Bo Brewster has been at war with his father for as long as he can remember. Following angry outbursts at school that cost Bo his spot on the footba...
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Oct 14, 2007
Debbie
rated it: 
Thanks to a professor in an adolescent lit class, I first picked up this marvelous book. Being a consummate couch potato, the sports that permeate Crutcher's novels was initially a turn-off. However, once I read this book, I was hooked. Chris Crutcher has a background in psychology and his depiction of kids in crisis is always insightful and often heartbreaking. He is a master of the problem novel.
Beau Brewster is a 17 year old boy who gets into a power struggle with a teacher wh More...
Beau Brewster is a 17 year old boy who gets into a power struggle with a teacher wh More...
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May 18, 2011
Bembo
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Following an altercation with his football coach seventeen year old Beauregard Brewster find himself in trouble and excluded from school, his only way back is to attend Mr Nakatani's early morning Anger Management classes. We follow Bo's progress both through the third person narrative and in Bo's own words in his letters to talk show host Larry King.
Along the way Bo learns a lot about himself, his strong willed father now separated from his mother, his fellow students in Mr Nak's clas More...
Along the way Bo learns a lot about himself, his strong willed father now separated from his mother, his fellow students in Mr Nak's clas More...
May 06, 2011
Marcus
rated it:
Oh where to start. Well lets start off by saying that this book was pretty well thought out with a twist to the plot. First beginning with an abundance of emotions. Father-son relationships gone bad, yada yada yada. Learning when to give respect before expecting respect plays a large role in this novel. A child can only take so much negativity before they can't handle anymore and that is shown well in this book being that the main character Bo has a football coach also his english teacher alwa
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May 04, 2011
Austin
rated it:
Well, over the last couple weeks we have been reading the book Ironman, by Chris Crutcher. By looking at my star rating, you could guess that I loved this book. The book implemented conflict, trust, courage, and a bit of athletic struggle to be the best you can be. All of these parts make this book great.
It starts out as Bo Brewster writing to Larry King, famed talkshow host, letting Larry know that he is an up and coming athlete who is going to be famous for he Ironman completions More...
It starts out as Bo Brewster writing to Larry King, famed talkshow host, letting Larry know that he is an up and coming athlete who is going to be famous for he Ironman completions More...
May 02, 2011
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May 02, 2011
This book was ok but not my favorite. This book was really boring, its a book that if you want to fall asleep then you can read it. There were some parts that surprised me but i didn,t care about it. when i read this book i thouhgt it would be one that I would be slow reading.
When i started i was ahead of the class I was surprised. It was really funny reading some of the parts. The one I thought was the funniest was when Mr.S tryied to get Bo to figure it out. It was funny beca More...
When i started i was ahead of the class I was surprised. It was really funny reading some of the parts. The one I thought was the funniest was when Mr.S tryied to get Bo to figure it out. It was funny beca More...
Jun 15, 2010
Nicole
rated it: 
I don't even know where to start with this book. It's mediocre storytelling, in an "after school special" sort of way. Highly didactic, and unsubtly so. Since I've always heard Crutcher referred to as a "problem novel" author, this did not surprise me. What did surprise me were the "messages" of this particular after school special. About halfway through the book, I went and found a pencil and began marking all of the lines that I thought were complete and utte
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Nov 18, 2009
Alex
rated it:
The book Ironman offers a wide variety of excitement and suspense. Chris Cutcher, author of Ironman is a gripping novel that talks about a kid named Bo who longs to be a gladiator with his super strong girlfriend, Shelly. Ironman is a thrilling novel that explains real life situations and explains the hardships that life can bring. Bo has troubles at times controlling his anger, and gets himself put into Mr. Nak’s anger management group. This is where our story begins.
Bo goes to the same More...
Bo goes to the same More...
Feb 23, 2011
Ironman by Chris Crutcher (2004): Bo is a high school senior who spends all of his free time training for an Ironman competition, until a disagreement with a teacher forces him to add anger management classes to his schedule. But the real sources of his anger may be closer to home.
The frame of Bo’s narrative - a series of letters to Larry King - is at once bizarre, dated, and timeless (like Larry King himself), and allows the reader access to Bo’s personal perspective. Crutcher also More...
The frame of Bo’s narrative - a series of letters to Larry King - is at once bizarre, dated, and timeless (like Larry King himself), and allows the reader access to Bo’s personal perspective. Crutcher also More...
Sep 30, 2011
Jamie Weldon
rated it:
I rated this book a 4 because It was a very good book, and had a reat story line, but I wish it would have had a different ending. Like I wish the author would have added more detail. Maybe have Bo encounter his dad again. I didn't like how they ended their relationship as father and son at a drop off.
Some of the strengths of this book are the relationship of Shelly and Bo. They show how Shelly won't be treated as the under dog in their relationship. She's on top and she lets Bo know that More...
Some of the strengths of this book are the relationship of Shelly and Bo. They show how Shelly won't be treated as the under dog in their relationship. She's on top and she lets Bo know that More...
May 10, 2011
Devin
rated it:
i liked it but it was just some of the things that he went through that made me on the edge of linking what he would do to get into trouble. His dad wanted him to open and shut the door quietly 23 times and he refused so the consequences that he got was he would come home and go straight to his room without any question or words about it. Bo's dad made him miss christmas becuase he had to stay in his room. he maybe stayed in his room for months.
other than the bad things he lear More...
other than the bad things he lear More...
Mar 10, 2010
Jesse
rated it:
This book was really good. Crutcher sets this up as the main character (Beau) writing letters to Larry King because he believes Larry King really listens to what people have to say. This letter format makes the book easy to read and presents the story in a conversational story. Basically the story jumps in during the beginning of a crisis for Beau. He's starting to struggle in school and has had several outbursts with teachers. He pours all of his energy into his athletics (triathlon). Once he b
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May 09, 2011
Stefani
rated it:
Ironman, at first was hard for me to get into but once I kept going the plot and suspense really built up. This book turned out to be really good and I think it has issues that everyone can relate to in some way. From reading this book, I can say that there are lessons to be learned from it. For these reasons I reccommend it to all teenagers.
Ironman surprised me with it's diverse group of characters. Even though it was a "Young Adult" type of book, it didn't have the normal More...
Ironman surprised me with it's diverse group of characters. Even though it was a "Young Adult" type of book, it didn't have the normal More...
Aug 18, 2011
Samantha
rated it: 
Chris Crutcher may well be one of my new favorite authors. I'm the first to admit I'm not a sports fan. I don't have a favorite sport; I don't have a favorite team. Half the time, I don't know who's playing. Since Crutcher's books revolve around sports, they would be the last thing I'd probably pick up to read. But his books are also so much more than about sports. He has some very strong characters. At least from what I've read by him so far.
Bo Brewster has an anger problem. H More...
Bo Brewster has an anger problem. H More...
May 16, 2011
Allisonsetzer
rated it: 
I feel like at first the book was really awful, and I decided i couldnt force myself to read it. But as time progressed, so did my interest in the book. After I got over his sumwhat odd infatuation with Larry King, I was then able to focous more on the plot. As you will see once you read the book, Bo's temper is what corrupts his decisions but also motivates him to bigger and better achievements. Such as his goal of being a triathelete.
It starts with his constant agres More...
It starts with his constant agres More...
May 13, 2011
Seth
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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May 10, 2011
I realy wasn't intersted in the book at first. In fact I didn't even read chapter one. As time went on though I got intrested in the book. I read it and really enjoyed it. There's so many reasons of why I liked the book though. I believe that a lot of "young adults" would in fact enjoy reading this book.
I think the first thing I liked about the book was to me the characters were all like real life people. Even though I don't see people like that everyday doesn't mean More...
I think the first thing I liked about the book was to me the characters were all like real life people. Even though I don't see people like that everyday doesn't mean More...
May 11, 2011
Ashli
rated it:
I enjoyed this book because it was relatable, I would recommend this book to young adults. In the book Ironman it starts out with Bo, a troubled teen who couldn't control his anger. He was faced with many obstacles in the bok and had two choices to each problem; he could either blow up, or blow it off. Bo's first encounter with a problem was with Mr. Redmond, his English teacher. Mr. Remond gave Bo a hard time and was determined to teach him a lesson about quitting. When Bo had finally had enoug
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Dec 19, 2010
Stevecrandell
rated it:
This is a wonderful and powerful statement on behalf of all father-son relationships. Like many other Crutcher novels, there’s an overwhelming range of physical, emotional and social mountains to climb, and fall from. My most significant complaint is with the writing style – heavy on teen jock clichés and canned dialogue comebacks.
The ironman of the title is high school triathlete Bo Brewster. He’s training for a big race, battling his hard-headed divorced dad, and trying to clean up More...
The ironman of the title is high school triathlete Bo Brewster. He’s training for a big race, battling his hard-headed divorced dad, and trying to clean up More...
Dec 01, 2011
Jake
rated it:
I think Ironman is a great book. It was like a roller coaster ride; The overall mood of the book would be happy and and after only 1 sentence it would totally change to a really sad part. The book is about a high-school junior, Beauregard. Beauregard is preparing to participate in a triathlon but he has a few problems that get in his way. First of all he calls his teacher a bad word and is forced to participate in an anger management class which he is not happy about at all. To add another probl
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Oct 13, 2011
Jenny
rated it:
This book has so many similarities with Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes: a male athlete main character (Bo) who is bright but gets in trouble with various authority figures (in this case, an English teacher and his father); an asshole teacher (aforementioned); a wise and understanding coach and/or teacher (the Lion; Mr. Nak); an understanding mother; a father who is absent or an asshole (and in this case, in cahoots with the awful English teacher); a strong female peer character (Shelly); and other
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May 10, 2011
Hailey
rated it:
i thought Iron man was a great book. it really captures the points it was trying to get across. it shows you the struggles of the people you wouldnt expect to see them in but it also gives you the stereotypical characters like the kids in anger management who dont care about anything then theres the kids like Bo who are in there because they were pushed and pushed until it went to far.
Everyone has their own problems and deal with them in different ways. Bo's father has serious proble More...
Everyone has their own problems and deal with them in different ways. Bo's father has serious proble More...
May 18, 2011
Alishia
rated it:
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May 18, 2011
I really like the book Ironman, because it had a good plot and theme. The characters were very relateable as well. This book had a slow start, but once the plot started to pick up i couldn't put it down.
I liked the plot, because it had situations that every teenager can relate to. For example, Bo has problems with his dad. I think that every teenager has problems with their parents when they are teenagers, even if Bo's problems were probably more difficult, because teenager More...
I liked the plot, because it had situations that every teenager can relate to. For example, Bo has problems with his dad. I think that every teenager has problems with their parents when they are teenagers, even if Bo's problems were probably more difficult, because teenager More...
May 20, 2011
Jimmy
rated it:
I recently finished reading the book "Ironman", and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The book started off pretty slow and I almost wanted to put it down within the first few chapters, but about a third of the way through, it picked up the pace, and I ended up feeling glad that I stuck with it.
This book took place in a Spokane, Washington, and is about a boy named Bo Brewster. Bo Brewster is a troubled youth, often having problems with his father at home, and then his English t More...
This book took place in a Spokane, Washington, and is about a boy named Bo Brewster. Bo Brewster is a troubled youth, often having problems with his father at home, and then his English t More...
May 09, 2011
Alec
rated it:
When I first started reading this it seem to start off a little bit slow. As it progressed on I began to grow interested into the book. Bo as a character begins to change and grow into a different person. Bo pulled me into this book because he has parts of his life I can relate to.
As Bo fought struggled with his home, school, and athletic life he still kept his dream to become an Ironman. He never gave up because of his father or his teacher Mr. Redmond. This really pull More...
As Bo fought struggled with his home, school, and athletic life he still kept his dream to become an Ironman. He never gave up because of his father or his teacher Mr. Redmond. This really pull More...
May 11, 2011
Jared
rated it:
I pretty much thought this was a great book, I could really relate to it. I could relate to this novel because it has to do with anger in school, and anger towards adults that dont respect you... Now I know the saying "Respect your elders" but it would be hard when you are getting picked on by this older person Mr. Redmond, who is Bo Brewsters teacher (Bo is the main character in this story too), and football coach. Redmond was picking on Bo because Bo decided he did not want to play f
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May 09, 2011
Reagan
rated it:
Overall i really enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend it to other readers because it shows the other sides of peoples lives dealing with family struggles, love, sexuality, anger management, athletics and lots more.
I rated this book with five stars because I felt I could relate to many of the characters in different ways. They seemed real to me with real life problems and complications. The relationship struggle between Bo and his dad was a good way to show the multiple side More...
I rated this book with five stars because I felt I could relate to many of the characters in different ways. They seemed real to me with real life problems and complications. The relationship struggle between Bo and his dad was a good way to show the multiple side More...
Apr 17, 2011
Asenath
rated it:
I'm no expert on guy books, but this is one that I think reluctant guy readers would read, and like.
The book does take on a lot of serious topics: anger, abuse, sexuality, father son relationships, and sometimes I wondered if this book was trying a little to hard to make a statement. Obviously, this book is no substitute for therapy/professional help, however, I feel like this novel could help some people who are dealing with the issues mentioned above.
Bo was a likable main More...
The book does take on a lot of serious topics: anger, abuse, sexuality, father son relationships, and sometimes I wondered if this book was trying a little to hard to make a statement. Obviously, this book is no substitute for therapy/professional help, however, I feel like this novel could help some people who are dealing with the issues mentioned above.
Bo was a likable main More...
May 09, 2011
Emilee
rated it:
I enjoyed reading Ironman, because I liked how almost all the main characters had a problem, not one of them was perfect or never had anything wrong. At first it was a little hard for me to get into, but once Bo got involved in the anger management class, it got a lot better and so much more interesting. Especially when he got involved with Shelly, and the book told us more about Mr. S and Mr. Nak.
I really liked the fact that even though Bo had a problem with Mr. S' secret at first, More...
I really liked the fact that even though Bo had a problem with Mr. S' secret at first, More...
