I read this book on my Kindle, for the Anti Bullying Readathon.
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication date: September 4th. 2012
Pages: 294 (hardcover)
Synopsis by the publisher:
A lonely obese boy everyone calls “Butter” is about to make history. He is going to eat himself to death-live on the Internet-and everyone is invited to watch. When he first makes the announcement online to his classmates, Butter expects pity, insults, and possibly sheer indifference. What he gets are morbid cheerleaders rallying around his deadly plan. Yet as their dark encouragement grows, it begins to feel a lot like popularity. And that feels good. But what happens when Butter reaches his suicide deadline? Can he live with the fallout if he doesn’t go through with his plans?
The Review
“The only way to really understand is to walk in someone else’s shoes. In stories we are able to do so. Butter’s shoes are hard ones to walk in, but that doesn’t make it any less important to take the walk.”
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The Writing
To read the voice of Butter was like diving into something grim, dark and uncomfortable, but in a good way. Did that make sense? Let me try to explain.
The Lange has written Butter’s voice feels very genuine and real, and that (combined with the uncomfortable subject of obesity) is what makes this story awful and incredible at the same time.
The Characters
Butter is written from the perspective of Butter and him alone. I enjoyed reading about the story, and the character of Butter was really well written. I did feel mildly depressed when diving deep into the mind of Butter at times, but I think that makes the story what it is. It is a way to get into the mindset of someone else, and really feel their struggle and frustration.
Butter was quite a passive character in his own life at times, and that frustrated me. But that is also a vital part of the story and therefor not a negative thing.
I also enjoyed getting to know other people through Butter and his thoughts. It was like I was able to hitch a ride with someone, wanting to direct him onto a better path but not being able to do anything about it.
The Plot
The thing about this plot that made it so interesting to me was of course finding out if Butter was going to go through with his promise of eating himself to death.
I don’t feel like there were any really surprising twists through the story, but it had a well written build up from the beginning to the very end.
Additional Thoughts
It was heartbreaking, wonderful and awful at the same time. A story that really sets the focus on a different kind of bullying than what we hear about more often.
I think everyone should read this at a young age. The only way to really understand is to walk in someone else’s shoes. In stories we are able to do so. Butter’s shoes are hard ones to walk in, but that doesn’t make it any less important to take the walk.
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Do you want your own copy of Butter? Click on the Amazon or BookDepository logo below to go their product site.
Christina de Vries 