Burger Wuss

by M. T. Anderson

Overview

“Savaging young love, male adolescence, and . . . the fast-food business. . . . Did somebody say McSatire?” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Anthony has never been able to stand up for himself—that is, not until his girlfriend is in someone else’s arms. Then Anthony vows revenge and devises the Plan. It begins with getting a job at the fast-food restaurant where his nemesis happens to be a star employee. But when the Plan is finally in place, will Anthony’s hunger for revenge be satisfied? Will he prove he’s not a wuss?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763694326
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/12/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	480L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

M. T. Anderson teaches in the MFA in Writing for Children program at Vermont College. He says: "When I was a teenager, I worked at McDonald's. On my first day, I had to go into the women's room and sponge up something that looked like an industrial disaster. I was almost fired for putting up a sign on the door that said Out of McOrder. The whole experience went downhill from there."

Read an Excerpt

I told them I was there for the interview. A beeper went off. For a second, the girl stared at me. The beeper was still going off. "That’s the quality control beeper," she explained. "I’ll go get Mike. He talks to people about working. Excuse me." She turned around. I smiled in a secret way. I thought, They will suspect nothing. I look as calm and normal as can be.
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Burger Wuss"
by .
Copyright © 2017 M.T. Anderson.
Excerpted by permission of Candlewick Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"M.T. Anderson has an uncanny ear for how a generation speaks - his dialogue crackles with authenticity. But it is his humor, his satiric eye tempred with real feeling, that sets this book apart." - Kathryn Lasky — None

"Ferociously funny." - Tim Wynne-Jones — None

Editorial Reviews

"M.T. Anderson has an uncanny ear for how a generation speaks - his dialogue crackles with authenticity. But it is his humor, his satiric eye tempred with real feeling, that sets this book apart." –  Kathryn Lasky 

"Ferociously funny." – Tim Wynne-Jones

From the Publisher

In a world where every teenager works at one fast food chain or another and likes it, Anthony just doesn't fit in. His first real girlfriend has dumped him for a meathead named Turner who works at O'Dermott's, so Anthony plots revenge. He gets a job at the restaurant and embarks on a complicated plot to pit the kids from Burger Queen against the kids from O'Dermott's--and thereby draw the BQ wrath down on company-man Turner's head. Like Anderson's Thirsty, this book is a burlesque of teenage angst and conformist culture; the vacuous foundation of the vicious rivalry between the two food chains is underscored by a caustic portrayal of Anthony's two best friends, giddy with their own puppy love. They call each other "Ricky Licky" and "Jennster Junebug," have eyes for no one else, and then, after finally having intercourse, break up over a movie rental. Anarchist vagabond Shunt is Anthony's partner in his anti-conformity crimes: "I'm Shunt," he says, on Anthony's first day at work. "Welcome to corporate hell. Start screaming now." Although the ending is a little sudden--and although Anthony's long delay in realizing that a girl can't be "stolen" makes him seem like a bit of a meathead himself--Anderson's witty tale of a lovelorn boy and his corporate antagonists is both a tasty read and a stinging satire. Ages 14-up. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 8-10-This lightweight, sometimes tedious spoof pokes fun at the inconstancies of the fast-food generation. Anthony takes a job at O'Dermott's restaurant to make life miserable for Turner, a boy whom he blames for the alienation of the affections of his girlfriend, Diana. With intricate plans of destruction in mind, Anthony places himself in a lose-lose situation, actually at the mercy of his rival, who is his superior at O'Dermott's. In antic and broad comedic situations, Turner causes on-the-job angst for Anthony, aka "The Wuss." Invited out after work with the duplicitous Turner and other staff, he is set up in a fight with workers from the competition, Burger Queen. Anthony's revenge plan is activated with the help of grillboy, anarchist Shunt; they steal the condiment troll from Burger Queen in a daring undercover-assault mission. An anonymous letter points the finger to O'Dermott's, in general, and Turner, in specific, and his cherished car is driven into a lake by angry Burger Queen employees. Victory is not sweet for Anthony, though; he still doesn't get it. Beaten to a bloody pulp by Turner, he finally has it spelled out to him by Diana that she went after Turner, and that she dumped Anthony. Duh! The boy's parents and eavesdropping neighbor are buffoons. Dialogue among the teenagers, particularly Anthony's love-besotted best friend and girlfriend, is annoying and unrealistic. Readers will enjoy Burger Wuss for the spoof that it is, but it's hard to drum up much sympathy for a dense protagonist who takes so long to learn that he's been an idiot.-Alice Casey Smith, Sayreville War Memorial High School, NJ Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Savaging young love, male adolescence, and—with tender attention to detail and wildly funny results—the fast food business, Anderson (Thirsty, 1997) pits a teenage doormat against a larger, smarter, nastier rival. Anthony, after seeing his girlfriend, Diana, making out with local stud, Turner, concocts an elaborate revenge: He gets hired at the O'Dermott's where Turner works, then puts into play Turner's beloved '85 Olds and a fiberglass, condiment-dispensing troll from the town's Burger Queen. Meanwhile, as he listens to his manager's mindless boosterism on one side and a cook's lurid accusations of corporate greed and hideous livestock abuse on the other, Anthony becomes Turner's designated victim, a target for put-downs, pranks, and periodic assaults. His revenge works perfectly, and Anthony knows true success when Turner's girlfriend asks him to confirm her suspicions of her boy's infidelities. Still, Anthony is a hero, and so his victory is a hollow one: "I feel like I became what I hate most. But a clumsy, stupid version." Ultimately, Turner beats Anthony to a pulp in front of costumed company mascot, Kermit O'Dermott, and a battalion of corporate big shots; Diana walks away in disgust; and Anthony, having lost at love, war, and employment, picks himself back up feeling more liberated than humiliated. Anderson plots this with the precision of a fast-food marketing campaign, but his hero is more human than high concept. Did somebody say McSatire? (Fiction. 13-15)

Kirkus Reviews