and alcohol, and mess up a diabetic’s insulin and it could work, I guess). The book keeps you guessing right until the end, but in a morbid, car-crash way you can’t stop reading because you really need to know how it will all end, for Butter and for the kids at school who have taunted him and tormented him until he feels there’s no other way out.

This book shouldn’t be amusing – it’s about major bullying, and suicide plans – but it is because of Butter who is such a sweet, if damaged, narrator, that you have to laugh with him (not at him, definitely with him). At the same time , it’s real and thought-provoking and it gives a realistic view of high school life where if you can’t fit in, can’t demand attention, you’re nobody.

I highly recommend this story for all of the above reasons. It’s an easy read, suitable for it’s its original Young Adult market, but at the same time it’s one parents and educators should read because as much as you might think you understand what kids are going through, you don’t. But you really, really need to try before it’s too late.

[[Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher]] gives a more serious view on this serious topic, while [[Boomsday by Christopher Buckley]] sticks with glib and entertaining approaches to death. Both are recommended. We think you might also enjoy [[Dead Ends by Erin Lange]].