Angry Management by Chris Crutcher

I've written before about Chris Crutcher, but I can't stop reading his books! This text contains three novellas, each dealing with characters from his earlier books. If you have read Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes or Whale Talk, you will love Angry Management. The novellas are organized around Mr. Nakatami's "Angry Management" group, so each of the characters are part of his group.
The first story is about Angus Bethune and Sarah Byrnes at the time when they meet. Crutcher's characters are amazingly memorable, starting with their names. Angus (like the cow) is overweight and Sarah Byrnes ("burns") was left terribly scarred by abuse at the hands of her stepfather. Angus and Sarah find a much needed friend in eachother and together, they attempt to find Sarah's mother, who abandonded her after she was scarred.

The second novella involves Montana West, who writes provactive articles for her school newspaper. Montana often frights censorship from her adoptive father, who is the head of the school board. From medical marijana to runaway children, this novella is charged with emotions and controversy.

Finally, there is the story of Marcus James, a gay, African American student who finds a pink noose on his locker left by the school's athletic stars. His only advocate is Mark Miller, who tells the truth because, "what would Jesus do?" This tale is truely surprising, enraging, heart-breaking and heart-warming. I cried while reading for the first time in years.

I think it would be best to read Angry Management after reading a few of Crutcher's other texts. While it stands alone in its own right, I believe the reader will be more involved with the characters with prior knowledge.

ISBN: 9780060502478
Avalible at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher (2002)

Chris Crutcher is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. His character development is wonderful and his plot can never be predicted.
In Whale Talk, we follow TJ Jones, an underachieving athletic star, as he attempts to get varsity letter jackets for the newly founded swimming team at Cutter High School in Spokane. TJ, who has been shunned by the school's athletes (specifically the football players), gathers a group of outcasts and trains with them the earn the coveted jackets.
TJ's home life is equally complicated. He is adopted, and his parents serve as foster parents for other children. The Jones' foster a girl named Heidi, a biracial daughter of a white woman, Alicia, who is in a relationship with the racist, Rich Marshall. You could probably guess that abuse and racism take a front seat in Whale Talk.
To those of us raised in the diverse, modern America, the world of Cutter is infuriating. Racism, physical and mental abuse and distrust all abound. TJ is pushed repeatedly in order to prove to his school athletics board that the swim team deserves letter jackets. He compassionately tries to help Heidi understand that there is nothing wrong with being biracial (TJ is Asian/African/European American himself). The ending of this book is difficult in many ways but there are a few heart-warming twists. It is easliy one of my favorite reads this year.

Availible at Barnes & Noble and Amazon (in paperback and Kindle format). ISBN# 9780440229384

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (2007)

Perseoplis is a journal of sorts of Satrapi's life in Tehran, Iran during the early years of the Iranian Revolution. Part historical, part expose, this is an emotionally difficult but beautiful read.
Satrapi grew up witnessing abuses and injustices in Tehran and, at the age of 14, was sent to a French school in Vienna, Austria by her parents. She stayed in Austria through high school, experienced rough times that found her homeless and sick with pneumonia.
Satrapi returned to Iran, attended college, met her husband but divorced shortly after marrying. Later, she moved to France, where she currently lives and works.
Persepolis is educational on many levels. There are questions of collective history, censorship, abuse, religion, family and government.

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. ISBN# 9780375714832.

Repossessed by A. M. Jenkins (2007)

Repossessed is a story about a demon ("Fallen") named Kiriel who inhabits the body of a teenager, Shaun, for a couple of days as a "vacation" from his work in hell where he was assigned the duty of torturing souls. One would think a demon in human form would cause all kinds of mischief but Kiriel seems to reform Shaun in the eyes of his mother and brother, among others.

Kiriel sets out to experience some of the seven deadly sins: he eats too many hot dogs (with ketchup!) for dinner out of gluttony, for example. He also decides to leave a mark on the human world by trying to fix some "sowers of pain" so he will not have to torture them for eons in the future. The reader does not ultimately find out if the seeds Kiriel planted took, but can read the text in an optimistic or pessimistic light.

Some of the most interesting interactions in the book take place between Kiriel/Shaun and Shaun's little brother, Jason, his friend Bailey and his lust interest, Lane. While each of these characters notice that something is different with Shaun, none can place what. It seems that Shaun's cat, Peanut, is the only one who notices that Shaun is literally not himself.

Repossessed is a quick and interesting read. Aside from some mild sexual references, it could be taught alongside texts such as Milton's Paradise Lost, Marlowe's Dr. Faust and Dante's Inferno. It raises many questions of religion and previous assumptions therein.

Repossessed is available at Barnes & Noble as well as Amazon. ISBN# 978-0060835682