Bruiser by Neal Shusterman


You will cruise through Bruiser by Neal Shusterman, a fantasy novel about Brewster who is a loner throughout life and doesn't make friends for one reason.  When he makes friends and starts to care for someone, weird things start to happen.  In Bruiser, Brewster goes against what he believes and starts dating Bronte, twin sister of Tennyson.  Tennyson worries about his sister dating Brewster, especially after all the rumors that have been spread around the school.  The secrets Brewster once held so dearly are soon discovered by Tennyson and Bronte and they soon show their trust by keeping his secrets.  

What I liked:
This book was very fast paced and I found it hard to put it down.  Brewster was a loner, something I was able to relate to from my high school days.  Shusterman brought him to life that I felt for him right from the beginning.  People didn't give him a chance or never wanted to get to know the real Brewster.  I felt the pain Brewster was going through every day and how hard it was for him to keep the secret.  Tennyson was the voice of reason in this book.  He worried about his sister and that was why he wanted to protect her from Brewster at the beginning.  Shusterman had Tennyson discover the truth about Brewster quickly and once the truth was discovered, Tennyson quit trying to break up his sister and Brewster.  His hatred for Brewster wasn't dragged on and was resolved at a perfect time.  Shusterman knew how to keep the reader wanting more.

What I didn't like:
Bronte was annoying with her know it all attitude and then making up facts randomly throughout the book.  I don't know why Shusterman made her that way, but I found her parts of the book just nothing but her acting like she knew everything, when in reality she didn't.  Cory's parts seemed to whine too much and he was a reckless child.  A lot of trouble happened because of him.  Brewster's parts of the book was written in poetry form and I found that annoying.  While I am a poet myself, if I wanted to read a book in poetry form, I would've gotten a poetry book.  I think if Shusterman wrote Brewster's part in the same way as the others, it would've been better and easier to follow.  Too many views in this book made it at times seemed that parts were written to take up space.  Did we really need to hear Cory's point of view?  I could've done without know what trouble he caused.

Rating:
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.  Shusterman made the characters real, you felt that you were really there with them during the actions in the book.  I recommend this book to anyone who likes the paranormal and fantasy.  It's a different take on the subject, but it keeps you wanting more.

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