Huge

Oh, James Fuerst, how you have wronged me! The character of Genie (aka "Huge") had such potential. A 12-year-old with a filthy mouth, a violent streak, and a checkered past who also happens to love detective novels, is unabashedly "friends" with a stuffed turtle named Thrash, and is fiercely protect......more

*spoilers* There's so much to love in this book, and it's hard to really say a lot without more *SPOILERS*, so be forewarned. There's the swift pace; the evocation of NJ in the '80s (Manhunt in the mall? there's the best of my junior high experience in 4 words); the unraveling detective plot; the hum......more

Has the world gotten to a place where one should assume a book is full of profanity and vulgarity unless told otherwise? This was the third such book in a month I selected based on blurbs that hinted at nothing of the sort. I thought I would be safe with a pre-teen coming of age story that prominent......more

As I began this book, it seemed to resemble the literary lovechild of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime" and "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." But I was mistaken, and I was not disappointed by what the book delivered. The story is told with a serious dose of humor and irony, and......more

I'm kind of a sucker for coming-of-age stories written for adults, and this debut fits the bill. Set on the New Jersey shore in 1980-something, we follow 12-year-old Huge (aka Genie, aka Eugene) for a few weeks over the summer between 6th and 7th grade. Thanks to his severe anger management problems......more