Customer Reviews

Fat Kid Rules the World

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"I'm a sweating fat kid standing on the edge of the subway platform staring at the tracks. I'm seventeen years old, weigh 296 pounds, and I'm six foot one. I have a crew cut, yes a crew cut, sallow skin, and the kind of mouth that puckers when I breathe. I'm wearing a shirt that reads MIAMI BEACH--SPRING BREAK 1997, and huge, bland tan pants--the only kind of pants I own. Eight pairs, all tan."

As this head-bashing-yet-really-sweet-tale hits its first screeching chord progression, seventeen year-old Troy Billings contemplates jumping in front of an approaching subway train. A once average-sized child, he has eaten his way through years of depression after the death of his mother. Raised by his father, who is a retired military officer, and having experienced unrelenting contempt from a younger brother, who is a popular jock, Troy is certain that everyone is constantly eyeing him and laughing.

"First, the train is coming, its single headlight illuminating the dark tracks. I hear its deep rumble and take the fateful step forward. I want to picture myself flying dramatically through the air but realize I wouldn't have the muscle power to launch my body. Instead, I would plummet straight down. Maybe I wouldn't even get my other leg off the platform--my weight would pull me down like an anchor. That's how I see it."

But Troy does not jump. Or plummet. His plans are rudely interrupted by the "disembodied voice" of a skinny teenager--Curt MacCrae--who is sitting in the dark behind him.

"He looks like a blond ferret. Stringy unwashed hair and huge eyes, jeans that are barely recognizable, stained white T-shirt, huge red overshirt, ratty old sweater...The sneakers, one Converse and one Nike, are both untied and the layers are all partially buttoned even though it's got to be one hundred degrees in the subway. The guy is so filthy I can hardly look at him. I mean, he's caked--looks like an old war victim from some black and white film."

Curt, this majorly poor example of good hygiene, is a homeless, locally legendary punk guitarist who disappeared from the high school Troy attends. He is also a walking pharmacy. (He believes in self-inflicted health care.) Curt demands lunch from Troy for saving his life, and then informs the enormous young man that he, Troy, is to be the drummer in Curt's new band--a duo named Rage/Tectonic. That Troy has not played the drums since junior high is irrelevant--at least to Curt.

As Troy tries to conceive of a different self-image for himself and tries to overcome his paralyzing fears of what he believes everyone else is thinking of him, Curt's dicey health and his dicey relationship with Troy's dad and brother Dayle kept me alternately holding my breath and laughing so hard that I could barely catch it. Though much of Curt's on-the-fringe lifestyle remains an enigma to both Troy and to us, we do get vivid glimpses of the grunge and the glamor associated with being a teenage punk musician.

" 'You are punk rock, T. You just don't know it yet, and I don't know how to convince you.' "

FAT KID RULES THE WORLD is totally phat! While the joyfulness and quirkiness of the story and the body image issue may allow for grouping this book with some others you've read before, K. L. Going is truly a new voice on the YA scene.

Richie Partington ...

Yes! Yes! Yes! Finally there is a book that interests me in rock and a hard life. K.L. Going is going to go far with this book. Troy is a troubled fat kid with no friends. Curt is an awesome guitar player and becomes friends with Troy. Troy then learns to play the drums and they form a band(there is twice as much exciting events). This book is awesome. It is very suspenseful, exciting, and it has the talk of a teenager. Like they swear and they smoke but its all part of a real life rock band, and it is a life of a teenager. There better be a sequel. 5 STARS!!!

This is an impressive debut novel from author, K. L. Going. Curt and Troy (aka Fat Kid) have formed an unlikely partnership to start a new punk rock band. Curt is already a legend and inexplicably has chosen Troy to be his new drummer. Curt's decision seems odd considering the fact that Troy doesn't know how to play drums and is consumed with self loathing over his obesity. But Curt keeps the faith, even after a memorable debut performance during which Troy vomits profusely over his drum set. But Troy isn't the only one consumed with fear. Curt is homeless and barely surviving living on the street, but he refuses to allow anyone to help him for long. Curt and Troy are both on a journey to learn how to conquer their inner demons. This is a story about faith, family, and conquering the fear that paralyzes you from accomplishing your dreams.

After reading the whole book (somehow I think this would be an important prerequisite for rating it...see "A Reader" review)...and not seeing any "fowl" language, in the bird sense, at least... I can say this was a great hook book for middle school reluctant readers. Without being "preachy",the whole of it had only positive messages to give our most influenced of adolescents.

The main character, Troy does a great job of showing how easily we can obsess on our flaws, and let this obsession color everything we see. Curt is a great character to show the power of music (and punk) and the innate need in all of us for friendship and family -- without needing the reader to internally save him. My favorite character, however and undoubtedly, was the father, a good man in all senses of the word... (And it's great to see books that show how many good families are still out there)

This book made me laugh, made me cry, and made me, most especially, think. It kept me reading (I couldn't put in down)most importantly.

The only issue I could take up was the somewhat stereotypical portrayal of punk being involved with drugs... Ever hear of "Staight Edge"???

Overall, though, a great book. Definitely worth reading!

I loved Fat Kid Rules The World. It was the kind of book where I wanted to find out what happened, but I didn't want the book to end. Sure, there was swearing. Sure, there was refrences to things I probably shouldn't talk about, but they all were emphasis to Troy's world. Going does, indeed, have a colorful way with words in many respects. I would recomend this book to anyone, especially musicians.

Take one obese suicidal teenage boy and put him with an anorexic looking superstar of a guitar player, and what do you get? Apparently, a band named Rage Tectonic. Troy is considering the best way to kill himself when he is interrupted by Curt, a guitar player who is famous at Troy's high school. Curt decides he wants Troy to be the drummer for what will be the next breakout punk band, Rage Tectonic. There's only one problem: Troy can't play the drums. Undeterred, Curt pushes, cajoles, and manipulates Troy into thinking maybe he can learn. Are Curt's optimism and spunk enough to turn Troy from a fat loser into a punk rock drummer?

Life has never been easy for Troy. His mom is dead, his dad is a repressed ex-Marine, and his younger brother can't keep the contempt out of his voice when he speaks to Troy. What does Curt see in Troy? It turns out Curt has problems of his own. But Curt doesn't need anyone. He's a free bird. The characters are extremely lovable. The narrator is witty, lonely, and filled with pain. We learn who this fat kid is from the guts out.

Let me tell you, boys will love this book. Parents won't. Be very careful who you recommend this to. There is tons of language and sexual innuendo. Troy is a very sexually repressed teenage guy who has never been noticed by girls. He notices them a lot in this book. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone under the age of 16.

Troy knows that everyone is watching him. And laughing at him. Of course they are. At seventeen years old and almost 300 pounds, wearing what appears to be the same pair of tan pants daily, every move he makes is laughable. Will he be able to get out of the car? How many burgers will he eat? Even his effort to breathe is laughable as he huffs and puffs his way along.

He worries that he smells. You don't understand. It's not that he's a pig or anything, he just has a hard time fitting in the shower.

Poised over the subway tracks, Troy contemplates whether he can find a form of suicide that will be so serious, so severe, that no one will laugh. Enter Curt. Semi-homeless teen, school dropout, legend at his high school, and uber amazing guitar player, Curt attaches himself to Troy after saving him from the tracks. He's an itch that can't be scratched, a tick burrowing under the skin. Before Troy realizes it, he's agreed to buy Curt dinner and join his band as a drummer, even though he hasn't played since seventh grade.

Who is he kidding? He can't do this. He sees it in the eyes of his perfect kid brother, Dayle, as well as his military dad, the "disappointed dysfunctional parent."

But with Curt's help, Troy learns to look past himself. He finds support in unexpected places. But it's not until Curt is hospitalized that Troy finally has the guts to really take a risk.

This is a fast-paced book. K. L. Going immerses the reader in the world of punk rock through the eyes of the fat kid who yearns to have people really look at him. She has a great sense of humor that shines with lines of comparison, like when Troy compares himself to Dayle before the big gig. Troy thinks Dayle looks like he's "ready to win the Super Bowl, while I'm ready to heave into one." Ms. Going does an amazing job of getting into the psyche of the fat kid. There is a fair amount of rough language, but even so, this book rocks!

Reviewed by: Cana Rensberger

The ultimate love letter to a rocker long dead. Remembering reading a myriad of different reviews for this book when it first came out, I can recall some of the strongest criticism of it at the time. "Oh the book's too adoring of Kurt Cobain". "Oh the book spends too much time idealizing a dead drugged out rocker". "Oh the book can't be good because it's subject is so grimy". I'm paraphrasing of course, but these were the general comments directed at K.L. Going's first young adult novel. So I picked it up and read it and found that I relearned something that I need to constantly be reminded of time and again. Sometimes reviewers haven't a clue about really well written and worthwhile material. With that statement in mind (and me perfectly aware that I'm going to follow it up with, bum bum ba dum, a review) I present to you a book that I felt was deeply moving, touching, and downright hilarious.

We open with our hero, Troy Billings, contemplating whether or not his suicide in front of a subway train will be amusing to the passersby. Troy is, after all, gargantuan. He's seventeen, six feet tall, and about three hundred pounds. He's lived his life in the face of constant ridicule and for once he's contemplating ending it there and then. His life is spared, however, by a chance meeting with a dirty grungy krustypunk kid sitting on the ground. This kid, as it turns out, is Curt MacCrae, local dropout rock god. An unlikely friendship blooms between these two, and Curt becomes absolutely 100 percent convinced that Troy is the drummer for him. Troy, of course, hasn't touched drums since the seventh grade, but Curt is oblivious to the problem. As the book follows these characters, Curt saves Troy's life in a myriad of different ways and Troy, ultimately, finds a way to save Curt's.

This is the ultimate anti-b.s. book. Troy says exactly what he's thinking without fooling either himself or the reader. No fool, Troy is constantly aware that people find him peculiar to look at. To the book's credit, when Troy is convinced that something is going to fail he sometimes does. And Troy is capable of some magnificent failures in this story. At the same time, he's witty and urbane. And [attractive]. This guy is like any other seventeen year-old boy, and he's really got a thing for the wrists of attractive waitresses. The book uses slang without sounding dated or affected, and there's enough good natured profanity to lure kids into reading it. Curt is also the perfect spaz foil to Troy's oversized self. A sneaky slimy but ultimately fantastic friend to T (as he likes to call Troy) Curt is what Kurt Cobain could have become if he'd just befriended someone like the T-man at age twenty. You never doubt Curt's love for his new friend, even though his steadfast acceptance of Troy and all of Troy's fears is somewhat difficult to understand. Troy himself doesn't understand it fully, but it's everything he's ever wanted. This is the story of the unpopular fat kid getting picked by the popular punk at school and how it changes both their lives.

I was hoping to get all the way through the book without hitting any snags or plot devices. For the most part, this book's pretty snag free. Sadly, though the book was written by a woman, the women portrayed in the story are few and far between. They pretty much end up being either waitresses or groupies. Hopefully Going's next book will give her gender a little more breathing room. Also, after reading through this tale I did end up wishing that Going had left it up to the reader to understand why Troy gained weight after his mother's death without explaining it, but it ties in nicely with the ways in which Troy's dad and brother also dealt with the tragedy. I loved how Troy could detect fear or emotional distress while watching others eat. And I just liked Troy. He's a likable guy, which is a huge bonus if you're going to read a book like this. If you didn't like either Troy or Curt you'd have a rough time getting through the story. Fortunately, Going is a skilled enough writer that you can read Troy's many worries and fears about his size without finding him whiny or oppressive. He has a sardonic sense of humor that saves him every time. I was disappointed by the ending of the book, though. Up until then, I had been pleased to see that Going wasn't making anything easy for her characters. Unfortunately the finale (and I won't give it away) seems a bit too pat. Too neat. And, in a way, too easy. I didn't want an unhappy ending, mind you, but I didn't like the way in which Troy instantly becomes close to his father and brother after years of estrangement.

One last note on Going's writing. This is a woman who knows how to write a good musical sequence. I haven't read such poetic descriptions of rock since Emma Bull's lively, "War of the Oaks". This is a woman who knows how to make the pages wail with sound and color. When Troy feels elated at his first concert, you stand right there feeling elated with him. The book's all right. It's perhaps not the best teen novel out there these days, but it's a pretty good one just the same. I suggest you try it on for size. Even if you can't stand rock or Nirvana, this tale has the ability to take you out of yourself and into the head of a three hundred pound boy. It's an experience to enjoy.

From the first sentence of "Fat kid" I was hooked.
KL Going gives us sights, sounds, smells, and a vivid telling of a tale of two mismatched friends and their adventure to form a band and play a successful gig. The first person telling took me into Troy's (the fat kid) mind and heart and allowed me to peer into his world. Living the good and the bad experiences in the tumultious weeks spent with him.

I enjoyed reading this story and found myself laughing out loud often. I think we've all known a Troy in our lives. Here we get to walk with him and get his thoughts on the situations he finds himself in. Including the whirlwind his new friend Curt takes him on. All the while wondering if Curt is for real, after all, who could like the fat kid?
We all do Troy, we all do.

I recommend this story to anyone interested in a fun uplifting tale about life, music, and personal triumph. 5 stars.

I just finishing the book yesterday. It was really good. The characters were developed very well. The descriptions of events in the book were vivid and easy to imagine. I can't wait for my copy of the audio book to arrive. I want to hear how Matthew Lillard sounds reading it. Good choice, by the way, due to his role in SLC Punk. One last thing, K.L. Going Rocks!