From the Bookshelf of OSU 3356 Spring 2013…
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Some of the best pre-teaching advice I have ever received came from my old 7th grade language arts teacher. When I recently asked her for any advice on the field of teaching, she told me that the teenage years are tough--especially for those who get riddiculed more than others. She advised me to pay close attention to those students--and I will.
"A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune" echoes this message from my former teacher loud and clear. Throughout this short story, I could not help b ...more
"A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune" echoes this message from my former teacher loud and clear. Throughout this short story, I could not help b ...more

I found "A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune" to be a good example of how to write a short story well. Although I found the story itself to be pretty average in terms of originality, I enjoyed it in terms of the writing. For teens and young adults experiencing issues with self-esteem and body image, I think that this story is highly relatable. I found the male's perspective to be refreshing; we generally only get to read about issues with body image from the female point of view. Angus,
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Reading "A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune" was refreshing. Not only because it teaches kids and teens to cast their fears aside and just live for a moment, but I think Angus has a very strong voice for a character who's story is only around 30 pages long. We really see him develop and control his anger and stand up for his parents and learn that there's more to life than worrying about what lies under a plum tux. And we get so much of his wit in such a little amount of time, it's trul
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I really enjoyed Angus Bethune and how the author was able to squeeze in so much about this young man's life while also establishing his likeability as well his insecurity/vulnerability concerning his body image and his family life. The author stayed true to the preface and was very concise, briefly introducing the reader to the issues shaping the struggles Agnus is experiencing and the individuals who are guiding him along the way, including an open-minded grandfather and an inspirational strep
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I found A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune to be a decent story. It manages to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time, but the story itself isn't very exciting. While Angus's home-life is certainly unique and something I had never imagined before, the story still seemed rather generic in the sense that it was ultimately one of countless "Unpopular/bullied kid has a crush on the popular girl and wins her over from her jerk, popular boyfriend" stories.
That's not to say I didn't find ...more
That's not to say I didn't find ...more

Apr 28, 2013
Ash Pryor
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I want to read this book in its entirety after reading the the snip of it. I wasn't originally interested in this book when I heard about it last semester but after reading Angus Bethune, I am intrigued. I think what I liked most was I could relate to him any anyone can because we all went to high school. We ha d a similar situation where a group of people nominated a girl who was constantly made fun of to homecoming court. I remember seeing how excited she was to see her name not even realizing
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"A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune" is such a fun way to remember how emotionally charged high school can be. There are real problems and some not so real problems all mashing together to create...confusion. This story, however, takes the confusion out of the story. It is simply getting to follow the "fat kid" through some scenarios. Whether you were the "fat kid" or the "popular kid" or the "athletic kid" or whatever kind of kid you were, I would guess that you can relate to this stor
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(Short Story) "A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune" was a well written short story. Despite its length, Angus' character is well developed. His sense of humor kept the story flowing. The story addressed two issues but I feel like only one was fully developed. It was nice to read a story from a male's perspective that deals with body issues. However, I think Angus' struggle with his self image overshadowed his unconventional family life. Besides his confrontation with Rick, we don't see h
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Chris Crutcher's short story "A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune" is a young adult short story about a boy athlete who struggles fitting in at his high school. The author does a good job drawling you in from the beginning by showing all the problems Angus struggles with, Angus is an overweight teenager who has homosexual parents and got voted as king for the school dance as a joke. However, it is a little cheesy how his childhood dream girl happens to be the girl he will be dancing with
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A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune is really a great story although I didn't enjoy the reading until the almost end. I guess because I like things with a happy ending. The first half of this story is somewhat discouraging, I can easily think of the image of a fat guy who has a weird name and different family is so much not confident when facing to humiliation. I can feel how badly he wishes to be normal and socially accepted by people around him. But when the story goes further, It beco
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Short Story (Week 1) - I thought this story was so cute. I could really imagine what it was like for a "big" boy living the life that Angus was living. I think Crutcher did an awesome job portraying Angus perfectly and making me truly understand what he was going through. This story had an awesome ending, with the "good guy" pulling out a win and the bully losing his girl. It would be a great story to show others that their lives aren't that bad and that life can go your way, you should never gi
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I found the story of Angus to be witty, thoughtful, and funny. Unlike many other books about "un-cool" kids I have read, Angus is actually able to stand up for himself, which I liked a lot. It is a nice change to see the antagonist of the story cower to the loser hero. I would suggest anybody to do this quick read, and I believe I would enjoy reading more stories from the whole book.
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Review #1-Short Story: I really loved this excerpt because it was fun to read and relatable--the author does a great job of digging deep into the mind of a teenaged boy dealing with high school. I love the creating writing style and the sarcastic sense of humor the author transmits into his character, Angus. He has a graceful way of addressing serious issues in a less-than-serious manner; making them overall more pleasant and approachable.

The short story about Angus Bethune was really good look at young adult literature topics. I wish there was more of a focus on him being bullied about his parents rather than his weight. *spoiler alert* I really liked Melissa and how as a popular girl she was shown as being flawed. *end of spoiler*
good intro into this author and I'd be interested in more. ...more
good intro into this author and I'd be interested in more. ...more

I read "A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune." Chris Crutcher really throws everything at you in just a few short pages. Angus is raised by two gay parents, and if he does't get enough ridicule for that, he is also very heavy. This short story teaches great lessons about being true to yourself no matter who you are or where you're from. This was a great story.
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Beginning of this short story, I was quite bored as he was explaining his life, parents and how he got his name. As the story went on, I started to enjoy it more as Angus's personality unfolded and was quite funny. Whoever his is looking to find a short, sweet, funny, short to story to read in a short period of time should read this short story.
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"A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune" (short story)
There were some things I liked About the short story and some things I didn't. I liked how the main character was a guy and was dealing with weight issues. Normally it is a girl role. I liked the humor of Angus, even though he was using it as a shield. I did not like how unrealistic the end was. Not wanting to give anything away, I would say I cant see that ending ever happen. Considering it was a short story, there was a lot of detail ( ...more
There were some things I liked About the short story and some things I didn't. I liked how the main character was a guy and was dealing with weight issues. Normally it is a girl role. I liked the humor of Angus, even though he was using it as a shield. I did not like how unrealistic the end was. Not wanting to give anything away, I would say I cant see that ending ever happen. Considering it was a short story, there was a lot of detail ( ...more