Charlie Lawson, living in a crummy apartment with his single mom, in small town Richland Center, Wisconsin, lives to play his video game, where he's the undisputed Total Turbo champ.
Charlie deals with bullies and boredom in his middle school until he stumbles onto something big happening inside the abandoned warehouse across the street from his house. Specifically, someone big. He befriends Bruce, a twenty-foot-tall teenage giant, who Charlie must keep a secret.
Charlie isn't the only one in town who knows what's hiding in the warehouse. Powerful, ruthless forces are closing in, and they'll stop at nothing to acquire a giant. Does Charlie have what it takes to protect the biggest and best friend he's ever had?
My son really enjoyed listening to me read this book with him. He could have read it on his own, but currently he's in the midst of reading through "The Unwanteds" and it's fun to read through new books together eh? :)
Anyways, interesting book, that in story form introduces one to the dangers of steroid use and thinking of something bigger than yourself. And Charlie really NEEDS to think of something bigger than himself, and he gets that not only with a big friend, but he gets it spades when his new friend is attacked! Can he find a way to help Bruce?
He did. His wayward brother shows up, a nasty nasty man comes a-calling, a rather poorly behaved lad (due to his father's lack of foresight) discovers meddling is something he shouldn't have done (I actually felt sorry for this lad... he was pushed down this path by his dad focusing on the wrong aspect of life), greed and revenge play a hard role, and in the end... Bruce is free and clear and Charlie is reunited with his family.
Good book overall. Tons of topics to be covered (we had good talking points given in this book), or just a good book to be read.
Worth a read by your middle school student.
I have to admit, I want to know the story behind the nasty guy. What's the deal with how he got to be who he was, what's with the cat suit and the injections, and the equipment... just curious about him...