Ironman

Rating:
Summary: Moving book about teens with anger and/or family problems
Review: What a terrific book!
I started this book and almost abandoned it unread, because the first three chapters were sort of disjointed and uninteresting. The "letters to Larry" parts seemed distracting. But, I had previously read another book by Chris Crutcher, and so hung in there.
About the fourth chapter, everything came together. Letters to Larry were a nice additional reflection. The plot is interesting and well-done.
Each character is well-defined, and is "seen" through multiple points of view. Teens (and adults) reading this book will have a renewed ability to think about others in their totality -- to consider how that person got his/her behavior, and to look at others' points of view.
I believe this book will be beneficial to all teens, and especially those who are having trouble controlling their anger, or are going through difficulties or abuse in their lives -- particularly difficulties with parents and authority figures. The author, through his characters, offers advice on how to deal with anger problems.
I highly recommend this book for those in the appropriate age levels.