When Zachary Beaver Came to Town

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Summary: Simply the best story of the year!
Review: I just finished reading this book minutes ago and I am so moved and touched that I had to write in. Holt's writing is simple and cinematic. Her characters will stay with me for a long time. I was hesitant at first to read a book just about a fat boy who is ridiculed and objectified, but this book is so much more. The sub plots of Cal and his brother brought me to tears. I want to start reading it all over again.

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Summary: Winner of the 1999 national book award
Review: When Zachary Beaver Came to Town is the is the winner of the 1999 National Book Award For Young People's Literature

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Summary: A true Texas treasure
Review: There is no room to doubt that this book more than deserved the 1999 National Book Award. Holt's quirky but lovable characters and beautiful imagery make this a book not quickly forgotten. This book is about friendship, loss, life, love and everything that connects them. For adults who revelled in Billie Letts' WHERE THE HEART IS, this book rings with the same poignancy and life-affirming spirit.

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Summary: Good writing and a predictable story
Review: I heard this book won a big award today so I went right to thelibrary and read it! I think it is very well written. However, Ifound myself very far ahead of the story, so that I was not rushing to find out what happened next because I had already guessed what would happen next. I actually put it down to go read a magazine! I think this is a book that adults may like more kids in middle school like me. Oh well. But the writing was still good.

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Summary: This book was good
Review: I liked this book. It is great how Holt stepped into Toby's shoes. Readers will grow to love Wayne, Toby's best friend's brother who was drafted for the Vietnam War. I loved Wayne, too. He was one of my favorite characters, despite the fact that he is not present and eventually dies. The characters are all very well developed. Kids from 4th grade to 8th grade will want to read this. This book is very good, and I enjoy reading it.

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Summary: I liked it
Review: "When Zachary Beaver Came To Town" was a really enjoyable book for me, it's funny at times, it has a great plot, cool characters, and I LOVE the setting in the '70s in a small texas town. Great book for any pre-teens/young teenagers, I think you should pick it up today.

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Summary: The Freak show
Review: This book is about a really fat kid named Zachary that is a freak show. He lives in a trailer and everyone always comes to see him. One day his owner leaves him and says he will be back in a few days. Well these two kids Toby and Cal become friends with him and they learn about his life and everything else about him. The police said if his owner Paulie is not back two weeks or so he will have to send him to social service home. You have to read the book to find out if he goes or not.
This book is really funny so I hope you get a chance to read it and if you like books about friendship then you will really like it. A part that I did not like about this book is the part when everyone made fun of Zachary


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Summary: When Zachary Beaver Came to Town---- a 15 year olds review
Review: When 13 year old Toby Wilson and his best friend Cal see the fattest kid in the world for the first time they are instantly curious about his life. The perfect opportunity arrives for them to find out more when the kid's guardian runs off mysteriously and the local authorities want some answers. Toby, Cal, and the police chief confront Zachary on where his guardian has gone, how long he will be gone, and start a slow moving friendship between Zachary and the boys. Together they go through the joy of Baptism and the sorrow of death but this only strengthens their friendship. I thought When Zachary Beaver Came to Town helped show the struggle of being a kid and the problems people have to deal with. Toby has to learn to deal with his mother leaving him and the loss of someone close to him. The book was full of important decisions that Toby has to face. Each decision helped him grow. He gets over his feelings for a girl by helping a friend realize his feelings for her. The book was constantly full of surprises and had a shock around every corner. Although it had a slow start it was worth reading to see how a stranger could change the lives of many people.