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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
I'm pretty sure there was a ghostwriter involved, but the tone sounds like something an "internationally famous" rapper would write. And while I was expecting a fictionalized account of what "50"'s life was like it didn't appear to be that (although I admit I don't know much about his life). At times there was a slight moralizing tone, possibly because the author wanted to point out that there are other ways than his to get through childhood.
"Butterball" is a fat black kid who has been moved from the Bronx to Garden City by his mother. Because she transferred him to his new school in October, he stood out and found it difficult to make friends - except for one kid, Maurice, who was nice to him. We open with him in a psychologist's office, where he's been sentenced to go at least twice a week as a condition of not being expelled. What had he done? Beaten up his one friend, Maurice.
As the book unwinds, we slowly learn his motivation for the beating; we also see him start to grow and realize that he's got options other than being a bully. While most of the time this was realistically portrayed, there were times when you could feel the author's hand guiding the book (see "moralizing tone" above). I don't know how realistic the intended reader will find this, but it will probably go over well with middle grade boy readers.
ARC provided by publisher.
"Butterball" is a fat black kid who has been moved from the Bronx to Garden City by his mother. Because she transferred him to his new school in October, he stood out and found it difficult to make friends - except for one kid, Maurice, who was nice to him. We open with him in a psychologist's office, where he's been sentenced to go at least twice a week as a condition of not being expelled. What had he done? Beaten up his one friend, Maurice.
As the book unwinds, we slowly learn his motivation for the beating; we also see him start to grow and realize that he's got options other than being a bully. While most of the time this was realistically portrayed, there were times when you could feel the author's hand guiding the book (see "moralizing tone" above). I don't know how realistic the intended reader will find this, but it will probably go over well with middle grade boy readers.
ARC provided by publisher.
Not my usual fare, but I wanted to see if I could recommend it to my students. I have to say I enjoyed it. 3.5 stars and I do think that many of my students will like it. Maybe a little bit too long for the targeted audience, but relatable and realistic.
I couldn't put this book down. I could relate to the issues that Burton was facing and felt like I was part of the story. This book was filled with so many little stories that one person faces and I am glad I have had the chance to read it. I didn't expect this book to be as good ad it was but 50 Cent has done a brilliant job!
2.5/5
The book is okay.
Im probably not the target audience.
Theres not a loooot happening in this book (storywise) so don’t expect an exciting plot.
It’s a nice story about a 13 year old boy who learns to be a better person throughout everything that happens to him.
We get to know him as a bully in the beginning but soon realise that he is the one having problems at school / having a hard time with his family situation.
His therapy session are nice to read. Page by page you get to see his character development.
It doesn’t really have any themes that interest me (im a 21 year old girl) but i think for little boys who struggle with similar problems this book can be really helpful.
Respect to 50Cent for writing this.
The book is okay.
Im probably not the target audience.
Theres not a loooot happening in this book (storywise) so don’t expect an exciting plot.
It’s a nice story about a 13 year old boy who learns to be a better person throughout everything that happens to him.
We get to know him as a bully in the beginning but soon realise that he is the one having problems at school / having a hard time with his family situation.
His therapy session are nice to read. Page by page you get to see his character development.
It doesn’t really have any themes that interest me (im a 21 year old girl) but i think for little boys who struggle with similar problems this book can be really helpful.
Respect to 50Cent for writing this.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Well played 50 Cent. I was expecting a train wreck and got a pretty good story. Tied up a little too neatly at the end, but still.
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One day on the playground, 13 year old Butterball took a sock filled with batteries and beat up one of his closest friends, Maurice, sending him to the hospital. Now, he is being forced to talk to a therapist, Liz, as part of his detention. Butterball doesn't want Liz to uncover what really happened that day on the playground, but as their sessions continue, he begins to trust her with his story.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this book, but I was pleasantly surprised. The plot is very predictable, but I think this book gives a great insight to how bullies are often vulnerable and bullied themselves. I think the book could be very relate able for a lot of people. Butterball is a great character who grows so much through out the story and I really enjoyed reading about him.
One day on the playground, 13 year old Butterball took a sock filled with batteries and beat up one of his closest friends, Maurice, sending him to the hospital. Now, he is being forced to talk to a therapist, Liz, as part of his detention. Butterball doesn't want Liz to uncover what really happened that day on the playground, but as their sessions continue, he begins to trust her with his story.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this book, but I was pleasantly surprised. The plot is very predictable, but I think this book gives a great insight to how bullies are often vulnerable and bullied themselves. I think the book could be very relate able for a lot of people. Butterball is a great character who grows so much through out the story and I really enjoyed reading about him.
I picked this one up at ALAN last year, and managed to get the last copy, much to the chagrin of the people queued up behind me. For those of you who would say that this story is trite and predictable, my response would be: the entire time I was reading, I had a kid in my head who went through the same kind of thing. And honestly, he was one of the kids I connected with the most this past year. I'm excited to put this book into the hands of students.
This review was originally posted to my blog - Bookish as a part of the MEN in YA event
When I first heard that 50 Cent wrote a book I was utterly baffled. I mean, seriously? 50 Cent? Writing Young Adult books? It was like trying to imagine Snoop Dog singing in opera, the idea was ridiculous. I'm not a fan of 50 Cent, I don't think I ever listened to any of his songs.. I admit, I don't know much about him as a person, either. It's just that.. he never really struck me as the writing type (if you know what I mean). I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. But at the same time, I was insanely curious about this book! Who wouldn't be? The best part? I really enjoyed reading it! Believable, funny, insightful - Playground made a very positive impression on me. Color me surprised!
13-year-old Butterball doesn't have an easy life. After his parents divorced and his mom moved them away from Bronx to Garden City, Butterball finds himself struggling to adapt to the new environment. Back in Bronx he was someone, he had a group of friends and he was respected by others. Here, he's just the fat, black kid. He lives with his mother, but she's too busy working to spend quality time with him. His father doesn't care much about him, either. He's way too busy pursuing meaningless, purely physical "relationships" to ever pay attention to his son. Butterball is all on his own. Then one day he gets in trouble for assaulting a kid with a sock full of batteries, a kid that used to be Butterball's only friend there. After that, he's forced to attend weekly sessions with a psychologist. Butterball's initial attitude of "I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it" and "you-would-never-understand" begins to change over time, as the psychologist's patient and non-judgmental approach slowly wins his trust. As the story progresses, we learn more about the main character and the motives behind his actions. After all, there's no smoke without fire, and there's definitely more to Butterball than meets the eye.
Playground is a book about bullying, yes, but not a typical one at all. From my experience, most of the bullying-related books out there are focused solely on the victims and their accounts of the accidents. Playground, however, offers something different - the bully's side of the story. Now you ought to know that I went into reading this book with curiosity but also a healthy dose of skepticism. I was afraid that it will turn out to be a major failure. I was prepared to toss it away after the first 20 pages or so. But it never happened. I loved Butterball's believable and often hilarious voice. It was vibrant, full of life and dripping with all sorts of emotions. He turned out to be a great character to read about. Slang, swear words, short sentences and simple vocabulary - all that helped to depict him. I enjoyed seeing the world through his eyes and, believe it or not, I really felt sorry for him at times. Imagine my surprise, when I hit the back cover without even realizing that I was reading for the whole day - without a single break!
Now I don't know if 50 Cent hired a ghostwriter to do all the hard work, and it really doesn't matter. All I know is this book is damn good! It's deeper than I ever expected. It offers a fresh new take on the issue of bullying, one that I found quite thought-provoking and eye-opening. The writing itself is pretty good, too. The characters are well-drawn. The plot is simple, but well thought-out and fast-paced. It's an easy, quick read, but also quite a meaningful one. Don't let your prejudices stop you from reading it, it's definitely worth picking up!
When I first heard that 50 Cent wrote a book I was utterly baffled. I mean, seriously? 50 Cent? Writing Young Adult books? It was like trying to imagine Snoop Dog singing in opera, the idea was ridiculous. I'm not a fan of 50 Cent, I don't think I ever listened to any of his songs.. I admit, I don't know much about him as a person, either. It's just that.. he never really struck me as the writing type (if you know what I mean). I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. But at the same time, I was insanely curious about this book! Who wouldn't be? The best part? I really enjoyed reading it! Believable, funny, insightful - Playground made a very positive impression on me. Color me surprised!
13-year-old Butterball doesn't have an easy life. After his parents divorced and his mom moved them away from Bronx to Garden City, Butterball finds himself struggling to adapt to the new environment. Back in Bronx he was someone, he had a group of friends and he was respected by others. Here, he's just the fat, black kid. He lives with his mother, but she's too busy working to spend quality time with him. His father doesn't care much about him, either. He's way too busy pursuing meaningless, purely physical "relationships" to ever pay attention to his son. Butterball is all on his own. Then one day he gets in trouble for assaulting a kid with a sock full of batteries, a kid that used to be Butterball's only friend there. After that, he's forced to attend weekly sessions with a psychologist. Butterball's initial attitude of "I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it" and "you-would-never-understand" begins to change over time, as the psychologist's patient and non-judgmental approach slowly wins his trust. As the story progresses, we learn more about the main character and the motives behind his actions. After all, there's no smoke without fire, and there's definitely more to Butterball than meets the eye.
Playground is a book about bullying, yes, but not a typical one at all. From my experience, most of the bullying-related books out there are focused solely on the victims and their accounts of the accidents. Playground, however, offers something different - the bully's side of the story. Now you ought to know that I went into reading this book with curiosity but also a healthy dose of skepticism. I was afraid that it will turn out to be a major failure. I was prepared to toss it away after the first 20 pages or so. But it never happened. I loved Butterball's believable and often hilarious voice. It was vibrant, full of life and dripping with all sorts of emotions. He turned out to be a great character to read about. Slang, swear words, short sentences and simple vocabulary - all that helped to depict him. I enjoyed seeing the world through his eyes and, believe it or not, I really felt sorry for him at times. Imagine my surprise, when I hit the back cover without even realizing that I was reading for the whole day - without a single break!
Now I don't know if 50 Cent hired a ghostwriter to do all the hard work, and it really doesn't matter. All I know is this book is damn good! It's deeper than I ever expected. It offers a fresh new take on the issue of bullying, one that I found quite thought-provoking and eye-opening. The writing itself is pretty good, too. The characters are well-drawn. The plot is simple, but well thought-out and fast-paced. It's an easy, quick read, but also quite a meaningful one. Don't let your prejudices stop you from reading it, it's definitely worth picking up!