Angry Management [Paperback]

ANGRY MANAGEMENT contains new stories with characters from previous Chris Crutcher books. Crutcher explains in his foreword that he has been "...asked over and over again whether or not there will be a sequel to STAYING FAT FOR SARAH BYRNES or WHALE TALK..." He goes on to explain that he doesn't "...generally get the notion to write a sequel to a novel that I've already taken two years to write. But during those two years I always fall in love with my characters, and I loved revisiting some of them in this other, shorter form." Crutcher presents a tribute to his characters and his fans in this new book.

Sarah Byrnes was physically abused by her father at a young age when he pressed her face against a burning stove. Then Sarah's mother abandoned her, leaving behind a girl emotionally and physically scarred. She sought after her mother once for an explanation, but left uncomforted and unfulfilled. Now with the help of Angus Bethune, an overweight and low self-esteem teenager with unconventional parents, Sarah once again seeks to confront her mother and find some closure. Along the way, they establish a stronger bond and perhaps fill an empty spot in each other's lives. The ending to their story isn't necessarily perfect, but that doesn't mean it's not happy.

Montana West likes to push the envelope in everything she does. Whether it's fighting with her adoptive parents or writing articles on hot-button issues for the school newspaper, Montana is not afraid to speak her mind. When censorship from the school's administration rears its ugly head, she takes a break to write an article about the school's football team, the one topic in which she could care less. However, she doesn't expect to fall for bad-boy Trey Chase and his irresistible charm. Together they decide to fight back against the censorship of Montana's legalized marijuana article and run into the last person they thought would stand in their way: the chairman of the school board --- and Montana's adoptive father. Now Montana must decide where her loyalties lie and what she really believes.

Marcus James has every reason to be angry. He not only happens to be one of the few black students in a prejudiced inland Northwest high school, he is also the only gay black student in a prejudiced inland Northwest high school. Marcus takes everything in stride, though, and is counting down the days until he can escape to college and a brighter future. One day he shows up to class with a pink noose hanging around his neck, and a hate crime is investigated by the administration in a sloppy, administrative way. At a school assembly where Marcus is singled out, an unlikely ally emerges in Matt Miller, state champion wrestler, who stands up against the moronic handling of the situation. Matt refuses to let the hate crime fall by the wayside, and Marcus is simply trying to survive another day. The ultimate outcome is not what either person expects.

While die-hard Crutcher fans may be uneasy about the new settings and storylines for some of his infamous characters, they should be comforted by the fact that he has taken great care to keep everything true to form and style from his original creations. While some of his characters and situations may be shocking, Crutcher doesn't write these stories for their shock value. Instead, he remains true to sitting back and telling the story and watching what happens next. Crutcher's protagonists have always seemed very real to me, and although their lives may be a mess sometimes, they always seem to find hope in every situation.

--- Reviewed by Benjamin Boche

Although I was already a fan of Chris Crutcher's work, this book shot to the top of my TBR pile when it was challenged by a parent in South Carolina. Because of Crutcher's willingness to take on a host of societal issues, his books are often challenged--and teens love them. I'm not generally a huge fan of short stories, but I enjoyed this collection of three novellas and the chance to revisit characters from several of Crutcher's previous novels. Highly recommended.

The characters in the three stories are loosely bound together by Mr. Nak's Angry Management group.

"Kyle Maynard and the Craggy Face of the Moon" features Sarah Byrnes and Angus Bethune. Sarah bears her burn-scarred face like a shield to protect herself from becoming too involved with anyone and Angus uses his girth and his sense of humor in a similar way. The teens become closer as they embark on a road trip to find Sarah's mother, who abandoned her to her abusive father.

In "Montana Wild," Montana West writes the kind of stories for her school newspaper that never get published, thanks to conservative administrators backed up by the right-wing head of the school board who happens to be her adoptive father. When her latest story, about medical marijuana, gets shot down, she is asked to write a human interest piece on a football player. Trey Chase is not a stereotypical "dumb jock" and Montana is drawn to him right away. His grandmother, Mari, is dying of cancer and uses marijuana to ease her pain and nausea. Mari suggests that Montana not give up on her medical marijuana article. Even knowing that the school paper won't publish it, Montana decides to push the issue and get it before the school board. Mari says, "You don't have to win to win. Just keep putting it in front of them. The truth rises." The showdown between Montana and Maxwell West is inevitable.

The third story, "Meet Me at the Gates, Marcus James" was my favorite. Marcus is the only African American student at his high school, which is run by football-obsessed bigots. Not only is Marcus whip-smart and outspoken, but he is also gay. When he strolls into Mr. Simet's U.S. Government class wearing the pink noose that had been hanging on his locker, no one misses its significance. Mr. Simet is supportive, but cautions Marcus about the statement he's making by wearing the noose. When the school administrators call an assembly to "address" the bigotry, Matt Miller, a devout Christian, calls them out for appearing to address the issue, while making it impossible to resolve. I love this character, who embodies the best Christian behavior, rather than the holier-than-thou brand of Christianity that permeates American culture. He stands up and tells the truth, which unleashes unforeseen consequences and connects him with Marcus forever. Marcus' father is another interesting character because, even though he understands what it's like to be hated for something he can't control (his race), his initial reaction to learning that Marcus is gay is anger. He eventually accepts his son and has this to say, "You know, teacher man, bein' homosexual isn't somethin' my boy chose. He just was. Somebody's readin' the good book all wrong. You ask me, God creates it, God loves it. Simple as that." Amen.

The stories in `Angry Management' follow characters Chris Crutcher has already used in his novels, which I think is a great premise on its own, because we all want to know more about our favorite characters after the novel is over, and this gives us a nice taste of what they're up to in a different setting. Every story is heartfelt and genuinely emotional. Crutcher does a good job of keeping his characters' voices true to the voices of the teens they're representing and that not only makes this a good read but an excellent young adult novel, or compilation in this case. Each of the stories focuses on a different challenge of adolescence, not all of which can be related to directly by every `young adult' who picks up this book to read, but he gives a wide enough range that I think almost anyone could pick up this book and relate to someone on a personal level.

I have to admit that, personally, this isn't a book I'd consider one of my favorite young adult reads, but from the `teacher' perspective of whether or not this would be a book to recommend to students/use in the classroom it's definitely something I'd pass along. While there is always the overpowering issue of censorship which may be an issue regarding this book being taught in the classroom, it's one I would like to include if this were a perfect world. It provides an insight into different situations and families students may not otherwise see, and it is genuine enough that students who are living in these worlds themselves aren't going to feel a falseness or pandering that we sometimes see in young adult lit. Each short story could very easily be taught on its own, and it gives a great character preview for Crutcher's longer novels featuring the same characters, (and I love being able to recommend a book that leads my students to want to read more!).