Boy Bites Bug

February 1, 2018

Gr 4-6-When an awkward situation leads seventh grader Will to eat a stinkbug (spoiler alert: it doesn't go well), he finds himself feuding with an old friend, reaching out to a new one, and, most confusingly, newly famous. Petruck's story of embarrassment, wrestling, friendship, family, and eating bugs in a small Minnesota town grapples with issues of racism (overt and internalized) and moral confusion but keeps the tone light and the pace moving. Will's struggles to take responsibility for his actions and the thoughtful development of his friendships are at the core of the book, and while some characters are more lightly sketched, the straightforward and uncluttered style will please lovers of the "Wimpy Kid" series and similar titles. From pranks to pins, crickets to chapulines, this is relatable, often cringe-worthy, occasionally didactic, but always enjoyable. VERDICT A sure bet for reluctant readers, pranksters, and budding entomophagists (bug-eaters).-Katya Schapiro, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2018
Eating a stinkbug has unforeseen consequences for Will.Will Nolan, who is white, is shocked when his friend Darryl (also white) calls the new boy in their Minnesota school, Hispanic Eloy, a cholo. The word is not necessarily a slur, but Darryl clearly intends it as such, prompting Will to eat a stinkbug as a very middle school way of proving that he's not "a jerk," even if his friend is. Unsurprisingly, Will throws up. He arrives at school the next day mortified, only to find, in a turn of events that makes perfect middle school sense, that the stunt has granted him fame: He's now Bug Boy. But Will's problems are far from over: Tensions with Darryl continue to rise, and as he gets to know Eloy, problematic elements in Will's own thinking and behavior begin to reveal themselves. When Will unintentionally betrays Eloy's trust, he must decide not only how to redeem himself, but what sort of person he wants to be--and whether someone like Darryl, his lifelong friend with no apparent desire to denounce his bigotry, is someone Will wants in his life. Petruck successfully weaves such important themes as bias, solidarity, and coming to recognize one's own privilege and prejudice together, delivering them in a plot that is so very middle school (bugs! sports!) that it will hopefully appeal to a broad audience who might not otherwise choose to read about these crucial topics.An admirable feat that entertains even as it instructs. (Fiction. 10-14)

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Starred review from March 1, 2018
Grades 6-8 *Starred Review* In a tale that is funny, perceptive, and topical in more ways than one, a Minnesota seventh-grader impulsively pops a stink bug into his mouth to defuse an uncomfortable situation and finds himself caught between an old friend and a new one. Will's bug trick does effectively change the mood after long-time buddy Darryl refers to new kid (and native Minnesotan) Eloy Herrera as cholo and the Mexican. For Will though, newly christened Bug Boy, the resultant notoriety is mixed. As he searches for ways, or even reasons, to mend fences with Darryl, Will is schooled on how ethnic stereotyping can inform even the best-intentioned acts; Eloy is less than grateful about Will's plan to end a class presentation on insects as food by offering Oaxacan-style chapulines (fried grasshoppers) to everyone. His realization that Eloy doesn't owe him any favors for not being cool with Darryl's comments may come as an epiphany to many readers who fancy themselves likewise nonprejudiced. Along with savvy observations about racism and how friendships change and sometimes end, Petruck folds in generous measures of amateur wrestling action and coaching, as well as arguments for entomophagy capped at the end by a set of tempting (to some, anyway) insect-based recipes. Wax worm cookies, anyone?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)