Butter is obese. He is lonely and miserable and sits in his room playing his sax and eating junk food which his Mother keeps giving him while smothering him with affection to make up for the fact that his Father has not spoken to him in months, and refuses to speak to him until he loses some weight. Butter is isolated at school and friendless at home.
The only time he is happy is when he is talking anonymously to the girl he is in love with online. Anna chats to Butter online, even flirting with him but does not for one minute think that he is the over-weight boy who sits behind her in class. When Anna suggests they meet up on New Year's Eve Butter decides he has had enough and creates a website with the following message: I can't take another year in this fat suit, but I can end this year with a bang. If you can stomach it, you're invited to watch as I eat myself to death – Butter.
From this moment on Butter's life begins to change and he struggles to cope with his new found fame with his website deadline coming ever closer.
This was an unusual, cruel, warm and witty story. You feel really sorry for Butter and grow to dislike the superficial personalities of his classmates as the story unfolds. I found Anna to be shallow, annoying and unlikeable and I did not want Butter to end up with her at all. I liked his Professor who saw his talent and encouraged Butter to make something of himself, never giving up on him throughout the book. His "Doc" was also very compassionate and helps Butter a lot.
I would recommend this book to any teenage reader as they will be able to relate to certain parts of the story.
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