sjj169's review
5.0
This review will contain some cusswords..probably a whole lot of cusswords.
St. Michael's is a private school that has a history of hazing. The frigging teachers, principals and parents turn a blind eye to it. It's all harmless fun. Fucking bullies.
In the prologue we get a glimpse of this innocent fun as a student has had enough and is tossing off statues and embalmed creatures at fellow students from the roof of the school.
Then school begins. The story mainly focuses on three freshman students Stein, Davidek and Lorelei. There are so many more characters that come into play in this book though.
I swear I think I talked out loud to this book, I cussed it, I flipped it birds...but I could not stop reading it. Disturbing and dark and way too easily pictured as coming to life.
You think you would just hate the stupid ass teenagers in this book, but no the fucking teachers are just as bad if not worse.
This frigging book will haunt me. I don't think it's going to leave my mind for some time. I don't even really know how to review it. I need to sit in the corner in time out for awhile.
For now..I'm still cussing it.
Because it gutted me.
St. Michael's is a private school that has a history of hazing. The frigging teachers, principals and parents turn a blind eye to it. It's all harmless fun. Fucking bullies.
In the prologue we get a glimpse of this innocent fun as a student has had enough and is tossing off statues and embalmed creatures at fellow students from the roof of the school.
Then school begins. The story mainly focuses on three freshman students Stein, Davidek and Lorelei. There are so many more characters that come into play in this book though.
I swear I think I talked out loud to this book, I cussed it, I flipped it birds...but I could not stop reading it. Disturbing and dark and way too easily pictured as coming to life.
You think you would just hate the stupid ass teenagers in this book, but no the fucking teachers are just as bad if not worse.
This frigging book will haunt me. I don't think it's going to leave my mind for some time. I don't even really know how to review it. I need to sit in the corner in time out for awhile.
For now..I'm still cussing it.
Because it gutted me.
kaylakaotik's review
5.0
As I was reading the prologue, I wasn't sure if picking up this book was my smartest idea. When I'm doubting whether or not I'll enjoy a book so early, it's normally a bad sign. I decided to give it a couple of more chapters before I gave up. Whenever I read a couple of more chapters, I was hooked. Brutal Youth ended up being so much better than the prologue wanted me to believe.
Brutal Youth is extremely well written. The flawed (very much so in some cases) and complex characters are freshmen and seniors making their way through a year in high school while dealing with bullying and abuse. I believe this book strongly illustrates just how out of control bullying can become whenever no one steps in to stop it or, in some cases, is "encouraged" by teachers or others in charge in the name of tradition. People can be unrelenting in the bullying and abuse with no regard to how their impacting someone's life. It's harsh and can, at times, be tough to read, but it's done wonderfully here.
Brutal Youth is extremely well written. The flawed (very much so in some cases) and complex characters are freshmen and seniors making their way through a year in high school while dealing with bullying and abuse. I believe this book strongly illustrates just how out of control bullying can become whenever no one steps in to stop it or, in some cases, is "encouraged" by teachers or others in charge in the name of tradition. People can be unrelenting in the bullying and abuse with no regard to how their impacting someone's life. It's harsh and can, at times, be tough to read, but it's done wonderfully here.
skiracechick's review
4.0
This story was very different from what I normally read. That being said, it was very enthralling and captured my attention.
michelle_pink_polka_dot's review
5.0
This book was just the something different that I needed in my reading life at the moment! I loved every dark, harsh minute of it.
3 freshman start St. Michael's Catholic school to find the place literally crumbling before their eyes. Peter Davidek, Noah Stein, and Lorelei Pascal learn fast that life at St. Mike's isn't going to be easy. The school is notorious for hazing and bullying, and unfortunately the rumors are true. Seniors and upperclassmen take glee in "initiating" the new kids, much to their horror. Sticking together seems like the only solution, but Lorelei and Stein have other ideas. Stein prefers to fight back and Lorelei believes she can worm her way into favor with the older teens. When Davidek finds himself linked to the one person in school who is feared the most, he becomes more isolated than ever.
Social issues aren't the only things plaguing St. Mike's. The schools infrastructure is falling apart and the priest is determined to shut the schools doors forever (if only to cover his own ass). After a school year of fear and misery, can this school really continue on?
My Thoughts:
I don't even know where to start with this book. I'm going to try my hardest to describe my feelings about it, but it's not going to be easy. This is one of those books that completely surprised and entertained me, and was just so different from anything I've ever read, that I don't think I have words to do it justice.
Brutal Youth starts out with DRAMA at St. Mike's (a Catholic school outside of Pittsburgh). St. Mike's is like the center for all dysfunction. They still permit hazing of the incoming students, the priest is definitely less than priest-like, and the students are their own worst enemies. Everyone in this book is at least half-miserable, so if you've opened it hoping for someone to come along and make you smile, you've probably opened the wrong book. I've never felt so disturbed and excited at the same time. I am born and raised Pittsburgh, so I enjoyed some of the hometown references such as: the janitor that speaks "yinzer", the Tarentum Bridge, the Brackenridge steel mill, Shadyside Academy, Springdale, Cheswick, Eat'n Park, Duquense Light, and many others. Pittsburgh really was a great setting for this book because depression breeds misery and New Kensington has definitely gone through it's fair share of economic depression. I also loved the 90's Catholic school setting, with it's uniforms and gothic architecture, it made the perfect creepy/cool place for all this pandemonium to be taking place.
This book actually reminded me a lot of [b:Crash and Burn|14807762|Crash and Burn |Michael Hassan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1350094609s/14807762.jpg|20461152] by Michael Hassan. It had that same dark feeling, but was also funny in odd, uncomfortable ways. And just like Crash and Burn, there were so many story lines and plot threads, that I found myself completely addicted to it. I love books that make me uncomfortable... and there are SO many cringe-worthy, out-there moments in this story, that I know I will remember reading this for a long, long time.
My only gripes with this book were the ending and some of the believe-ability. I wanted a more concrete ending... and I still had MAJOR questions about 2 of the main characters. I wanted to understand more about them, and I wanted to know what would become of them. It didn't have to have neat bow on it, but I thought at least one of those 2 people deserved more. There are also a lot of characters, most of which go by last names only. I don't exactly know why all the guys in the book go by last names and all the girls go by first names, but it made it really hard to remember who all these people were. There had to be at least 25 people that play major roles in this book. I found myself flipping back quite often to figure out if characters were who I thought they were.
Some suspension of disbelief is necessary while reading this. I got a [b:Matilda|39988|Matilda|Roald Dahl|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388793265s/39988.jpg|1015554] vibe from this book for sure. Almost all of the adults and kids are terrible, cruel people. Almost cartoon-like cruel. And they are described in really crass way. I kept envisioning them as deformed. It is fiction, but it's hard for me to get lost in a story when I don't believe the people in it could actually ever exist. Somehow the author made it work, but it walked a fine line.
I'm not sure if this book is YA or Adult... it seems to be marketed both ways. All I know is I would recommend this to both teens and adults. It has something for everybody, although I'm not sure everybody would like this type of book. You really have to be in the mood for something dark and have an open mind about it.
OVERALL: I personally loved this book!! It had the 90's, Pittsburgh, and crazy evil issues. I was fully entertained and addicted to reading this dark, captivating, cartoon-like, addicting, humorous book. I rec it to anyone looking to read something different from anything they've ever read before.
My Blog:
3 freshman start St. Michael's Catholic school to find the place literally crumbling before their eyes. Peter Davidek, Noah Stein, and Lorelei Pascal learn fast that life at St. Mike's isn't going to be easy. The school is notorious for hazing and bullying, and unfortunately the rumors are true. Seniors and upperclassmen take glee in "initiating" the new kids, much to their horror. Sticking together seems like the only solution, but Lorelei and Stein have other ideas. Stein prefers to fight back and Lorelei believes she can worm her way into favor with the older teens. When Davidek finds himself linked to the one person in school who is feared the most, he becomes more isolated than ever.
Social issues aren't the only things plaguing St. Mike's. The schools infrastructure is falling apart and the priest is determined to shut the schools doors forever (if only to cover his own ass). After a school year of fear and misery, can this school really continue on?
My Thoughts:
I don't even know where to start with this book. I'm going to try my hardest to describe my feelings about it, but it's not going to be easy. This is one of those books that completely surprised and entertained me, and was just so different from anything I've ever read, that I don't think I have words to do it justice.
Brutal Youth starts out with DRAMA at St. Mike's (a Catholic school outside of Pittsburgh). St. Mike's is like the center for all dysfunction. They still permit hazing of the incoming students, the priest is definitely less than priest-like, and the students are their own worst enemies. Everyone in this book is at least half-miserable, so if you've opened it hoping for someone to come along and make you smile, you've probably opened the wrong book. I've never felt so disturbed and excited at the same time. I am born and raised Pittsburgh, so I enjoyed some of the hometown references such as: the janitor that speaks "yinzer", the Tarentum Bridge, the Brackenridge steel mill, Shadyside Academy, Springdale, Cheswick, Eat'n Park, Duquense Light, and many others. Pittsburgh really was a great setting for this book because depression breeds misery and New Kensington has definitely gone through it's fair share of economic depression. I also loved the 90's Catholic school setting, with it's uniforms and gothic architecture, it made the perfect creepy/cool place for all this pandemonium to be taking place.
This book actually reminded me a lot of [b:Crash and Burn|14807762|Crash and Burn |Michael Hassan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1350094609s/14807762.jpg|20461152] by Michael Hassan. It had that same dark feeling, but was also funny in odd, uncomfortable ways. And just like Crash and Burn, there were so many story lines and plot threads, that I found myself completely addicted to it. I love books that make me uncomfortable... and there are SO many cringe-worthy, out-there moments in this story, that I know I will remember reading this for a long, long time.
My only gripes with this book were the ending and some of the believe-ability. I wanted a more concrete ending... and I still had MAJOR questions about 2 of the main characters. I wanted to understand more about them, and I wanted to know what would become of them. It didn't have to have neat bow on it, but I thought at least one of those 2 people deserved more. There are also a lot of characters, most of which go by last names only. I don't exactly know why all the guys in the book go by last names and all the girls go by first names, but it made it really hard to remember who all these people were. There had to be at least 25 people that play major roles in this book. I found myself flipping back quite often to figure out if characters were who I thought they were.
Some suspension of disbelief is necessary while reading this. I got a [b:Matilda|39988|Matilda|Roald Dahl|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388793265s/39988.jpg|1015554] vibe from this book for sure. Almost all of the adults and kids are terrible, cruel people. Almost cartoon-like cruel. And they are described in really crass way. I kept envisioning them as deformed. It is fiction, but it's hard for me to get lost in a story when I don't believe the people in it could actually ever exist. Somehow the author made it work, but it walked a fine line.
I'm not sure if this book is YA or Adult... it seems to be marketed both ways. All I know is I would recommend this to both teens and adults. It has something for everybody, although I'm not sure everybody would like this type of book. You really have to be in the mood for something dark and have an open mind about it.
OVERALL: I personally loved this book!! It had the 90's, Pittsburgh, and crazy evil issues. I was fully entertained and addicted to reading this dark, captivating, cartoon-like, addicting, humorous book. I rec it to anyone looking to read something different from anything they've ever read before.
My Blog:
katsmiao's review
1.0
One thing I can say about this book: the title doesn't lie.
I thought the cover was intriguing, and the synopsis very interesting. I had no idea just how brutal and graphic this book is. I shuddered my way through the first 2 chapters and then called it quits.
It's just too brutal and too graphic for me. The cruel acts are described in detail and just too out there and vile for me to read.
I get that the book is intent on shocking to drive the message home, but it was just too much for me, and too twisted.
I thought the cover was intriguing, and the synopsis very interesting. I had no idea just how brutal and graphic this book is. I shuddered my way through the first 2 chapters and then called it quits.
It's just too brutal and too graphic for me. The cruel acts are described in detail and just too out there and vile for me to read.
I get that the book is intent on shocking to drive the message home, but it was just too much for me, and too twisted.
meanmillz's review
2.0
Not for me. I was hoping it would be a guy version of Prep, but it's not for the same audience, age-wise. It's a young adult book that takes itself too seriously. It reads young, but lacks the satisfying ending I'm used to for books in this genre.
juliwi's review against another edition
5.0
I'm honoured to be a part of the blog tour for Brutal Youth by Anthony Breznican today! I spotted this book even before I was approached for the blog tour and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and read it. It's a fascinating novel, one which is brutally honest as well both in style and in content. Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Sometimes you read a book that grips you way faster than you expected. Breznican's Brutal Youth does exactly that. The 'brutal' in the novel's title doesn't just refer to the youth that populates its pages but also to the tone with which it addresses the reader. There truly is no way of escaping the brutality and cruelty of Saint Michael's except closing the book but that very quickly stops being a possibility. Breznican's prose doesn't shy away from being brutally honest, but that is exactly what makes this novel so gripping. It has snappy dialogue, great descriptions and a diverse catalogue of characters which are both great inventions but also very recognizable. To a certain extent this novel is reminiscent of some of the great 80s high-school movies such as Heathers and The Breakfast Club, both in its seeming ridiculousness and in its serious undertone.
Brutal Youth is an absolutely stunning novel which grabbed me by the throat straight from the start and didn't really let me go till the very last page. This novel has to be one of my favourites published so far this year and I definitely won't be forgetting about it any time soon. I'd recommend this to pretty much everyone since it's one of those books that you simply should read.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/blog-tour-review-brutal-youth-by.html
Sometimes you read a book that grips you way faster than you expected. Breznican's Brutal Youth does exactly that. The 'brutal' in the novel's title doesn't just refer to the youth that populates its pages but also to the tone with which it addresses the reader. There truly is no way of escaping the brutality and cruelty of Saint Michael's except closing the book but that very quickly stops being a possibility. Breznican's prose doesn't shy away from being brutally honest, but that is exactly what makes this novel so gripping. It has snappy dialogue, great descriptions and a diverse catalogue of characters which are both great inventions but also very recognizable. To a certain extent this novel is reminiscent of some of the great 80s high-school movies such as Heathers and The Breakfast Club, both in its seeming ridiculousness and in its serious undertone.
Brutal Youth is an absolutely stunning novel which grabbed me by the throat straight from the start and didn't really let me go till the very last page. This novel has to be one of my favourites published so far this year and I definitely won't be forgetting about it any time soon. I'd recommend this to pretty much everyone since it's one of those books that you simply should read.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/blog-tour-review-brutal-youth-by.html
dani005's review
5.0
You know its going to be a good book when the story starts off with a psycho kid completely losing it on his school.
The images that the author portrays in his story are stark, gritty and so very, deliciously graphic. I love the writing style; how its all about describing the experience, and how the characters see their world rather then just telling what happened. That’s a major difference between good authors and bad ones. This book is something to be experienced and thought about, not just a story to be told and then forgotten. Anthony Breznican takes his time to create a mood of utter revulsion, excitement and fascination in just the first chapter of his book. I was hooked right from the start.
Things go from bad to worse pretty quickly in this book. The worst part is that there is little recognition for that grey line that gets crossed over and over agin when things get out of hand. There’s too many conflicting statuses for the students to uphold in the St. Michael's school for anyone to feel strong enough to break the socially accepted status quo, and too many responsibilities to be enforced by teachers with little support from the overseeing school board and student body. It comes to the point of all the weaker freshmen students being blamed for the havoc being waged in their school because they’re already easy targets; lies and excuses being used as valid reasons to justify condemning the already down-trodden kids. These kids are being kicked when they’re already down because the teachers can’t face the facts that they have lost control. The teachers only feel guilt and shame for their inability to stand strong in themselves, so they use the lies and excuses they make up to rectify their choice of reprimanding these freshmen kids who aren’t even responsible for the chaos being unleashed. Breznican covered his teacher’s mindsets perfectly, ’“Sometimes only a lie can absolve the things a person can’t stand to see forgiven.”
I loved this line too. “Your problem,” Stein told him, “is you don’t know how to be happy with your unhappiness.” It pisses me off when all anyone can see in their own life is what has gone wrong. Shit happens. I get that because its happened to me, and its happened to everyone I know. That’s a fact of life. Shit happens in everyone’s life. However, its what you make of it that counts. That old saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade….” is one I love. Its one you can’t forget because one, it talks about lemonade which is delicious and two, it encompasses the whole idea of taking life more than just at face value and making something of it for yourself. Stein’s a smart kid, because he understands and relishes that idea, he knows how to turn things around that suck and mould them into an opportunity to create something out of his life for himself that HE wants. No matter what others think of him or expect of him; he does things for how wants them to be done. It doesn’t matter who puts this kid down, he will always pick himself back up.
I’ll say it right now that I LOVE stein. This kid is amazing. He’s a realist and he understands the fact that there’s assholes out there that will hurt you for being different; to make you the outsider so they feel better about themselves. He looks at it though as this being the way life is sometimes and Stein doesn’t spend his time moping over it. He embraces being different as his own asshole detector even. That’s what he called it in this book, and he’s a genius for coining that thought. Being different sheds a whole different light on the way a person sees the world, and as such, allows that person the ability to see right through all those assholes and the front they put up around themselves. Being different means you can fight back; stand up for what you believe in and who you are. Those assholes mess with you and in Stein’s words they practically give you a license to mess them up right back. Not to say that I agree with the idea of "an eye for an eye" but I do believe in standing up for yourself and if they don’t give you the excuse to stand up to them, then it’ll be someone else they openly interrogate who might just as “different” as you but you just might have put up a front that would make people think otherwise. People are good at putting up fronts, but I see that as hiding, as letting someone else fight both your own and their fight by themselves just because they were brave enough to be openly different when you weren’t. I don’t encourage fighting, not at all; I encourage standing up for yourself and all of what that encompasses about who you may be when the opportunity presents itself. Its easy to conform to the socially accepted standards of society, but a true person’s character shows through when they can stand alone and defy conformity in order to embrace themselves and all that that entails.
If I thought things were bad from the start, then I had a whole lot coming the farther into this book I read. It physically hurter reading this book near the end. ITs the kind of hurt where your stomach twists viciously and your throat closes up and some part of you thinks you should be crying at this point but you can’t because you’re just too shocked. That’s what this book did to me. The suspense was beyond intense. The story builds with this author’s intensive graphic images of leering kids and taunting words. I HATE some of these kids so much that every nerve feels frayed just reading about how far these kids take things. There are no bystanders. There are those that reinforce and encourage what the bully started, and there are the few who try to stand up for the victim, but who are all but outnumbered by the ruthless uncaring people around them. People can only take so much pain. You take someone who has fought and struggled with their own vulnerability or flaw their whole lives and you push them over an edge that there is no turning back from because you didn’t know when enough was enough, and suddenly people are being hurt who were never intended to be involved in the first place. Bullying hurts. The subtlest action of one bully can cause an ever escalating course of action that ends in someone getting hurt, and I mean REALLY hurt; physically, emotionally, mentally, you name it. The worst part, is it can often creep up on you. The subtle name calling starts out as “friendly” banter but can take a turn for the worst in the blink of an eye.
Even through all the rough shit that Breznican puts his characters through, there are some fantastic lines that just stick with you, and you know that no matter what awful stuff people live through, there are some things to keep in mind and think about. Things to remember; a way of thinking that’ll help you get through it all. I loved this one, “You have to face the worst things in your life, or maybe you become one of the those things.” Facing your fears is hard, but shying away from them is the easy thing to do. If you don’t deal with those fears though, they can take a hold of you in a worse way than you might think…. and in some twisted way, a method of dealing with your fear may turn from fearing and fighting it, to joining in with it. You’ll become something you’ll hate yourself for. That’s a major point this book deals with; dealing with fighting against what you think is wrong. This book shows just how hard it is to fight your fears. It shows just how many factors and obstacles can make facing your fears so much more difficult than you would think. Even if you take that one stand against your fear more often than not, it doesn’t work with the first try.
This book is just as the title implies. Its a brutal portrayal about being young. It reflects so much of the horrible truth I’ve seen while growing up, although admittedly not to this degree. Its like taking every possible bad scenario a teen might endure and smashing it all into one book. You’d think that would make this book very depressing and it REALLy is at points, but then there are the times of honest friendship and strength that some of these characters show despite the hardships their going through, and you can feel yourself falling over and over again for these characters that show so much true character. The one character who stood above them all was Stein. Alt east for me, he was beyond amazing. This kid was so misunderstood. He was beautiful in all his flaws and the way he saw the world and refused to stop fighting until he was so far broken and even then.. this kid kept giving even when you thought he couldn’t give anymore. Despite how much he gave though, he was the one who got hurt. That is the cold honest truth. Of course, everyone gets hurt in some form or fashion in this book. There was no happy ending. This book didn’t really have an ending to be honest, it resolved a lot but also left a lot of questions and open ended thoughts, so you knew that just as there is in life, there are so many unseen opportunities for people to take, and all it comes down to, is will they face their fear or not.
The images that the author portrays in his story are stark, gritty and so very, deliciously graphic. I love the writing style; how its all about describing the experience, and how the characters see their world rather then just telling what happened. That’s a major difference between good authors and bad ones. This book is something to be experienced and thought about, not just a story to be told and then forgotten. Anthony Breznican takes his time to create a mood of utter revulsion, excitement and fascination in just the first chapter of his book. I was hooked right from the start.
Things go from bad to worse pretty quickly in this book. The worst part is that there is little recognition for that grey line that gets crossed over and over agin when things get out of hand. There’s too many conflicting statuses for the students to uphold in the St. Michael's school for anyone to feel strong enough to break the socially accepted status quo, and too many responsibilities to be enforced by teachers with little support from the overseeing school board and student body. It comes to the point of all the weaker freshmen students being blamed for the havoc being waged in their school because they’re already easy targets; lies and excuses being used as valid reasons to justify condemning the already down-trodden kids. These kids are being kicked when they’re already down because the teachers can’t face the facts that they have lost control. The teachers only feel guilt and shame for their inability to stand strong in themselves, so they use the lies and excuses they make up to rectify their choice of reprimanding these freshmen kids who aren’t even responsible for the chaos being unleashed. Breznican covered his teacher’s mindsets perfectly, ’“Sometimes only a lie can absolve the things a person can’t stand to see forgiven.”
I loved this line too. “Your problem,” Stein told him, “is you don’t know how to be happy with your unhappiness.” It pisses me off when all anyone can see in their own life is what has gone wrong. Shit happens. I get that because its happened to me, and its happened to everyone I know. That’s a fact of life. Shit happens in everyone’s life. However, its what you make of it that counts. That old saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade….” is one I love. Its one you can’t forget because one, it talks about lemonade which is delicious and two, it encompasses the whole idea of taking life more than just at face value and making something of it for yourself. Stein’s a smart kid, because he understands and relishes that idea, he knows how to turn things around that suck and mould them into an opportunity to create something out of his life for himself that HE wants. No matter what others think of him or expect of him; he does things for how wants them to be done. It doesn’t matter who puts this kid down, he will always pick himself back up.
I’ll say it right now that I LOVE stein. This kid is amazing. He’s a realist and he understands the fact that there’s assholes out there that will hurt you for being different; to make you the outsider so they feel better about themselves. He looks at it though as this being the way life is sometimes and Stein doesn’t spend his time moping over it. He embraces being different as his own asshole detector even. That’s what he called it in this book, and he’s a genius for coining that thought. Being different sheds a whole different light on the way a person sees the world, and as such, allows that person the ability to see right through all those assholes and the front they put up around themselves. Being different means you can fight back; stand up for what you believe in and who you are. Those assholes mess with you and in Stein’s words they practically give you a license to mess them up right back. Not to say that I agree with the idea of "an eye for an eye" but I do believe in standing up for yourself and if they don’t give you the excuse to stand up to them, then it’ll be someone else they openly interrogate who might just as “different” as you but you just might have put up a front that would make people think otherwise. People are good at putting up fronts, but I see that as hiding, as letting someone else fight both your own and their fight by themselves just because they were brave enough to be openly different when you weren’t. I don’t encourage fighting, not at all; I encourage standing up for yourself and all of what that encompasses about who you may be when the opportunity presents itself. Its easy to conform to the socially accepted standards of society, but a true person’s character shows through when they can stand alone and defy conformity in order to embrace themselves and all that that entails.
If I thought things were bad from the start, then I had a whole lot coming the farther into this book I read. It physically hurter reading this book near the end. ITs the kind of hurt where your stomach twists viciously and your throat closes up and some part of you thinks you should be crying at this point but you can’t because you’re just too shocked. That’s what this book did to me. The suspense was beyond intense. The story builds with this author’s intensive graphic images of leering kids and taunting words. I HATE some of these kids so much that every nerve feels frayed just reading about how far these kids take things. There are no bystanders. There are those that reinforce and encourage what the bully started, and there are the few who try to stand up for the victim, but who are all but outnumbered by the ruthless uncaring people around them. People can only take so much pain. You take someone who has fought and struggled with their own vulnerability or flaw their whole lives and you push them over an edge that there is no turning back from because you didn’t know when enough was enough, and suddenly people are being hurt who were never intended to be involved in the first place. Bullying hurts. The subtlest action of one bully can cause an ever escalating course of action that ends in someone getting hurt, and I mean REALLY hurt; physically, emotionally, mentally, you name it. The worst part, is it can often creep up on you. The subtle name calling starts out as “friendly” banter but can take a turn for the worst in the blink of an eye.
Even through all the rough shit that Breznican puts his characters through, there are some fantastic lines that just stick with you, and you know that no matter what awful stuff people live through, there are some things to keep in mind and think about. Things to remember; a way of thinking that’ll help you get through it all. I loved this one, “You have to face the worst things in your life, or maybe you become one of the those things.” Facing your fears is hard, but shying away from them is the easy thing to do. If you don’t deal with those fears though, they can take a hold of you in a worse way than you might think…. and in some twisted way, a method of dealing with your fear may turn from fearing and fighting it, to joining in with it. You’ll become something you’ll hate yourself for. That’s a major point this book deals with; dealing with fighting against what you think is wrong. This book shows just how hard it is to fight your fears. It shows just how many factors and obstacles can make facing your fears so much more difficult than you would think. Even if you take that one stand against your fear more often than not, it doesn’t work with the first try.
This book is just as the title implies. Its a brutal portrayal about being young. It reflects so much of the horrible truth I’ve seen while growing up, although admittedly not to this degree. Its like taking every possible bad scenario a teen might endure and smashing it all into one book. You’d think that would make this book very depressing and it REALLy is at points, but then there are the times of honest friendship and strength that some of these characters show despite the hardships their going through, and you can feel yourself falling over and over again for these characters that show so much true character. The one character who stood above them all was Stein. Alt east for me, he was beyond amazing. This kid was so misunderstood. He was beautiful in all his flaws and the way he saw the world and refused to stop fighting until he was so far broken and even then.. this kid kept giving even when you thought he couldn’t give anymore. Despite how much he gave though, he was the one who got hurt. That is the cold honest truth. Of course, everyone gets hurt in some form or fashion in this book. There was no happy ending. This book didn’t really have an ending to be honest, it resolved a lot but also left a lot of questions and open ended thoughts, so you knew that just as there is in life, there are so many unseen opportunities for people to take, and all it comes down to, is will they face their fear or not.
nae1226's review
4.0
Brutal describes many characters and the plot. The setting is a Pennsylvania Catholic School in the 80s. Before cell phones, face book, etc. I am not sure the story has any redeemable characters. Language warning. Violent. While about high school students, it is not young adult.
secretskeeper's review
3.0
This book would be good for all those kids in high school trying to get by. It makes one think that maybe they didn't have it so bad. The characters had their moments of good and evil and overall balanced well. Every once in a while I was left thinking "all right where is this leading me" but everything was tied up in the end. May not have been an end I wanted, but everything was squared away.