Another Holden Caulfield?

Though he wants to be known as Huge, the narrator in this novel, Eugene, is called Genie by everybody who knows him. And he is NOT huge - he's a small 12-year-old boy going-into-6th-grade who has been hired by his senile grandmother to investigate the vandalism of the sign at the nursing home where she lives. Huge has anger issues, which led to a long-term suspension from school last year. He carries around a stuffed frog (known as Thrasher) that he got from his counselor. He rides a bike (the Cruiser) that he built out of spare parts. While on suspension, he had read the entire collection of Raymond Chandler and Phillip Marlowe detective books, and has taken on the hard-boiled detective persona of those books. He "sees" problems all around, and "collects evidence" -- but are things really as he sees them?

His dad had abandoned him, his older sister, and his mom a few years ago. Now his mom works two jobs, and he sees his sister as a sleep-around loser. The language in this book is vulgar, which was somewhat shocking. It has the tone of an old-fashioned detective novel - all simple, short, choppy sentences. In some ways Huge seems old for his age -- but there IS that stuffed frog...

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Catcher in the Rye, since Huge is a similar type of character, and he tends to do outlandish things. It's also a good choice for lovers of detective stories. But if swear words upset you, don't try this book. I would rate this one 2 out of 4 stars.