Monday, October 24, 2011

Slob, by Ellen Potter (2009)

My name is Owen Birnbaum, and I am probably fatter than you are.  This isn't my low self-esteem talking.  This is pure statistics.  I'm five foot two and I weigh 156 pounds.  That's 57 percent fatter than the national average for a twelve-year-old boy.

In addition, Owen is very intelligent.

They had my IQ tested in the second grade.  I won't tell you my score.  Actually, I can't tell you my score because I promised my mother I wouldn't do that anymore.  I used to tell everyone.

Owen faces humiliation and bullying at school every day, but things get out of hand when someone steals his beloved three Oreo cookies from his lunch box.  And he thinks it was Mason Riggs, one of the scariest kids at his school.

In his attempt to find the culprit, Owen has to come to terms with other losses in his life. 

Most of us would probably like Owen.  Most of us probably knew someone who was similar to Owen.  Slob is a great read to help teens learn how important it is to take time to not judge someone by the way he or she looks.  They're probably a really great person.

Rating:  8 out of 10 stars

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!