Reviews for Burger Wuss
Review - Burger Wuss
Why I read it: I recently read Whales on Stilts by the same author and found it creative and amusing. I thought I'd try one of his teen novels, just for fun.
Brief Summary: Anthony's heart is broken when he finds his girlfriend Diana, kissing Turner, the local bully. Anthony vows revenge, and starts his plot by getting a job at the O'Dermott's fast-food joint where Turner works. With the assistance of Shunt, a fry cook/environmentalist, Anthony steals the condiment troll from the rival Burger Queen and frames Turner for the theft. The Burger Queen employees retaliate by trashing Turner's car and pushing it into a pond. Turner beats Anthony into a pulp, Diana wants to just be "friends," and Shunt decides to get a job in corporate America after graduation.
What I liked about it: There were a few moments of clever word play.
What I didn't like about it: I'll go into this more later in this review. But for now — there wasn't a likeable teen in the story, many of the descriptions of sewage and so forth were disgusting, there was no resolution of the plot — Anthony does realize that revenge doesn't work, but there's no plus side to this realization.
Notable quote: I didn't mark any, but the book seemed to be written in a style intended for much younger kids than the plot was aimed at.
Comments: I was supposed to read Catcher in the Rye when I was in junior high, but I got permission to read another book — one without swear words. I've seen junior highers and younger kids in PG-13 movies that contain all sorts of raunchy stuff. But I'm still amazed at the language and descriptions of physical contact in this book intended for young teens. I read all through my youth, and occasionally got hold of a book written for adults that had some questionable stuff in it, but the books I read that aimed at my age were suitable for my age.
Not only do the characters in Burger Wuss use foul language and have sex, but there is no indication that this behavior isn't perfectly normal. And there are no negative repercussions.
I searched through all 40 reviews on Amazon, some written by teens and some by adults. There were a few people who didn't like the book because they thought it was unrealistic or written at too-juvenile a level, but I couldn't find one who thought it was inappropriate.
Brief Summary: Anthony's heart is broken when he finds his girlfriend Diana, kissing Turner, the local bully. Anthony vows revenge, and starts his plot by getting a job at the O'Dermott's fast-food joint where Turner works. With the assistance of Shunt, a fry cook/environmentalist, Anthony steals the condiment troll from the rival Burger Queen and frames Turner for the theft. The Burger Queen employees retaliate by trashing Turner's car and pushing it into a pond. Turner beats Anthony into a pulp, Diana wants to just be "friends," and Shunt decides to get a job in corporate America after graduation.
What I liked about it: There were a few moments of clever word play.
What I didn't like about it: I'll go into this more later in this review. But for now — there wasn't a likeable teen in the story, many of the descriptions of sewage and so forth were disgusting, there was no resolution of the plot — Anthony does realize that revenge doesn't work, but there's no plus side to this realization.
Notable quote: I didn't mark any, but the book seemed to be written in a style intended for much younger kids than the plot was aimed at.
Comments: I was supposed to read Catcher in the Rye when I was in junior high, but I got permission to read another book — one without swear words. I've seen junior highers and younger kids in PG-13 movies that contain all sorts of raunchy stuff. But I'm still amazed at the language and descriptions of physical contact in this book intended for young teens. I read all through my youth, and occasionally got hold of a book written for adults that had some questionable stuff in it, but the books I read that aimed at my age were suitable for my age.
Not only do the characters in Burger Wuss use foul language and have sex, but there is no indication that this behavior isn't perfectly normal. And there are no negative repercussions.
I searched through all 40 reviews on Amazon, some written by teens and some by adults. There were a few people who didn't like the book because they thought it was unrealistic or written at too-juvenile a level, but I couldn't find one who thought it was inappropriate.
Reviewed by Roger on 2008-08-20 14:32:22