Sure, sure, Crutcher’s novel might be a tad typical, and might follow the same formula as his other books. But the best thing about this book and so many of his others: they relate to kids. The kids in the book are like real-life kids, face real-life kid situations, and deal with real-life kid problems. He certainly packs a lot into this book, dealing with tales of abuse, struggling with multiple deaths, alcoholism, spirituality, etc. But I must argue against those who find Crutcher to be simple and overdone because I find this book really is an enjoyable read and because of its broad nature, can appeal to many kids who might suffer from one of the issues, or have dealt with one of these issues in the past.
The themes of Catholic preist abuse and molestation are ever present in society, and the media has certainly touched on these quite a bit. But for students to actually be able to read this issues, and deal with them on their own, in their own minds, can serve as more of an impact than simply hearing about these issues on the news.
As far as the general story goes, I really enjoyed the conceptual framework Crutcher built. We knew how the story was going to end, but how he got us there was what was really enjoyable. Every issue faced to young students was covered, even with the tragic car accident near the ending. It might have been a little overdone and exaggerated, but beyond the death of the main character, predictability was a non-issue. The quick pace of the read really helped, and I especially like the moral dilemma our tragic hero faced when Rudy revealed to him his background story. It would be a great discussion and debate topic for students to work further upon and could really be valuable.
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