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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Tennyson:
Don't get me started on the Bruiser. He was voted "Most Likely to Get the Death Penalty" by the entire school. He's the kid no one knows, no one talks to, and everyone hears disturbing rumors about. So why is my sister, BrontË, dating him? One of these days she's going to take in the wrong stray dog, and it's not going to end well.
Bronte:
My brother has no right to talk about Brewster that way—no right to threaten him. There's a reason why Brewster can't have friends—why he can't care about too many people. Because when he cares about you, things start to happen. Impossible things that can't be explained. I know, because they're happening to me.
My Review - This book was pretty good...I wished it had ended differently but that's a common wish of mine on many different books. I loved the story between all the characters. And I loved Brewster! Bronte kind of got on my nerves some with the way she was but that didn't make me like the story any less.
Don't get me started on the Bruiser. He was voted "Most Likely to Get the Death Penalty" by the entire school. He's the kid no one knows, no one talks to, and everyone hears disturbing rumors about. So why is my sister, BrontË, dating him? One of these days she's going to take in the wrong stray dog, and it's not going to end well.
Bronte:
My brother has no right to talk about Brewster that way—no right to threaten him. There's a reason why Brewster can't have friends—why he can't care about too many people. Because when he cares about you, things start to happen. Impossible things that can't be explained. I know, because they're happening to me.
My Review - This book was pretty good...I wished it had ended differently but that's a common wish of mine on many different books. I loved the story between all the characters. And I loved Brewster! Bronte kind of got on my nerves some with the way she was but that didn't make me like the story any less.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After buying this book second hand, and having it sit on my shelf for ages, I finally picked it up.
I could not have possibly made a better decision. I was in such dire need of a fast-paced book, and this was exactly that. The story moves so quickly, and the characters all have such vibrant exciting voices, that it was almost impossible to put down. I finished it in two sittings, and the short chapters (And by short, I mean short!) made this book easy to fly through.
Highly recommend for a quick, easy read. The story is so amazing, and incredibly well-written. Despite this, please check the content warnings before you read!
I could not have possibly made a better decision. I was in such dire need of a fast-paced book, and this was exactly that. The story moves so quickly, and the characters all have such vibrant exciting voices, that it was almost impossible to put down. I finished it in two sittings, and the short chapters (And by short, I mean short!) made this book easy to fly through.
Highly recommend for a quick, easy read. The story is so amazing, and incredibly well-written. Despite this, please check the content warnings before you read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Car accident
Wonderful, thoughtful, fascinating book. I stayed up til midnight to finish it! Characters you care about, and a really unique plot hook: what if someone could literally take away your pain, by absorbing it into himself? Take away your cuts? Your bruises? Brewster, aka "The Bruiser," has this ability, which manifests itself when he is close to someone he likes, and so he has never made any friends. He and his younger brother live a quietly desperate life with their mean drunk of an uncle. But when Brew starts to date Bronte, and becomes friends with her hotheaded brother Tennyson, things start to change for him. The more people he is close to, the greater his pain--and the angrier his uncle gets. Will he be able to keep his brother safe, and most of all, will he be able to survive his own bizarre gift?
This book was totally something I wasn't expecting. But again, I didn't exactly know what to expect going into this book at all. Seeing Neal Shusterman's name on it made me not think twice to read it.
It was a fairly quick read with short chapters. I understood why people didn't like how Brewster's chapters were written in poetry way, but it grew on me eventually.
Bruiser was a heart-wrenching story to remind us not to take things for granted, to learn about pain and how to deal it with it instead of make it go away with all the consequences that come with it, about how it means to empathize with other human beings and how far should we go, to know the boundaries and to limit ourselves.
It's amazing how one book can make us think about so many things at once.
It was a fairly quick read with short chapters. I understood why people didn't like how Brewster's chapters were written in poetry way, but it grew on me eventually.
Bruiser was a heart-wrenching story to remind us not to take things for granted, to learn about pain and how to deal it with it instead of make it go away with all the consequences that come with it, about how it means to empathize with other human beings and how far should we go, to know the boundaries and to limit ourselves.
It's amazing how one book can make us think about so many things at once.
"If you try to study your emotions on a microscopic level, the best you can do is understand how it feels to hold the magnifying glass."
I loved this book because it made me feel and think about how I express my emotions so much. At some points I thought maybe this wouldn't be great, and then I felt my pulse quickening and real emotions toward characters. Slowly but surely I identified with wanting to be numbed from it all, until realizing that's not what's living is for.
Mr. Shusterman as always kept me interested thinking, and turning pages and I will continue to read and anticipate what he will write next. This one has me still gathering my thoughts and examining myself in a way that only a really good book can. I loved the poetry and literary themes that continued throughout. The only criticism I had was the end, I wanted more, which I realize is one of the best criticism I can have towards a book.
I thought I knew the plot and how it would unfold, but I was pleasantly surprised about the journey that progressed with its dips and turns. Read it and you won't regret a second you spend doing it.
I loved this book because it made me feel and think about how I express my emotions so much. At some points I thought maybe this wouldn't be great, and then I felt my pulse quickening and real emotions toward characters. Slowly but surely I identified with wanting to be numbed from it all, until realizing that's not what's living is for.
Mr. Shusterman as always kept me interested thinking, and turning pages and I will continue to read and anticipate what he will write next. This one has me still gathering my thoughts and examining myself in a way that only a really good book can. I loved the poetry and literary themes that continued throughout. The only criticism I had was the end, I wanted more, which I realize is one of the best criticism I can have towards a book.
I thought I knew the plot and how it would unfold, but I was pleasantly surprised about the journey that progressed with its dips and turns. Read it and you won't regret a second you spend doing it.
Really good! It has the extra to make it way above average.
I didn't want to put this one down. Neal Shusterman is a god among mortals.
Bruiser is the story of a fifteen year old boy who steals the pain from those he loves. He didn't choose to be able to do it, but whenever he is around people he cares for, their bruises, cuts, scrapes, and ills become his. Their anger, sadness, anxiety, and pain become his. With a life like that, it's easiest to care for no one at all. So Brewster gets the nickname "Bruiser" for his abrasive and caustic personality. In junior high he was voted "Most Likely to Get the Death Penalty", unofficially, of course.
But just because Brewster has closed himself off to the public doesn't mean he can't love or that he doesn't care deeply. He does. He reads to feel emotions without the dangerous connection to other living and breathing people. He loves his younger brother. He even cares for his abusive uncle, even when he can't understand why and wishes he didn't.
But somehow Bronte and her twin brother Tennyson push past all his walls and suddenly Brewster has friends and the world becomes more dangerous for him than it has ever been before.
And as much as his friends love him. As much as his brother cares from him (and even his uncle, in a twisted way) everyone can't help but use him. Brewster soaks up their pain and no one can seem to help giving it all freely to him. But what if our pain, physical and emotional, is necessary to be who we are, to change, to grow into better people? What happens to us if we just stagnate in false contentment?
The story raises so many ethical questions and dilemmas. I know this one will be siting with me for a while.
Also, if you're a teacher and want to teach these themes without the length of a full novel, I recommend [b:The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas|92625|The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389866872l/92625._SX50_.jpg|89324]. Or if you teach that in class and want something to recommend to kids after finishing the short story, this is the perfect book.
Bruiser is the story of a fifteen year old boy who steals the pain from those he loves. He didn't choose to be able to do it, but whenever he is around people he cares for, their bruises, cuts, scrapes, and ills become his. Their anger, sadness, anxiety, and pain become his. With a life like that, it's easiest to care for no one at all. So Brewster gets the nickname "Bruiser" for his abrasive and caustic personality. In junior high he was voted "Most Likely to Get the Death Penalty", unofficially, of course.
But just because Brewster has closed himself off to the public doesn't mean he can't love or that he doesn't care deeply. He does. He reads to feel emotions without the dangerous connection to other living and breathing people. He loves his younger brother. He even cares for his abusive uncle, even when he can't understand why and wishes he didn't.
But somehow Bronte and her twin brother Tennyson push past all his walls and suddenly Brewster has friends and the world becomes more dangerous for him than it has ever been before.
And as much as his friends love him. As much as his brother cares from him (and even his uncle, in a twisted way) everyone can't help but use him. Brewster soaks up their pain and no one can seem to help giving it all freely to him. But what if our pain, physical and emotional, is necessary to be who we are, to change, to grow into better people? What happens to us if we just stagnate in false contentment?
The story raises so many ethical questions and dilemmas. I know this one will be siting with me for a while.
Also, if you're a teacher and want to teach these themes without the length of a full novel, I recommend [b:The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas|92625|The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389866872l/92625._SX50_.jpg|89324]. Or if you teach that in class and want something to recommend to kids after finishing the short story, this is the perfect book.
I hesitated between giving this a 3 and a 4. It's a fantastic concept (and I won't spoil just what that concept is, because it's pretty epic when you realize it; and even more if you realize it before the main characters do). However, once the reveal comes on, there's a smaller, just as important reveal, and then it careens wildly towards an end that is pretty open-ended. You presume you know what happened/happens, but are not sure at all.
I do have to say, though, this is one book that I would love to hear a dramatic audio of, because there are five narrators, and I just don't think that one person could do justice to all of them.
I do have to say, though, this is one book that I would love to hear a dramatic audio of, because there are five narrators, and I just don't think that one person could do justice to all of them.