Who the Man - Softcover

Chris Lynch

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747562652 ISBN 13: 9780747562658

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2003

Synopsis

Right and wrong is a simple deal, and everybody knows it. As long as you have all the facts, right and wrong make themselves very clear to you. If you really want to know. Earl is a boy far larger and older looking than everyone else in his class. He's big - like a rugby player, strong and just a bit scary. Earl gets into fights and threatens people who upset him or confuse him and Earl argues with his teachers. So is Earl bad and wrong Earl's parents are having a hard time. The kind of hard time that means one walks out of the room when the other walks in. Earl is also a bit lonely and shy and his size makes him uncomfortable - especially around girls. He is your average teenage boy but with a few extra problems and not great communication skills. So is Earl a bully or is he misunderstood Is he unpleasant or is he shy Read this compelling and utterly engrossing novel by the masterful Chris Lynch and read a simply told story about very complicated issues.

About this title

About the Author:

Chris Lynch lives in Scotland where he divides his time between Ayr and Edinburgh. Orginally from America, where he has had many of his powerful teen novels published, this is his first book to be published in the UK.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-8-At 13, Earl is bigger and physically more mature than the other kids in his school, and he doesn't hesitate to use violence to handle conflicts. His tough-talking father actually eggs him on and encourages him to take care of himself. The novel follows a week in the boy's life after he has been suspended from school for fighting. In a rhythmic first-person narration, Lynch gets inside the head of the type of student who exists in many schools-the misunderstood kid whose confusion and anger gets him pegged as a brute and a bully, yet hidden beneath are layers of sensitivity, vulnerability, and loneliness. Readers are privy to Earl's confused thoughts about his parents, religion, his one friend, and an older girl on whom he has a crush. During that same week, he shows the first inklings of a new understanding of the world, learning that most situations are not black and white, and right and wrong are not defined in terms of absolutes. Things come to a head when Earl spots his father with another woman. In a conclusion that seems somewhat hurried and jumps ahead in time, he is last seen adjusting to his parents' divorce and is beginning to understand himself better. While there isn't much story here, the novel successfully captures the nuances of Earl's character, and is superbly written.
Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0747562652
• ISBN 13: 9780747562658
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192