Butter by Erin Jade Lange Review

Monday, August 6, 2012

Title: Butter
Author: Erin Jade Lange
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publish Date: September 18, 2012
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 316
Source: Publisher
A lonely obese boy everyone calls "Butter" is about to make history. He is going to eat himself to death—live on the Internet—and everyone is invited to watch. When he first makes the announcement online to his classmates, Butter expects pity, insults, and possibly sheer indifference.

What he gets are morbid cheerleaders rallying around his deadly plan. Yet as their dark encouragement grows, it begins to feel a lot like popularity. And that feels good. But what happens when Butter reaches his suicide deadline? Can he live with the fallout if he doesn’t go through with his plans?
Butter isn't your average teenage boy. He's not good-looking, he certainly doesn't get the girls and acne is the least of his teenage woes. Instead, Butter tops the scale at over 400 pounds - being a morbidly obese teen in high school, where only the most perfect rule. His weight clouds everything. He's lonely, he's depressed and he can longer see that he has anything going for him when, in fact, he's funny and extremely musically gifted. Butter sees no way out though. He thinks that the only thing to do is end it all, and why not go out the way he got to this place? He'll eat himself to death. What happens when the world rallies around him in encouragement though? Will pseudo-popularity save him?

You guys know me. I love issue books. I've read a whole bunch regarding eating disorders, though they mainly focus on anorexia or bulimia. Butter is my first encounter with an overeating disorder. Needless to say, with a synopsis like that, I was hooked. Erin Jade Lange has crafted a slightly off-kilter novel that challenges you to feel for both the bully and the bullied, making certain that there is no semblance of black or white in this book. Butter is crafted entirely in shades of grey that force you to make your own opinions and assumptions. With haunting and desperate prose that sometimes stings with a leering lilt, Butter is truly one of a kind.


In a genre where the YA golden boy is king, Butter is pretty much the most unlikely "hero" or MC you might meet. There was a part of me that loved him. He was really funny. He was also really talented. However, there was this dark side of him that made him oddly creepy, as he stalks the people online that he could never approach in person. Butter challenged me to put aside my own personal opinions though and fully immerse myself in the story. Parts of the novel are sickening (absolutely revolting), and made me want to hate every teenage bully out there. However, the beauty is that the novel portrays these moments accurately, and it doesn't mince on the details. Rather, it sheds light on the true, dark nature of bullying. As Butter's final countdown to his deathday approached, I couldn't help but be riveted. It was fast-paced, and the newfound popularity Butter faced was intriguing. I had no idea what was going to happen. In the end, I am glad we got a resolution, but there's a part of me that felt the ending was too neat and too tidy. Not every story needs to be wrapped in ribbons and bows. I do believe Butter could have been better if it had less of a delicate hand in the end.

Overall, a large part of me enjoyed the story and the fantastic writing style, while there's a part of me that's totally on the fence. I give it a 3.5 out of 5, and I definitely recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who enjoy contemporary fiction and issue books.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

19 comments:

  1. I haven't read any books on overeating either, but I think that it's an issue that everyone should know about and bullying overweight people makes me sick as well:P I think I'll read this book soon, thanks for the review!
    -Danna
      http://friendlyreaderohyeah.blogspot.com

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  2. I usually do not read many issue books, but Butter sounds so intriguing that I might give it a try!

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  3. Wow this sounds horrifying in a way but also strangely compelling. I may need to try this one in the future!

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  4. This is an interesting issue to tackle in a book, and the way that it's presented in the summary is intriguing as it is. I wonder about Butter - and what happens to him - so I'd say I'm effectively enticed to read this one!

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  5. It's definitely an interesting spin, and I do recommend it :) great writing!

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  6. i think it's worth your time to give it a go! :)

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  7. I know, right? It's such a range of emotions throughout - I think you'd do well to read it, Bailey :)

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  8. I'm glad! The book has great writing, and it definitely has a solid plot :)

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  9. Oh my gracious, my heart is pounding reading about this one. I have ALL THE FEELINGS just reading the summary. I don't know if I can make it through this book, especially being fairly new to the issue-heavy contemps. WOW. This sounds so intense but like there is definitely an audience for it out there. 

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  10. It's definitely not a book for the faint of heart, but it's so well-written. Give it a go someday :)

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  11. I read this one and I was quite dissappointed.. I expected this book to be.. different, but it was just so weird! I couldn't believe that nobody told a parent about it; that no teacher saw that something strange was going on.. I wish there was more about his past: why did he become obese? And I didn't like his personality. Yes, he grew on me, but yeah, I wished there was more. 

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  12. What a great review. Butter is on my To-Read List, and you reminded me of it. I'm disappointed that everything ended a little too neatly, but it sounds like it may still offer a learning experience for teens all the same. I can't wait to read it now!

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  13. This sounds like a cross between great and creepy. i don't know if I can be surprised by depths of teenage bully propensities. Cruelty can be unending regardless of all the "anti-bullying" campaigns. But it's always hard to read.

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  14. It definitely was a tad creepy. I remember feeling completely unsettled, but perhaps that was the point? It was definitely well-written :)

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  15. I think it's a good read - truly, and I think it's important, despite the few flaws :)

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  16. He really was a bit bothersome, eh? I struggled with him for a good while.

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  17. He really was a bit bothersome, eh? I struggled with him for a good while.

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  18. I think it's a good read - truly, and I think it's important, despite the few flaws :)

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  19. It definitely was a tad creepy. I remember feeling completely unsettled, but perhaps that was the point? It was definitely well-written :)

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