Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

"There’s a reason why Brewster can’t have friends – why he can’t care about too many people. Because when he cares about you, things start to happen. Impossible things that can’t be explained. I know, because they're happening to me."

When Brontë starts dating Brewster “Bruiser” Rawlins – the guy voted “Most Likely to Get the Death Penalty” her twin brother, Tennyson, isn’t surprised. But then strange things begin to occur. Tennyson and Brontë’s scrapes heal unnaturally fast, and cuts disappear before their eyes. What at first seems like their good fortune turns out to be more than they bargained for…much more.


My Thoughts/Review:

Honestly, I'm not sure what to say about this book. I can tell you that I'm always surprised by the exact premise, by the exact turns that the story lines make, when they are being written, and read. I don't really understand it, at one point, but at another, it makes a ton of sense. "Open your mind and ye will understand." That kind of sums up this story for me. Away with close-mindedness. Open your eyes, and you will see.

You will see the pain. You will see the happiness, what little there is, all locked up. But mostly, you will see the sorrow. As cool as it seems, I don't think I would want a friend that has what Brew has. I think I would lean to much on him, and it might ruin him. Emotional baggage, and all that. Anyways, I need to move on.

Brewster's character was interesting, because he was so deep, and dark, and mysterious. Doesn't that sound interesting? I thought so too. He's a guy that reads angry poetry, for gosh's sake. Poetry, can be angry, or sweet, but Brew prefers the angry kind, because of everything he's been through. Poetry heals his wounds. (How did you like my profound metaphor there? Pretty epic, right? :))

And to be honest, that at least made me understand why Brew's point of view was in verse. I still can't decide whether I liked it or not....you can, though. My quote today is from Brew's point of view. :)

I thought that Bronte was a good character, but she was a little naive. I don't think she really, truly got what was going on until 3/4's of the way through the book. I suppose that it just wasn't on her agenda. She figured it out, I'll say that, but she mostly relied on Tennyson for the answers. Tennyson figured it out early on, but he didn't tell anyone.

So, here, we have a classic 'I knew, but I didn't tell you.' storyline, but it just worked for this book in the end. So many different elements that probably wouldn't have worked in any other kind of story just came together in this book, because the author had the talent to think about it, and add it if it seemed right. So, all in all, I enjoyed Bruiser, and I think that I'll be reading more by this author in the future.
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Favorite Quote: I did not choose this gift. I cannot help what I am, what I do, I do not choose to rob others of their pain.