A review by jeffmauch
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys by Chris Fuhrman

3.0

I say this ever so rarely, but skip the book and watch the movie. There isn't anything inherently wrong with this authors one and only work, it just comes feels like it comes up shoot in length and light on substance. I normally love books that highlight events that cause adolescents to come of age over the course of a novel. This fits the profile, but it's just missing something. I feel the same way about the movie, but it does a better job of representing what the novel could have been for some reason, not to mention it has a pretty spot on cast that just works.. In it we follow a pack of five 8th graders that all go to the same catholic school through some adventures over the course of a brief few weeks, culminating in and adventure that's both predictable, yet surprising. While the characters are interesting, you don't get to know them with enough depth to relate to them and thus don't feel completely invested in their story.