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August 1, 2014
An intense cult surrounding an all-state high school lacrosse team is slowly exposed by the school's largest student. Under the guidance of his best friend, Quinn, Greg "Dun the Ton" Dunsmore has been slowly chipping away at his 352-pound body with intense workouts in the school's weight room. One day, Greg and Quinn mistakenly discover the lacrosse team's hazing rituals, led by team captain Alva and head coach/school principal Mr. Callaghan. Greg, a budding film student, slowly captures various hazing incidents on film and, with the help of fellow fattie Ollie and fellow filmie Ella, creates a documentary with the purpose of taking the lacrosse team down. The book is structured like a conspiracy thriller, but the problem here is a bit obvious: Readers know from the outset that Callaghan is the head of the snake. Coupling this knowledge with repetitive scenes of Greg capturing footage and deciding it isn't enough evidence, which leads to capturing more footage, makes for a real drag. Like Greg, this book could stand to lose some excess weight. There's simply not enough story here. Making matters worse, the filmmaking teens are presented as types rather than actual characters, with their bullies so cartoonishly drawn that their problems have the level of complexity of an after-school special. Too long, too simple. (Fiction. 12-16)

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December 1, 2014

Gr 10 Up-At nearly 400 pounds, Greg is determined to shed his excess weight while making a documentary of the process. One day, Greg and his friend, Quinn, witness the lacrosse team involved in brutal hazing rituals, which Greg captures on film. Quinn wants to go to the principal, who is also the coach, but Greg convinces his friend that they need to record more evidence. Eventually, fellow film-geek, Ella, is drawn into the affair, as is Ollie, another boy desperate to lose weight. Devine describes the hazing and other bullying in explicit detail, making the book feel nauseatingly voyeuristic. The violence ranges from threats, insults, and web smears to beating victims unconscious, repeated blows to the genitals, "teabagging," finger-breaking, and force-feeding excrement. Greg has credibility problems due to his past attempts to create a Michael Moore-style documentary about the school and community. Still, it is difficult to understand why he never considers going to the police, or his parents. The primary characters are overloaded with background complications. Greg's mother is on a passive-aggressive quest to keep him fat. Ella has survived a suicide attempt triggered by bullying at her last school. Quinn is intimidated by his father and by his father's clients, who have sexually harassed him. Ollie's beloved grandfather is dying of obesity-related illness while his family members comfort themselves with food. Plot and character development are slow moving in a predictable direction. An additional purchase for libraries looking to strengthen their collections on bullying.-Rachel Anne Mencke, St. Matthew's Parish School, Pacific Palisades, CA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2014
Grades 9-12 Greg Dunsmore is 16, but here's the more relevant number: 352. That's his weight, which over the years has earned him the nickname Dun the Ton, but not a whole lot of friends. Fortunately, the one pal he has, Quinn, is a fitness fanatic and has begun to train Greg every day after school. It's during a workout that they stumble upon the horrible hazing rituals of the championship lacrosse team, everything from stick beatings to being force-fed feces. Greg is a budding filmmaker, and with his new buddies Oliver (who is even bigger than Greg) and Ella (a hard-as-nails fellow video auteur), he takes to secretly filming the crimes. This is definitely a Devine novel; there's so much sweat, blood, and adrenaline that you almost need to wring out the pages. Readers will need to forgive a late hard-to-swallow plot point, but once they do, it's thrilling to watch Greg enter the lion's den himselfthe lacrosse team's Hell Weekfor the bruising finale. A tough, smart look at weight issues, self-respect, and our intrinsic desire to belong at all costs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)