Big Mouth

June 2, 2008
“Reversal,” what 14-year-old Sherman Thuff calls vomiting, plays a major role in this attenuated story about a boy who plans to become “the fastest, richest, most famous competitive eater in the world”—an ambition born of watching “The Glutton Bowl” on TV. Setting his sights on a July 4th hot-dog eating contest, Shermie enlists his friends as trainers, then engages in a cycle of gorging and “reversals” that come in for prodigiously detailed descriptions. Conveniently, Shermie's science teacher assigns an experiment that familiarizes him with butyric acid, which smells like “vomit. Puke. Throw-up,” a passage typical of the sensibility at work. Other ham-handed scenes at Del Heiny Junior High, named for the ketchup manufacturer that serves as its corporate sponsor, revolve around attacks by anonymous “Mustard Taggers.” Halverson (Honk if You Hate Me
) tries to build up the mystery of who's behind the mustard revolt but the absurdity of this ketchup vs. mustard feud fizzles any real tension. By the time she rolls around to her point, that boys suffer from eating disorders, too, the audience may have checked out. Ages 10–up.

November 1, 2008
Gr 7 Up-By day, chunky 14-year-old Shermie Thuff works in his grandfather's ice-cream parlor, but at night he dreams of reaching competitive-eating stardom. Only thing is, he can't handle more than 10 hot dogs before he barfs, literally. To break the record, he deduces he's got to lose weight fast, so he enlists his friend Gardo, a member of the school wrestling team, to help him drop the pounds. The story is a subtle cautionary oddity that's probably too long for its own good, and has a niche audience, particularly with the competitive-eating theme. On a broader scale, it's a story of a young sportsman with an eating disorder, which is a rare find in teen fiction. The only trouble is that the plot is probably much too winding to reach this audience, and, instead, will likely find its place among a much younger crowd, who may or may not be patient enough to sit through Shermie's huffing-and-puffing inner dialogue. The gross-out factor promises plenty of puke, however, and that may be enough in itself to hook readers."Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library"

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