Exploits of a Reluctant (But Extremely Goodlooking) Hero

by Maureen Fergus

Meet a teenage hero who likes nothing better than to sit back with a bucket of fried chicken and a girlie magazine, waiting for his family plumbing fortune to come to him. But when our hero gets into some serious trouble, he's forced to volunteer at a local soup kitchen where he finds himself at the center of a struggle between the rich and the poor, the selfish and the selfless. It is a worthy cause he could care less about until the day he stumbles across a shocking piece of information. What happens next surprises everybody, including our very reluctant hero. Exploits of a Reluctant (But Extremely Goodlooking) Hero is a novel of adventure, intrigue, Ukrainian dance lessons, disruptive horseplay, inappropriate ogling and some truly heroic consumption of junk food. Adrian Mole meets South Park in this often outrageous and always hilarious trip into the inner world of a boy teetering on the brink of manhood.

Genres: Humor, Young Adult, Fiction, Teen, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, Diary

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Author also writes as M.L. Fergus

Maureen Fergus's books for young people have been translated into more than a dozen languages, optioned for film and adapted for stage. They've been shortlisted and won many regional, national and international awards. Maureen also writes epic romantasy novels for older readers under the name M.L.Fergus. In addition to being a writer, Maureen has degrees in science and business, and she has held senior management positions in the aerospace, biopharmaceutical and financial services industries. She lives in Winnipeg, Canada with her family.

Reviews

[Meaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is honestly one of the funniest novels I've read in ages. I practically fell off my chair laughing a few times, pounding the table, tears streaming down my face. Think of it as like Adrian Mole, but with normal parents and more of a plot. The protagonist is your typical thirteen-year-old boy: arrogant, selfish, oblivious, and besieged by puberty. The author portrayed the adolescent boy friendships perfectly, and the details about the narrator's growing up meshed perfectly into the story. The only flaw I find is that his turnaround from a selfish jerk to an altruistic activist was a bit too sudden to be believable. But that's a minor thing in such a wonderful gem of a story.

[Crazycatlady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the funniest Middle grade book I’ve read since I don’t know when. Sadly, it hasn’t been checked out of our school library in at least five years, but I’ve got a slew of students who will absolutely love the format as well as the self-absorbed, yet redeemable, protagonist. I have a feeling I’m going to need to purchase an extra copy.

[Lexie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hell, it's summer and I'm entitled to some light reading, right? Exploits was just perfect. The main character is a Canadian boy who begins the novel pig headed, and selfish. He ends the novel only slightly redeemed, but by then the tone of self-congratulation is more ironic and easier to bear. The narrator's voice is engaging enough, but I found I was constantly irritated with his attitude. As the book progresses and the character grows, however, the jokes become much funnier and the book becomes a real joy to read.

[Erin Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this about 15 years ago and remember laughing my ass off. I still laughed this time around but not as much. The MC is ridiculously self-centered, like most teenagers, and such a smartass. Love that about him. His constant shenanigans did get tiresome though. Definitely worth reading.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

This just might be the funniest book I've ever read.

[Karyne Gaouette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ce livre avait plusieurs défauts, mais aussi beaucoup de qualité. Le fait est que l'histoire raconte l'histoire d'un enfant (ado?!) de 13 ans qui n'est franchement pas parfait. En fait, il est un peu monstre, je pourrais dire. Et pour lui, l'argent est une valeur assez importante.
Et bon, tout au long de l'histoire, le jeune fait des erreurs, des conneries, mais il apprend de chacune de ses actions.

Les défauts, c'est que le vocabulaire ne me faisait pas toujours pensé à un adolescent de 13 ans. Disons que les mots utilisés me faisaient parfois sourciller. Aussi, l'action est un peu lente à arriver. En fait, j'avais l'impression qu'il n'y avait jamais vraiment de grandes actions, de grands défis ou de quêtes. Il n'y avait pas vraiment de "but" ce qui rendait peut-être plus difficile l'envie de s'accrocher au livre.

PAR CONTRE, il y a une belle morale sur l'argent et le partage. Le jeune, pas religieux du tout, se retrouve quand même à travailler bénévolement dans une Mission qui sert des repas aux plus démunis. Il y découvre que bien que parfois on songe qu'il n'y a que des personnes robineuses qui s'y retrouve, c'est loin d'être le cas. Il y a aussi des gens moins chanceux dans la vie, des familles et des enfants...

Aussi... comme ce n'est pas un livre de l'année, j'ai aimé les petites références culturelles et le fait que le jeune raconte son histoire comme s'il enregistrait sa voix sur une cassette. UNE CASSETTE !!! Ahaha! J'adore. Ça me rappel des souvenirs!
Bref. :) Voilà!

[Jozef D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exploits of a relunctant (but extremley good looking) Hero is about a boy who gets in a situation. He has to serve at a soup kitchen for what he did. You may ask what what he did,but I will not tell you. Read the book to see what he did. You have to read the book to see what he did. If you just skim right through it you will miss it.

I am going to compare the main character and his dad. They have a lot of things in common since they are in the same family. They are both saving something they want. Also, they are both debaters. They fight for what they think is right. Although they are family they are not the same in every way. The dad is a BISOB manager and his son works at a soup kitchen. His dad tries to save a spot for the house of toilets,but his son his trying to keep so there is no world hunger.

I like the main character beter.That is because he teaches me a good lesson. Never give up just keep trying and it could turn around.He was trying to save the soup kitchen,but they want to shut it down. After a long time of thinking he came up with a good speech. Then the jury wanted to save the kitchen.

I would recomend this book to someone who can deal with some sad parts. The book could make you teary eyed. In the end something bad happens. It was unexpected and that is what mad it sad.

[Madeline Smoot · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hero of this story is narrating his tale onto tapes in a sort of audio journal to make his mother happy. His tale of woe begins when he does something very, very bad, and as a result must spend time volunteering in a soup kitchen as punishment. There he finds himself in the middle of a battle between the rich and the poor over the future of the soup kitchen. And our hero could not possibly care less. He has no interest in civic duty or social activism or much of anything else. His only goal is to serve his time, so to speak, and get on with his life. Then, he makes a discovery about the soup kitchen that changes his perspective. Suddenly the place and the battle has meaning, and our hero decides to enter the fray and become the hero he never meant to be.

This is a great story for what many people consider to be our rather apathetic times. It teaches a variety of lessons — that people won’t care about something unless it means something to them, that even the most cynical and disinterested of people can be moved to greatness, and that, yes, one kid can make a difference. There are so many different things that can be discussed with this book that makes it a great choice for book clubs or classroom discussion. I would recommend this for any kid 13 & up.

[BookKids · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hero of this story is narrating his tale onto tapes in a sort of audio journal to make his mother happy. His tale of woe begins when he does something very, very bad, and as a result must spend time volunteering in a soup kitchen as punishment. There he finds himself in the middle of a battle between the rich and the poor over the future of the soup kitchen. And our hero could not possibly care less. He has no interest in civic duty or social activism or much of anything else. His only goal is to serve his time, so to speak, and get on with his life. Then, he makes a discovery about the soup kitchen that changes his perspective. Suddenly the place and the battle has meaning, and our hero decides to enter the fray and become the hero he never meant to be.

This is a great story for what many people consider to be our rather apathetic times. It teaches a variety of lessons — that people won’t care about something unless it means something to them, that even the most cynical and disinterested of people can be moved to greatness, and that, yes, one kid can make a difference. There are so many different things that can be discussed with this book that makes it a great choice for book clubs or classroom discussion. I would recommend this for any kid 13 & up.

[Connie · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are certain kinds of characters I simply cannot stand.

One specific group is 12-13 year old boys who are cocky and when they're not complimenting themselves are thinking about sex.

Welcome to the 'hero'.

So simply because I cannot stand these kinds of characters, the first 100 or so pages were incredibly difficult to get through. The character's voice bothered me so much. I could not stand his endless prattling. It was boring and stupid and I hated it.

Lucky me, about page 100 there become more important matters. The MC actually stops thinking about himself and sex, to concern himself with matters of the plot. This made the book more bearable.

It's not that I cared for the plot. It was an interesting concept, by failed to pull on any heart strings or make me care. Which was a problem, as the issue could have been very interesting.

Honestly the only reason this book got two stars is because of the relief that there was a plot and the MC would stop thinking about himself.

My problem resided in the MC alone, so it just depends whether or not you can stand him.

[Lady Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny book that should easily appeal to teenage guys. Our 'hero' is a self-obsessed thirteen year old that wishes his father would give him tips on how to take off a girl's bra, that he had more money to buy fried chicken and candy, that he DIDN'T have to volunteer at the local soup kitchen, take Ukrainian dance lessons, or do his paper-route. He is whiny, obnoxious, and crude... and yet you can't help but laugh at the way he expresses himself, the situations he gets himself into, and just the utter ridiculousness! He reminds me quite a bit of Greg Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), the kind of protagonist that is hilarious on paper, but you would want to strangle in real life. Oh, and the best part, since a diary is just too girly, he's keeping track of his life with a tape recorder. Yep, old fashioned cassettes.

[Int'l librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Scott of Dunder-Mifflin had to be 13-years-old at some point. And that’s a fair description of the tape-recorded narrator of this book. The boy is never named, but that’s not for lack of ego. He demands attention, and entertainment, and mountains of Twinkies and Lucky Charms and fast food chicken. Just like Michael Scott, he spends a lot of time whining and wimpering. And just like the Office boss, he sees himself as a chiseled ladies’ man.

On the other hand, we never get a great sense of what he looks like. Given his appetite and hatred of exercise, I can best imagine him chiseled out of Crisco. Given his attitude, it’s hard to imagine anyone who would want to be his friend. That’s not the best premise for a story, and in spite of all the laughs and Office-like cringe moments, I can’t bring myself to care much one way or another.

[Heidi Sager · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has a main character who begins as a very selfish (an horny) young man. His parents exhibit solid, consistent models of guidance, but it seems to bounce right off this youth. By the story's end, the boy has predictably shifted away from his self-centeredness, but I found that it took so very long for it to happen, that I lost interest in him. His character remained static for too long and the scenes displaying his lack of integrity just seemed to keep repeating over and over without making any progress towards reformation. Although some passages were funny and sarcastic, I probably won't recommend this book to many of my grade 8 readers.

[Jennifer Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book and to be honest that surprised me. The thing though is it was just so funny and the main character is exploited so well I want to applaud the author. The main character is selfish, stuck up, and so conceited that mockery follows his footsteps. The thing though is isn't through rudeness or a mean, angry character but one who just doesn't seem to have a grasp on the real world views. But I loved him and how he thought with just happiness and self-importance thay didn't ruin him to everyone thinking he was a moron or hating who he was.

[Ruben Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book because compared to the other books this one makes me laugh with ever page that goes by. This book is a memoir but is like a series of recordings. It is about a boy who is going through various changes and his mom wants him to keep voice diaries, but doesn't call them that. Where i stopped he just figured out that he is going to own his grandpas' business and thinks that he will het a lot of money, but his best friend roger is looking at all the negatives to him moving.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really surprised me. The "reluctant hero" is a disturbed and totally self absorbed teenager. There were many moments that left me laughing so hard I was crying. This kid is seriously messed up and just when I thought he was hopeless---he flips on me and grows into a caring person who fights for those less fortunate. I loved this book.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Porn and fried chicken are what the reluctant hero of this diary-style story likes best. Unfortunately, a stint volunteering at the local soup kitchen put him in the middle between his soup kitchen friends and his business-owner father.[return][return]Reading the way 13-year-old boys talk, this book is laugh-out-loud funny. Should appeal to reluctant readers, both boys and girls.

[Josie Crimp · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lead character is so vacuous and annoying I didn't think I could possibly end up liking him... and yet. I thought this was great teen fiction with boy appeal, and a good balance of inanities and strong plot. I just wish I'd known when I was a teenager there'd been books like this, so I could have understood how boys' brains really worked... :-)

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Niel randomly found this at the library in the teen section. It is pretty hilarious.

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

hilarious!

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of funny. A little too much adult humor for a young adult book.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's funny but a little umm... TEEN at some parts.

[Melissa Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

HILARIOUS! Filled with wit and sarcasm, this is a great read for any teen or adult who loves to laugh.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's like diary of a wimpy kid for an older crowd. The "hero" is extremely self centered and unlikeable, but the story itself is hilarious. Good for boys.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious.

[Ally · Rating 2 out of 5]

funny

[Pam Klassen-dueck · Rating 5 out of 5]

The funniest book I've ever read.