Smith, A. (2011). Stick.
NY: Feiwel and Friends
Stark McClellan is a 14 year old boy who is bullied for
being deformed. He only has one ear and
goes by “Stick” due to how tall and skinny he is. Stick and his brother Bosten are extremely
close and share a deep brotherly bond.
Bosten is able to stand up for Stick at school and makes sure he is left
alone, but the brothers are unable to protect each other from the nightmare
they live in at home. Stick and Bosten’s
parents are mentally and physically abusive to the boys. They are extremely controlling and
loveless. Although Stick has a lot he
could be angry and bitter about, somehow he is a sweet and tender
individual. Stick’s only friend is an
adorable girl named Emily, who he eventually has his first love affair
with. Stick is even more worried about
his home-life after he learns his brother Bosten is gay and fears what his
father will do. Bosten flees home to
California and Stick misses him dearly.
He decides to go looking for his beloved brother and meets his loving
Aunt.
This was a very difficult read for me and I would suspect it
would be for most readers. The abuse
Stick and Bosten go through is difficult to bear. I found myself rushing or skimming through
those scenes because I could not endure it.
Readers fall in love with Stick.
His hilarious narration and innocence draws readers in just to be
disgusted by what he lives through. This
novel makes readers wonder what goes on behind closed doors in some homes that
we do not know about. It is astonishing
to me that a character like Stick can still have love for others in his
heart. I appreciate novels bringing
difficult issues to light and building empathy for others. I did not enjoy the darkness this novel brought
with it and found myself doing the opposite of what I usually easily do with a
novel and that is to get lost in the story.
I fought hard to keep myself guarded from this story.
To learn more about author Andrew Smith and his literary
works, go to this website at:
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