Butter

Title: Butter

Author: Erin Jade Lange

Publisher: Bloomsbury (2012)

Genre(s): Fiction, Young Adult Fiction

Length: 294 pages

Synopsis: Butter is defined by food.  Morbidly obese and diabetic, he knows that no one at school is ever able to see beyond his body to the person he truly is.  He finds solace only in two places: music, playing saxophone or listening to the Brass Boys, the band one of his teachers plays in, and online, where he's developed a relationship with the beautiful girl who sits ahead of him in class.  But neither of these can last.  His weight makes playing music more and more difficult, and he knows he can never reveal his true identity to the girl he wishes could be his girlfriend.  Food has gotten him into this situation, he decides at last, and food will get him out of it.  Butter resolves to eat himself to death on New Year's Eve, live online via webcast.  But as soon as the website goes live, a few weeks before Christmas, he finds himself a sudden celebrity.  People seek him out, both online and in person.  For the first time, he has something to live for, and he begins to wonder if he'll have the courage to go through with his plan, but, given the reason for his celebrity, what will happen if he doesn't?

My Rating: 4 Stars

My Opinion: This is a terribly grim book.  With the population growing heavier and heavier, Butter is a character with unique trials to which many will relate.  But he's also very much a believable high school student. struggling with online pressure, parents, and the trials of fitting in and finding his own way.  The characters that surround him are more difficult to understand, as they sometimes seem to have few motives for their cruelty.  Of course, that's also true in the halls of high schools, unfortunately.  This is a book that opens a door for readers, offering up a chance for us to step into the shoes of another person.  It's not a happy picture, but it's one at which we should all take a look.  Butter's story is a quick read, plunging over the edge of a cliff and heading for a seemingly inexorable ending.  Though it's got a lesson to teach, that's never at the forefront of the narrative.  It's a well told story, if not a happy one, and I book I'll not soon forget.