age6racer's Full Review: K. L. Going - Fat Kid Rules the World
Troy Billings is fat. At 6'1" and 300 pounds at age 17, he finds it hard to be inconspicuous; what he most wants to be is invisible. His life takes an interesting turn when he is standing on a subway platform one afternoon, contemplating jumping off, when high school guitar legend Curt MacCrae tells him to buy him dinner. A strange friendship ensues.
Curt convinces Troy, who he calls “Big T” to be the drummer in his one-man band, and Troy reluctantly agrees. Both boys have large gaps in their lives that the other fills—for Troy, he finally has a friend, acceptance, and maybe even a modicum of coolness; for sometimes-homeless Curt, he finds a sense of stability and normal family life. Troy’s weight struggles are paralleled by Curt’s troubled family life and drug addiction.
To tell any more of the plot would be giving too much away. Does Troy’s confidence fail him before he evens plays a live show? Does Curt decide that Troy’s not worth the effort to teach to play the drums? These questions and more are answered in the book’s 192 pages.
Author K.L. Going is becoming a notable name in Young Adult literature; this book is a prestigious Michael Printz honor book, and her latest book, Saint Iggy, has received even more acclaim than the considerable amount of Fat Kid Rules the World. Narrating in first-person from Troy’s perspective, she writes realistic dialogue and presents a mostly-conceivable plot in Fat Kids Rules the World, with just enough of the surreal, too-good-to-be true fantastic life that this book should appeal to young adults. The characters, though flawed, are treated sensitively, as human beings. But Going also maintains a good sense of humor in her writing. I especially liked the mention of Troy’s pants: “I’m wearing…huge, bland tan pants—the only kind of pants I own. Eight pairs, all tan.”
This book is not for everyone. While it is well-written, it is what is often called informally (in the library world at least) a “boy book,” meaning that this book will probably appeal more to boys than girls, particularly those with rock star aspirations, or those who have struggled with their weight (but have an inner rock star yearning to break free). That is not to say that girls shouldn’t read it or won’t like it, just that it has a decidedly male bent to it; save a waitress in a diner, female characters are scarcely mentioned.
So did I like this book? As an avid reader of Young Adult literature, I cannot say this is one of my favorites. But it does fill a niche, and it is nice to find a book that will appeal to music loving young men, rather than the glut of fantasies and science fiction that seems to be written for this demographic. There are a few choice words, if that’s the kind of thing you look out for, and there are mentions of drug use, as well as mild mentions of sexual thoughts. Fat Kid Rules the World is appropriate for teens from about age fourteen on up.
Three and a half stars from me, rounded up to four.
This Michael L. Printz Honor Book and School Library Journal Best Book of the Year is an engaging debut--the story of two unlikely friends who meet wh...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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