Brutal Youth by Anthony Breznican
Publisher: Thomas Dunne/Macmillan
Publication Date: June 10, 2014
Source: Be Books Consulting
Description:
Three freshmen must join forces to survive at a troubled, working-class Catholic high school with a student body full of bullies and zealots, and a faculty that’s even worse in Anthony Breznican’s Brutal Youth.
With a plunging reputation and enrollment rate, Saint Michael’s has become a crumbling dumping ground for expelled delinquents and a haven for the stridently religious when incoming freshman Peter Davidek signs up. On his first day, tensions are clearly on the rise as a picked-upon upperclassmen finally snaps, unleashing a violent attack on both the students who tormented him for so long, and the corrupt, petty faculty that let it happen. But within this desperate place, Peter befriends fellow freshmen Noah Stein, a volatile classmate whose face bears the scars of a hard-fighting past, and the beautiful but lonely Lorelei Paskal —so eager to become popular, she makes only enemies.
To even stand a chance at surviving their freshmen year, the trio must join forces as they navigate a bullying culture dominated by administrators like the once popular Ms. Bromine, their embittered guidance counselor, and Father Mercedes, the parish priest who plans to scapegoat the students as he makes off with church finances. A coming-of-age tale reversed, Brutal Youth follows these students as they discover that instead of growing older and wiser, going bad may be the only way to survive.
My Thoughts:
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| About the Author |
After reading the first few pages of Brutal Youth I knew two things for sure: this book is aptly named and I was thrilled to have been asked to take part in this tour.
Brutal Youth is dark and comic, it’s joyful and nightmarish. In other words: it’s high school. Even though it’s been a number of years, this book brought me right back to those years. There comes a point in adulthood when we paint a glossy coat over our days in high school and forget what it’s really like. Brutal Youth reminded me. It reminded me hard.
The characters are spot on. The bullies, the survivors, the clueless parents, the teachers who care, and the teachers who don’t. I was crazy about Peter, Noah, and Lorelei and hated to say goodbye to them at the end of the book. I won’t be forgetting them anytime soon. They were real and they were heartbreaking.
The Relentless Reader 
Oh my gosh – the author looks like a cross between John Mayer and Antonio Sabato, Jr!! Anyway – I've been hearing mixed things about this one, but I'm glad you liked it! I tend to love novels set in schools, so I might give this one a shot.
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Aghh this book sounds so good! I've heard some mixed things about it, so I'm glad you liked it!
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I'm still not sure about this one; I may have read my quota of brutal books for now but it sounds like you liked it a lot so maybe I will keep it in the back of my mind.
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Wow, sounds grim! Not sure I could take this read (The Year of the Gadfly had me in knots) — but love the cover design — seems to match the book perfectly.
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Glad this one worked so well for you!
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I liked this with reservations, but I'm glad it went over so well for you! Always love a book that you know is going to be an instant favorite!
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I had mixed feelings on this book, but it CERTAINLY made an impression. I'm glad it was a winner for you!
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I so didn't realize this is YA!? Wow!
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LOL, easy on the eyes, right?
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I heard mixed reviews as well so I was a bit skeptical going in. I'm glad that it impressed me!
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I can understand that. I really like dark books, but I can only handle so many of them in a row! 😉
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It is definitely on the dark side! I haven't read Gladfly but now I have to go look it up 😉
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You and me both 😉 I was nervous for some reason!
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I really related to those poor kids. I don't know how he did it exactly but wowza, it felt like it was 1990 in my head 😉
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Me too! Hooray 😀 Did you review this one, Katie? I have to go search your blog because I don't remember.
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Well, to be honest I don't know that it is! I mean, it's peopled with young characters going through the stuff that high school kids go through. BUT it doesn't read like a typical YA either.
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