dlberglund's review against another edition
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.
sandylovesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Can I add more stars for this book? I would give it a 10 star rating. This was such a powerful book. Three short stories. The first was very good but the second and third stories were more than amazing.
It is a SC Young Adult Award Nominee book and parents and students should read it and then talk to each other about it. This book was brought to my attention because a father of a student in another county in SC wanted to ban it. That made me want to read it more. Go to the authors website and you can read up on that issue.
Read this book you won't regret it.
It is a SC Young Adult Award Nominee book and parents and students should read it and then talk to each other about it. This book was brought to my attention because a father of a student in another county in SC wanted to ban it. That made me want to read it more. Go to the authors website and you can read up on that issue.
Read this book you won't regret it.
penalew's review against another edition
5.0
Just like the first time I met Sarah Byrnes, I stayed up till I read it all the way through.
jshorton's review against another edition
4.0
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.
elmeeks's review against another edition
3.0
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.
sumayyah_t's review against another edition
5.0
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.
clarkco's review against another edition
4.0
Crutcher revisits some old characters and fleshs out some minor characters in this collection of three short stories.
bick_mcswiney's review against another edition
4.0
Crutcher takes supporting characters from his other books and mashes them up into three short stories, all told with his trademark panache. This book doesn't hit as hard as some of his others, but it's still darn good.
breannamorgan's review against another edition
3.0
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
falconerreader's review against another edition
4.0
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.