Ironman

Ironman. Chris Crutcher, New York: Greenwillow Books, c1995.181pp. Bo Brewster, is the main character, is having trouble with his family as well as his football coach. Bo can come off to some people as a "hot head" or a "quitter,” but he is just like any other teenager who faces many of the same problems that many student athletes, or just regular teenagers, face today. Bo takes the smarter way about dealing with his emotions and enrolls in an anger management class before school to avoid being expelled. While in anger management, he meets a girl named Shelly who completely changes his life. He is training to be in Yukon Jacks, a triathlon race, and tries to beat his competition. Bo writes to Larry King, the TV host, telling him what is going on in his life or the problems that he is facing. His show’s about the different life styles people live in.
Such as Bo's, his parents are divorced; he has problems with his dad, and he also has trouble getting along with friends at school. Shelly, who is now Bo's girlfriend cares for him. Bo has never really had anyone this close to him before. It touches him because just one person completely changed the way he looks at things. I think because of Shelly, Bo continued and worked really hard to prove himself and to compete in Yukon Jacks.
This book is good, it relates to some of my friends, and some of the problems they have been through but not exactly in the same way the story is based on. On a Scale of one-to-ten, I would rate this book at probably a six or seven.
Reviewed by: David C