When Zachary Beaver Came to Town

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Overview

Nothing ever happens in Toby's small Texas town. Nothing much until this summer that's full of big changes.
It's tough for Toby when his mother leaves home to become a country singer. And Toby takes it hard when his best friend Cal's older brother goes off to fight in Vietnam. But now their sleepy town is about to get an even bigger jolt with the arrival of Zachary Beaver, billed as the fattest boy in the world. Toby is in for a summer unlike any other, a summer sure to change his life.

1999 National Book Award winner for Young People's Literature.

Editorial Reviews

Deirdre Donahue
This book packs more emotional power than 90% of the so called grown-up novels taking up precious space on bookshelves around the country. Kimberly Willis Hot's When Zachary Beaver Came to Town will resonate with readers.
USA Today
Horn Book
In her own down-to-earth, people, smart way, Holt offers a gift...It is a lovely---at times even giddy---date with real life.
Publishers Weekly
When "the fattest boy in the world" rolls into Antler, Tex., in a trailer, 13-year-old Toby's perspective can't help but change. In a starred review of this National Book Award winner, PW praised the "well-developed characters, all fantastic and flawed in their own ways, [who] add plenty of spice." Ages 10-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
KLIATT
To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, September 1999: The summer of Toby's 13th year is full of changes. It's 1971, and his best friend Cal's big brother has gone off to fight in Vietnam. Toby's mother has left too, gone to Nashville to pursue her dream of becoming a singing star. Toby has been left behind in the tiny town of Antler, Texas with his quiet postmaster Dad, who raises worms. Toby has a crush on pretty Scarlett, but she has eyes only for Juan. The big excitement in town is the arrival of a trailer containing the fattest boy in the world—Zachary Beaver, all 643 pounds of him. This tale of Toby and Cal's growing friendship with Zachary is full of humor as well as sadness as Toby learns to deal with loss. It's beautifully and sensitively related by Holt (author of My Louisiana Sky), who displays a finely tuned sense of place and time. A rich and satisfying read. KLIATT Codes: J*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior high school students. 1999, Random House, Dell, Laurel-Leaf, 227p.,
— Paula Rohrlick
Library Journal
Gr 5-8-A humdrum Texas summer is transformed when Toby and Cal befriend a surly sideshow star, arguably "the fattest boy in the world." Holt deftly fleshes out her characters and expands their worldview beyond the borders of their small town. (Nov.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Holt reinvents the coming-of-age story, breathing life into a quirky cast of characters that inhabits the enervated town of Antler, Texas. It's said that nothing ever happens in Antler, so the arrival of a trailer decked out with Christmas lights is news. Soon the townsfolk are lining up to peek at Zachary Beaver, world's fattest boy. A master at finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, the author peoples her town with a quiet postmaster/worm-raising father, aspiring country-singer mother, watchful sheriff, eccentric judge, town historian Miss Myrtie Mae, flirt Scarlett, and, at the center of it all, sensitive narrator Toby Wilson and his sidekick, best friend Cal. In the lazy days of one summer, Toby makes a good friend, loses his mother to the Grand Ole Opry, dances under the moonlight with heartbroken Scarlett, and tries to toughen up after the death of Cal's brother, who's been serving in Vietnam. Toby is an unusually strong narrator—awkward, earnest, and conflicted—who feels bad about a lie or simple wrongdoing. He nudges the lingering, Sunday-drive of a plot forward until, in the end, the gawked-at carnival boy in the trailer proves a most unlikely means of redemption. The events of the story combined may seem no larger than a pebble underfoot, yet the characters tug at readers, gaining steadily their attention and affection. (Fiction. 10-14)

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780440229049
  • Publisher: Random House Children's Books
  • Publication date: 4/10/2001
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 240
  • Sales rank: 106,501
  • Age range: 10 - 14 Years
  • Lexile: 0700L (what's this?)
  • Product dimensions: 5.20 (w) x 7.68 (h) x 0.58 (d)

Meet the Author

Kimberly Willis Holt

Kimberly Willis Holt’s first novel, My Louisiana Sky, was an ALA Notable Book and an ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults. It also received a Boston Globe—Horn Book Honor Award. Her most recent book is Keeper of the Night.

Read an Excerpt

Nothing ever happens in Antler, Texas. Nothing much at all. Until this afternoon, when an old blue Thunderbird pulls a trailer decorated with Christmas lights into the Dairy Maid parking lot. The red words painted on the trailer cause quite a buzz around town, and before an hour is up, half of Antler is standing in line with two dollars clutched in hand to see the fattest boy in the world.

Since it's too late in the summer for firecrackers and too early for the Ladybug Waltz, Cal and I join Miss Myrtie Mae and the First Baptist Quilting Bee at the back of the line.

Miss Myrtie Mae wears a wide-brimmed straw hat. She claims that she's never exposed her skin to sun. Even so, wrinkles fold into her face like an unironed shirt. She takes her job as town historian and librarian seriously, and as usual, her camera hangs around her neck. "Toby, how's your mom?

"Fine," I say.

"That will really be something if she wins."

"Yes, ma'am, it will." My mouth says the words, but my mind is not wanting to settle on a picture of her winning. Mom dreams of following in the footsteps of her favorite singer, Tammy Wynette. Last month she entered a singing contest in Amarillo and won first place. She got a trophy and an allexpense-paid trip to Nashville for a week to enter the National Amateurs' Country Music Competition at the Grand Ole Opry. The winner gets to cut a record album.

Cars and pickups pull into the Dairy Maid parking lot. Some people make no bones about it. They just get in fine to see him. Others try to act like they don't know anything about the buzz. They enter the Dairy Maid, place their orders, and exit with Cokefloats, chocolate-dipped cones, or curlicue fries, then wander to the back of the line. They don't fool me.

The line isn't moving because the big event hasn't started. Some skinny guy wearing a tuxedo, smoking a pipe, is taking the money and giving out green tickets. Cal could stand in line forever to relieve his curiosity. He knows more gossip than any old biddy in Antler because he gathers it down at the cotton gin, where his dad and the other farmers drink coffee.

"I got better things to do than this," I tell Cal. Like eat. My stomach's been growling all the time now because I haven't had a decent meal since Mom left a few days ago. Not that she cooked much lately since she was getting ready for that stupid contest. But I miss the fried catfish and barbecue dinners she brought home from the Bowl-a-Rama Cafe, where she works.

"Oh, come on, Toby," Cal begs. "He'll probably move out tomorrow and we'll never get another chance."

"He's just some fat kid. Heck, Malcolm Clifton probably has him beat hands down." Malcolm's mom claims he's big boned, not fat, but we've seen him pack away six jumbo burgers. I sigh real big like my dad does when he looks at my report card filled with Cs. "Okay," I say. "But I'm only waiting ten more minutes. After that, I'm splitting."

Cal grins that stupid grin with his black tooth showing. He likes to brag that he got his black tooth playing football, but I know the real story. His sister, Kate, socked him good when he scratched up her Carole King album. Cal says he was sick of hearing "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman" every stinking day of his life,

Scarlett Stalling walks toward the line, holding her bratty sister Tara's hand. Scarlett, looks cool wearing a bikini top underneath an open white blouse and hip huggers that hit fight below her belly button. With her golden tan and long, silky blond hair, she could do a commercial for Coppertone.

Scarlett doesn't go to the back of the line. She walks over to me. To me. Smiling, flashing that Ultra Brite sex appeal smile and the tiny gap between her two front teeth. Cal grins, giving her the tooth, but I lower my eyelids half-mast and jerk my head back a little as if to say, "Hey."

Then she speaks. "Hey, Toby, would y'all do me a favor?"

"Sure," I squeak, killing my cool act in one split second.

Scarlett flutters her eyelashes, and I suck in my breath. "Take Tara in for me." She passes her little sister's hand like she's handing over a dog's leash. Then she squeezes her fingers into her pocket and pulls out two crumpled dollar bills. I would give anything to be one of those lucky dollar bills tucked into her pocket.

She flips back her blond mane. "I've got to get back home and get ready. Juan's dropping by soon."

The skin on my chest prickles. Mom is right. Scarlett Stalling is a flirt. Mom always told me, "You better stay a spittin' distance from that girl. Her mother had a bad reputation when I went to school, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Cal punches my shoulder. "Great going, ladies' man!"

I watch Scarlett's tight jeans sway toward her house so she can get ready for the only Mexican guy in Antler junior High. Juan already shaves. He's a head taller than the rest of the guys (two heads taller than me). That gives him an instant ticket to play first string on our basketball team, even though he's slow footed and a lousy shot. Whenever I see him around town, a number-five-iron golf club swings at his side. I don't plan to ever give him a reason to use it.

"Fatty, fatty, two by four," Tara chimes as she stares at the trailer. "Can't get through the kitchen door."

"Shut up, squirt," I mutter.

Miss Myrtie Mae frowns at me.

Tara yanks on my arm. "Uummmm!" she hollers. "You said shut up. Scarlett! " She rises on her toes as if that makes her louder. "Toby said shut up to me!"


From the Audio Cassette (Unabridged) edition.

Copyright 2001 by Kimberly Willis Holt

Reading Group Guide

1. The theme of friendship surrounds every character in this book, but the reader sees Toby's relationships more fully than the relationships of any other character. Examine Toby's friendships and discuss how they affect him. Define friendship; explain what it means to have friends and what character traits you value in your friends. What traits do you possess that make you a friend to others?

2. Toby's dad tells him, "You are a lucky person if you go through life and have one person need you." (p. 195) Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Give examples from the book and from your own life to support your belief about the validity of this statement.

3. People all over Texas pay two dollars to see Zachary, then make fun of him and ask him rude questions about how much he eats. Have you ever made fun of somebody or called him or her names? How did that make you feel? Has anybody ever made fun of you? How did it make you feel? Why do people make fun of others? What benefit do they derive from this? What is the Golden Rule, and how could it be applied to this situation?

4. Discuss the reasons it is so important to Zachary to be baptized. What are other religious or spiritual rituals? What do they have in common? Have you or has someone you know had the same feelings that Zachary has about a spiritual ritual?

5. Toby and Cal both suffer loss, but they handle it differently. What factors contribute to the way they deal with their grief? Do they go through the five supposedly normal stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance? Have you or has someone you know lost someone important? Was the experience similar and did you share the same emotions? How do you think you would handle what happened to Toby and Cal?

6. Cal and Toby have no way of knowing that coming face to face with Zachary will forever transform their lives. How does their encounter with Zachary help them decide what kind of friends and what kind of people they want to become?

7. Almost every character in the novel has a dream. Toby's mother wants to be a singer; Toby wants Scarlett to be his girlfriend; Cal wants to get out of Antler; and Zachary wants to be baptized. What other dreams do these characters have, and how are Cal and Toby affected when they help Zachary realize two of his dreams? What dreams do you have, and what are you doing to work toward their fulfillment?

8. Through Zachary's appearance in Antler, the author shows several ways people learn to live with and to like strangers. What are some of those ways? Have you ever had an encounter with a stranger that changed your life? How have you dealt with new kids at school or in church? Have you ever been the new kid? How were you treated?

9. Even though they are best friends, Toby and Cal keep secrets from each other. Toby writes a letter to Wayne, Cal's brother in Vietnam, and Cal is furious with Toby when he finds out. Cal knows that Zachary has never really traveled, and when Toby finds out that Cal knew this and didn't tell him, he is angry. Why do the boys keep secrets from each other? Is it ever all right to tell a secret? Does keeping secrets hurt other people?

10. When Toby and Cal first meet Zachary, they think he is rude, selfish, and not worth getting to know. What changes their perspective? Why are they willing to take risks to help Zachary? Does Zachary appreciate what Cal and Toby do for him? Have you ever changed your opinion about a person after getting to know him or her?

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 71 )

Rating Distribution

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(41)

4 Star

(18)

3 Star

(5)

2 Star

(5)

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(2)

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 72 Customer Reviews
  • Anonymous

    Posted April 22, 2012

    Good but not the best

    I like this book. We read this book in school. The only complaint i have is that it is kindof rude and possibly affensive to those who are above the average wieght. I dont suggust you buy it if you planned on reading this to younger kids that yoi are trying to teach not to steriotype. If you want to have a laugh though i do suggest it. The book is way better than the movie :)

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 14, 2011

    When Zacbary Beaver Came to Town

    Slow in some parts.Overall it was pretty good though.

    1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted August 7, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    When Zachary Beaver came to town review by book_worm91

    When Zachary Beaver came to town was a good book to read. It wasn't the best book ever. It had a great story and a good message. I finish it in three days. overall I recommened this book to everyone.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Anonymous

    Posted February 28, 2007

    One of the best books I've ever read!

    'When Zachary Beaver Came to Town' is truly one of the best books I've ever read. It's the kind of book that really doesn't seem to be about much, but yet it really is about many things. No matter what part of the book I was reading, it kept me interested. I always wanted to find out what happened next. I usually don't like books like these but there was something different about this book. It was very easy to feel like I was part of the story. I can't pinpoint what it was about the author's writing that was so good, it just was. I find it hard to read anything else because I know nothing will be as good as this book. I have read many books with more adventure in them than you can imagine. However, this book was better. Maybe it was because something like this is easier to relate to because it actually can happen. It is sad, happy, funny, and everything else. I highly recommend this book. It is better than words can describe.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Anonymous

    Posted May 26, 2012

    Great book for anyone

    This book is great when you want an easy fast clean good read. A tween classic.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 24, 2012

    Read this:) :)

    This book was not very good. It was boring. I hate yo stereotype, but boys usually like this book more than girls, so i didnt like it so much.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 9, 2012

    BEST BOOK AND MOVIE EVER

    YOU HAVE TO READ THE BOOK AND WATCH THE MOVIE IT IS SO WORTH READING AND WATCHING
    HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS SAD IN SOME PARTS
    BUT YO WILL LAUGH AND ENJOY THE WHOLE BOOK D LOVED EVERY PAGE I CHOULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 24, 2012

    Fun read

    I enjoyed reading this book its a easy read but enjoy able, few tears came across with some laughter.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 11, 2012

    Sad but funny!

    This book is great. I read it with my class and everyone loved it. I recommend this book!

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  • Posted October 17, 2011

    Idk

    Right know im readying it for a middle school read a loud right know it is good and funny but some mean people told me the ending an it was really sad but i hope tht they were wrong

    0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 10, 2011

    Easy and fast to read!

    In the book When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, by Kimberly Willis Holt, the small, quaint town of Antler, Texas experiences something like never before. During the summer in the 1990's, a small, white sideshow trailer decorated in Christmas lights pulls into the towns Dairy Maid parking lot. The town lines up at the trailer door to see the fattest boy in the world. Two laid back, 13 year olds boys, Toby and Cal, see the boy inside the trailer and see how bad his life must be. Toby and Cal become curious about the boy after the guardian takes off in his car and leaves the trailer sitting in the parking lot for days on end, as they watch him from the roof of the Bowl-a-Rama.
    After getting a bad impression from the boy in the trailer, Toby and Cal have no desire to have anything to do with him. When Sherriff Levi asks the boys to do him a favor, they have to face the fattest boy in the world, Zachary Beaver from New York City.
    Toby and Cal discover the sad, heartbreaking story behind Zachary. Having lots in common, the boys want to help Zachary. Zachary wasn't the boy they thought he was when they first saw him sitting in his tiny trailer. Toby and Cal go on a quest to help Zachary and go through a life changing experience. This is an upbeat story about the run down, small town of Antler, Texas getting a rude awakening that is full of up and downs.

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  • Posted July 6, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Zachary Beaver

    This book was amazing! It was sort of slow in some places, but I really liked how te author developed the characters. The book did a great job talking about sensitive subjects like obesity, war, and overall: friendship. With characters and a story so real and true, this book would make a great read for anyone who likes realistic fiction.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 10, 2009

    Boring book--age 10

    Took way too long for the plot to get going. However,a few of the scenes were funny. Also, I liked the lesson taught that someone shouldn't be judged by their appearance. Another negitive thing about this book--why another book about the Mom deserting the family?

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 24, 2006

    When the Biggest Kid Came to Town.

    Willis Holt, Kimberly. When Zachary Beaver Came to Town. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1999 When Zachary Beaver Came to Town is a story about a boy named Toby, who was going through a hard time because his mom left him and his dad. Toby¿s mom was leaving to go to Nashville, Tennessee, for a singing career but she never will come home. Toby¿s dad raised worms for the farms. Then a boy named Zachary Beaver moves to the town Antler, Texas. A new kid moved to town. His name is Zachary Beaver, and everyone in town calls him the fat monster because he is the fattest person that they¿d ever seen. The sheriff of the town tells Toby that he and his best friend, Cal, would have to visit Zachary and make sure that he is safe and that he has enough food. Zachary does not want them to be his friends or look out for him. The town helps Zachary by taking care of him and helping him until he leaves to live somewhere else. Toby has a great life with his mom and dad until his mom wants to follow her dream. Toby¿s mom Opelania enters to go to Nashville, Tennessee, to be the best country singer in the world. She had gone to a big competition but she loses. Everyone in the town is voting for her until she starts to send letters to Toby saying that she is really going to miss him. After Toby reaches that she isn¿t coming back, he decides that he would help the sheriff help Zachary. Zachary has no guardian staying with him in his trailer. He doesn¿t have any friends or any food, but most people think that he can survive for months without food because he is so big. Lots of kids make fun of him because he couldn¿t even get out of his trailer because he was so big. Cal and Toby become his friend and helps him while the sheriff goes to find where his owner is. The sheriff finds him and Zachary¿s legal guardian was in Paris, France looking for a new act that he and Zachary are putting together to make a talent show. Then finally Zachary Beaver leaves and goes somewhere else. I thought that Toby¿s symbolism excellent and that he is showing the feelings of the characters very well. The characters played great parts and I could see the story of the book. Toby had a hard life and I could picture that in my head. When Zachary Beaver Came to Town is a fun and interesting book. The reader will laugh at times, but then he/she will get sad. It has a great setting and plot.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 7, 2006

    Great Book!!

    Taufanau M. Latu Mr. Coulter Per.4 4/5/06 Book Review The title of my book is ¿When Zachary Beaver Came to Town¿ by Kimberly Willis Holt. She also wrote different books such as ¿My Louisiana Sky¿. The genre of this book is Fiction. The book takes place in Antler Texas during the Vietnam War. I believed that the setting play a huge part on the book, since Texas is nothing but desert and it¿s hot every day, so that limited a lot of things that they can to. Like they can¿t go swimming in the middle of the desert, which what I mean limited. Toby is the protagonist along with Cal his best friend. They will have a summer like no others. The fun begins when a side shows boy pulls in to the parking lot on a trailer. That¿s when the summer begin, and the main character Toby and Cal try to figure why his there, when he¿s going to live and how they can create a new friend. The writers style in this book is very unique meaning that it has a lot of description making you want to flip to the next page every time. A lot of the description is mostly describing smell and very detail subject of certain things and how they look, making you fill like your there. Theirs is a lot of description that it brings the picture to life. One of the major Conflict that hurt the relationship between the main character and his best friends. Is because that the Protagonist Toby got caught up with something and didn¿t get to go his best friend¿s brother funeral that died in the Vietnam War that week, but its really an external conflicts. In this book there is a dynamic character, that would be Zachary Beaver, because he changes big time in the story. He used to be stubborn and didn¿t like it went others starring at him or try to make funny jester. Until the end, he finds out that there is people out there that would not make fun of him for who he is, but love to help out in time of needs. The main character Toby and his best friend Cal help there friend Zachary Beaver by putting sack of grocery next to his Trailer door every morning. The protagonist is like a static character that doesn¿t really changes throughout the whole book. Toby will act the same from the beginning to the end. In this book you will know a lot about the main character¿s head since it is on the First Person point of view. Toby the main character shows a little interior monologue, like he shows us a little of what his or her filling about other character and what happened during his pass or how he liked them. In his head, we can tell that he had some crush on a girl which he things he has no chance. But, as you read this book, you will come to fine that he will give it one last chance. I¿ll let you find out what happened to that dream. All of these facts, are just little hinds of what you¿re about to read. But remember I¿ll let you find out what happened in this great book. I had read this book over and over and I would recommend this book to those who likes drama and curiosity about other. This book will held you on the edge on your seat, you will not put it down until your done.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 21, 2006

    when zachary beaver cam to town

    This book was very confusing idk they would switch off to like different settings where i could not like picture what they were doing. The book wasnt the best there was just allot that didnt make sense but a very good book is A look at life from a treestand but it was very boring and it could have made a little more sense and maybe could have a little more detail.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 14, 2006

    Talk about putting this book down

    This book is not even what i expected it to be.The first two sentences of the book 'When Zachary Beaver Came to Town' by Kimberly Willis Holt were, 'Nothing ever happens in Antler, Texas. Nothing at all.', well Antler, Texas was where the whole book took place. The lead of the book didn't even make me want to read on. Turning on to the next page was like watching television on a Saturday night when you don't even expect any excitement to happen. I would give this book, at most, two stars. I was disappointed in reading this book. There was nothing exciting about any of the characters, accept for the amazement over Zachary Beaver being six hundred forty-three pounds. The two main characters, Cal and Toby, have nothing to do. Their big event for the day is going to Bowl-a-rama across the street to bowl and get some ice cream. Also I can't forget about talking to Zachary Beaver, who lives in a trailer and never comes out because he's over weight. Toby and Cal go finding out things about how hard it is to be Zachary. They also go out to try and see if he's really the fattest guy in the World Records Book. The two also keep up with Cal's Brother in Vietnam and Toby's Mom who is going to become a country singer. To me, none of that makes me want to turn the page to see what happens next. I would not suggest this book to you, but if I did you would be doing a lot of sleeping. I want a book that catches my eye and makes me want to read it non-stop. The book 'When Zachary Beaver Came to Town' didn't do anything like that. It made the book feel like it takes forever to read and it was slow going on to the next problem or solution. I really don't think the book had many problems. I didn't even think this book had that much of a plot. I know now to not judge a book by its cover because it might not be as good as you suspected.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 7, 2005

    Great Middle School Read-a-Loud!

    I read this book to my 8th graders and they BEGGED me to read it each day. It is a great story that relates to well to middle-schoolers. There's a bit of everything in the storyline: friendships, romance (not too gaggy for the boys), Vietnam War, accepting those different than you and divorce. VERY applicable to middle school students! I cried, laughed and couldn't put it down!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 23, 2005

    Awsome.

    Good summer book! You don't want to put it down! There is a shocker in the story that will raddle a familiy. A boy gets baptised. Ladybugs! Snowballs! Bowling! What is there not to like about this book? Read it. You'll enjoy!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 24, 2005

    Okay, but not great

    This book is about a boy named toby. He thinks that he lives in the most boring Texas town. When Zachary Beaver arrives things take a turn. It is very emotional and sometimes you just want to throw the book across the room. You are so sucked in that you have to keep reading.

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