That's how he commands all that power, Bo thinks. Now what you do with those feelins is another thing, an' that's why we're here.' (62)īo feels the frustration of lost justice rising in his chest. An' nobody gets to identify yours but you. Self-hate is the worst feelin' of them all. 'I'm afraid you might have said what most adults say: that teenagers aren't quite done yet, that we're impulsive and adults intervene because we aren't ready to manage our lives.' (56)

More than anything, I hate feeling foolish.' (38) I can't tell you how much I'm afraid of looking bad.Being uneasy in front of people makes me feel out of control, and when I feel that way I do things I would never do when I'm okay. You never know when they'll come out and say what they see. '.guys who can look inside you scare the hell out of me. 'I understand physical pain I can control it.' (8) Overall, I really liked it (though not as much as Sarah Byrnes), and I'll probably read more of his books in the near future. (The confessional letter-writing is similar to Charlie's letters to an unnamed recipient in The Perks of Being a Wallflower.) Unlike Sarah Byrnes, which was narrated solely from Eric's POV, Ironman has a dual narrative structure: it consists mostly of e-mails from Bo to Larry King, but also has sections of third-person narration, which cover scenes outside of Bo's experience and/or show him from a different point of view than his own. Ironman has two strong mentors: swim coach Lionel Serbousek and anger management coach Mr. They are also developing their adult identities, and sometimes their parents or teachers are not the best role models. The adolescent characters in Crutcher's books have a strong work ethic (especially as this applies to team and/or individual sports) and a strong moral ethic as well. Nak) an understanding mother a father who is absent or an asshole (and in this case, in cahoots with the awful English teacher) a strong female peer character (Shelly) and other mistreated/abused misfits.īoth books deal directly with (in)justice and (un)fairness Ironman focuses more on how anger is a mask for fear, and how the path to controlling your anger is understanding your fears. This book has so many similarities with Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes: a male athlete main character (Bo) who is bright but gets in trouble with various authority figures (in this case, an English teacher and his father) an asshole teacher (aforementioned) a wise and understanding coach and/or teacher (the Lion Mr.

Ironman by chris crutcher