Winning Guy Books: K.L. Going and More

It's a winner of epic proportions: Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going

I can't even begin to tell you how much I wanted to dislike this book. I have read enough stories about overweight kids to know that the author usually renders the self-mocking and horrible esteem issues all too accurately, yet injects some humor in, so that the idea of "jolly fat child" still exists. This book, however, is about the pain and down-to-the-bone, fall-to-the-bottom of a drug addict. Instead of being the fat kid who is the one who is down and out, he saves someone else. That's a nice twist.

Going's book isn't without humor - most of the statements in the book read like funny headlines, including the title, and it's how the main character thinks. He titles everything in his world, and looks at his life through a very jaded and narrow focus. He's a failure. His brother's a god. His father's a Marine. And his mother... well, there his focus gets a little fuzzy. When she died, he turned into the eating machine he is now. And there's nothing that can save him, he thinks. Nothing but seeing someone else in such dire straits that he realizes that he can't afford to be sucked into his own losses anymore. Nothing but finding that place inside of himself, with music, to live the moments that other people are afraid to feel, and often hide. Without giving anything of the plot away, this is an amazing book - another in a great line of books for guys.

I actually checked out this book because I'm getting tired of hearing people complain about there being no books for YA men. They're there! We just have to look for them. Maybe that's the point -- guys have a hard enough time with wanting to read -- there's got to be a way to make locating something good easier! And there is! Check out Jon Scieszka's Guy's Read for more really excellent ideas on what guy books are great. On their suggestion, I got my little brother The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. I haven't read it in ages, but I remember it was a good adventure.

Here's to guys -- reading!