Butter by Erin Lange - Revision history

Sue at 13:09, 23 August 2020

2020-08-23T13:09:09Z

Jill at 17:14, 31 March 2018

2018-03-31T17:14:32Z

Sue at 10:02, 2 February 2017

2017-02-02T10:02:04Z

Sue at 14:37, 17 January 2015

2015-01-17T14:37:45Z

Sue at 10:57, 13 February 2014

2014-02-13T10:57:37Z

Sue at 10:54, 13 February 2014

2014-02-13T10:54:34Z

Sue: Created page with "{{infobox |title=Butter |sort=Butter |author=Erin Lange |reviewer=Zoe Page |genre=Teens |rating=4.5 |buy=Yes |borrow=Yes |isbn=978-0571294404 |pages=352 |publisher=Faber and F..."

2013-02-21T10:16:23Z

Created page with "{{infobox |title=Butter |sort=Butter |author=Erin Lange |reviewer=Zoe Page |genre=Teens |rating=4.5 |buy=Yes |borrow=Yes |isbn=978-0571294404 |pages=352 |publisher=Faber and F..."

New review

{{infobox
|title=Butter
|sort=Butter
|author=Erin Lange
|reviewer=Zoe Page
|genre=Teens
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-0571294404
|pages=352
|publisher=Faber and Faber
|date=March 2013
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571294405</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>0571294405</amazonus>
|website=
|video=
|summary=A bullied child with suicidal intentions should not make for easy reading, but this book is well done and very thought provoking.
}}

Bullied by his classmates at school, harassed by his parents at home, and weighing over 400 lbs, Butter really has very little to keep living for. And so he decides to stop. Living, that is. But he’s not going to throw his not unsubstantial frame under a bus, or jump off a cliff. He’s going to do what he does best – eat.

As suicide plans go it may be one of the more creative ones out there. He sets up a website ''Butter’s Last Meal'' to spread the word because if he’s going to leave this world, he’s going to do it with a bang…and a thud…live online while people watch.

This is an inventive, at times painful and at times funny and sweet story about a bullied boy fighting back. Always a loner at school up until this point, Butter magically discovers what it’s like to be popular as the other kids latch on to his plan and suddenly want to know more about this interesting character they’ve ignored until now, suddenly want to spend time with him, get to know him. Spurred on by the doubters, motivated yet more by the haters, Butter’s plan gathers force as we speed towards New Year’s Eve, the day he will eat himself to death in one fell swoop.

There are lots of ways to interpret Butter’s actions. This could be a cry for help or simply an attention seeking ploy (and it works…he does get lots and lots of attention). It’s hard to know whether he intends to go with through with it, and of course if he does it’s hard to know whether it will work (can you actually die from just one, albeit massive, meal? Well…throw in some allergens and alcohol, and mess up a diabetic’s insulin and it could work, I guess). The book keeps you guessing right until the end, but in a morbid, car-crash way you can’t stop reading because you really need to know how it will all end, for Butter and for the kids at school who have taunted him and tormented him until he feels there’s no other way out.

This book shouldn’t be amusing – it’s about major bullying, and suicide plans – but it is because of Butter who is such a sweet, if damaged, narrator, that you have to laugh with him (not at him, definitely with him). At the same time it’s real and thought-provoking and it gives a realistic view of high school life where if you can’t fit in, can’t demand attention, you’re nobody.

I highly recommend this story for all of the above reasons. It’s an easy read, suitable for it’s original Young Adult market, but at the same time it’s one parents and educators should read because as much as you might think you understand what kids are going through, you don’t. But you really, really need to try before it’s too late.

Thanks go to the publishers for supplying this book.

[[Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher]] gives a more serious view on this serious topic, while [[Boomsday by Christopher Buckley]] sticks with glib and entertaining approaches to death. Both are recommended.

{{amazontext|amazon=0571294405}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=9433538}}
{{commenthead}}

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 |aznus=0571294405
 |cover=0571294405
-|website=
+|summary=A bullied child with suicidal intentions should not make for easy reading, but this book is well done and very thought-provoking.
 }}
@@ Line 27: / Line 25: @@
 This is an inventive, at times painful and at times funny and sweet story about a bullied boy fighting back. Always a loner at school up until this point, Butter magically discovers what it’s like to be popular as the other kids latch on to his plan and suddenly want to know more about this interesting character they’ve ignored until now, suddenly want to spend time with him, get to know him. Spurred on by the doubters, motivated yet more by the haters, Butter’s plan gathers force as we speed towards New Year’s Eve, the day he will eat himself to death in one fell swoop.
-There are lots of ways to interpret Butter’s actions. This could be a cry for help or simply an attention seeking ploy (and it works…he does get lots and lots of attention). It’s hard to know whether he intends to go with through with it, and of course if he does it’s hard to know whether it will work (can you actually die from just one, albeit massive, meal? Well…throw in some allergens and alcohol, and mess up a diabetic’s insulin and it could work, I guess).  The book keeps you guessing right until the end, but in a morbid, car-crash way you can’t stop reading because you really need to know how it will all end, for Butter and for the kids at school who have taunted him and tormented him until he feels there’s no other way out.
+There are lots of ways to interpret Butter’s actions. This could be a cry for help or simply an attention-seeking ploy (and it works…he does get lots and lots of attention). It’s hard to know whether he intends to go with through with it, and of course, if he does it’s hard to know whether it will work (can you actually die from just one, albeit massive, meal? Well…throw in some allergens and alcohol, and mess up a diabetic’s insulin and it could work, I guess).  The book keeps you guessing right until the end, but in a morbid, car-crash way you can’t stop reading because you really need to know how it will all end, for Butter and for the kids at school who have taunted him and tormented him until he feels there’s no other way out.
-This book shouldn’t be amusing – it’s about major bullying, and suicide plans – but it is because of Butter who is such a sweet, if damaged, narrator, that you have to laugh with him (not at him, definitely with him). At the same time it’s real and thought-provoking and it gives a realistic view of high school life where if you can’t fit in, can’t demand attention, you’re nobody.
+This book shouldn’t be amusing – it’s about major bullying and suicide plans – but it is because of Butter who is such a sweet, if damaged, narrator, that you have to laugh with him (not at him, definitely with him). At the same time, it’s real and thought-provoking and it gives a realistic view of high school life where if you can’t fit in, can’t demand attention, you’re nobody.
-I highly recommend this story for all of the above reasons. It’s an easy read, suitable for it’s original Young Adult market, but at the same time it’s one parents and educators should read because as much as you might think you understand what kids are going through, you don’t. But you really, really need to try before it’s too late.
+I highly recommend this story for all of the above reasons. It’s an easy read, suitable for its original Young Adult market, but at the same time it’s one parents and educators should read because as much as you might think you understand what kids are going through, you don’t. But you really, really need to try before it’s too late.
 Thanks go to the publishers for supplying this book.
-[[Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher]] gives a more serious view on this serious topic, while [[Boomsday by Christopher Buckley]] sticks with glib and entertaining approaches to death. Both are recommended.
+[[Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher]] gives a more serious view on this serious topic, while [[Boomsday by Christopher Buckley]] sticks with glib and entertaining approaches to death. Both are recommended.  We think you might also enjoy [[Dead Ends by Erin Lange]].
 {{amazontext|amazon=0571294405}}

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 }}
-'''Shortlisted for Waterstone's Best Book for Teens'''
+'''Shortlisted for Waterstone's Best Book for Teens 2014'''
 Bullied by his classmates at school, harassed by his parents at home, and weighing over 400 lbs, Butter really has very little to keep living for. And so he decides to stop. Living, that is. But he’s not going to throw his not unsubstantial frame under a bus, or jump off a cliff. He’s going to do what he does best – eat.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{infobox
+{{infobox2
 |title=Butter
 |author=Erin Lange
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 |publisher=Faber and Faber
 |date=March 2013
-|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571294405</amazonuk>
+|aznuk=0571294405
 |website=
 |video=

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 |title=Butter
 |author=Erin Lange
-|reviewer=Zoe Page
+|reviewer=Zoe Morris
 |genre=Teens
 |rating=4.5
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 |date=March 2013
 |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571294405</amazonuk>
 |website=
 |video=

@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 [[Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher]] gives a more serious view on this serious topic, while [[Boomsday by Christopher Buckley]] sticks with glib and entertaining approaches to death. Both are recommended.
-{{amazontext|amazon=0571294405}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=9433538}}
+{{amazontext|amazon=0571294405}}
 {{commenthead}}