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Beetle Battles the Biotoxic Bulldogs
Beetle, a 15-year-old boy, is tasked with what seems to be an insurmountable mission. Finding his sneaker, a green haired troll, and preserving the rainforest are all a part of his every-day life. Will he also have time to take on the biotoxic bulldogs and win the girl of his dreams?
This is a comedic novel featuring a fifteen-year-old boy named Beetle and his involvement with the production of a film, The Attack of the Biotoxic Bulldogs. It is highly cinematic, both in content and in form.
The novel uses a strong cast of characters, each vividly portrayed, believable, and compelling. The dialogue pops, and the speech of each personality sings.
This is a comedic novel featuring a fifteen-year-old boy named Beetle and his involvement with the production of a film, The Attack of the Biotoxic Bulldogs. It is highly cinematic, both in content and in form.
The novel uses a strong cast of characters, each vividly portrayed, believable, and compelling. The dialogue pops, and the speech of each personality sings.
- GenresFictionYoung Adult
Audiobook
Published February 2, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 30, 2017
I got a sneak preview of this book and having read it; I can't say enough good about it. I'm not going to use this space to give away spoilers. I'm going to say that while it's written at a teen level, any adult will find it a joy to read. It's a welcome refreshing book that stands out in a flood of other books of its type. I will keep an eye out for any other of this author's books.
July 20, 2017
The short version first. . .
From time to time I receive requests to read and review an author’s book. Nine times out of ten the book is not normally in either
(1) my commitment areas for reading during a year’s time frame, such as book groups on Goodreads, or
(2) my areas of expertise by education, training, or expertise, or
(3) not on my established and 600 title long TBR (To Be Read) List – the books that I really want to read and have already established a priority setting for what and how I want to read next based on my time, expertise, interests, etc., or – and finally –
(4) something about which I want to learn which is also prioritized by training, interest, and desire for personal growth and development.
Such is the case of this work, but really it does have deep pertinence to me personally, as it easily falls within my areas of professional expertise as a certified professional educator in the State of Texas. Thus we come to the work at hand, specifically Andrew Ralston’s Beetle Battles the Biotoxic Bulldogs, one of the more interesting, and certainly one of the most entertaining books I have had the pleasure of reading in some time.
Recommended to me by a friend, M.D., on Goodreads (GR), I shoehorned this short book, 144 pages on my e-reader of choice, a beefed up in memory Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 Nook. It is not as large as some of the 9-to-12 inchers from my past, but it has a great screen, good support and simple operation with a ton of options if you choose to add them, opting for memory upgrades and loading a suite of network tools for the traditionally electronically challenged house that we own. Enough of my technical trivia and nightmares, on to the story . . .
My background in education is one of a love affair for 35 years with some of the best people in the world, the public school students of Central Texas, specifically of the small city where I have spent the past 63 ½ years of my 64-year life. I have been in those hallowed halls similar to the ones that Beetle trod in his book. He was a bit older than the typical middle school student, being more of the age and demeanor of an older student, but with the behavior and social interaction of a younger student. As one reads the book, several things become clear about the protagonist, 15 year-old, behaviorally, attitudinally, and behaviorally challenged, as well as a gifted student with a unique ability to work with and edit 16-millimeter film stock and raw footage. And, as most middle-teens male students, he does share an interest in a young girl of his age, who is just about as interested in him as he is in her. The opportunities are vast and deep especially as you add in similar students with worse problems, shorter tempers, and a bullyish attitude, especially toward challenged students of smaller stature than their ownIn addition to all these opportunities for learning and interaction, our young hero – who goes by a nickname, Beetle – probably a referent to his stature and demeanor – is almost always dealing with some level of drama, torment, or a challenge with a friend or a “friend” or, you understand, particularly if you are past the ”Sturm und Drang” of adolescence, so it can be examined and understood from the benefits of your wisdom and distance from the events that were so embarrassing that you don’t want anyone to remember them with or for you. The fact the Beetle’s school is a parochial school also has elements of opportunities for testing and challenging Beetle’s battle with his age and all the rest. He also has opportunities to help in the high school at which he will attend at the start of the coming school year, and even though the help is of a custodial nature, Beetle is able to earn enough money to be able to get special things from the cafeteria vending machines from time to time, unless his focus misses the incoming bully-boys who always are around to bedevil and ruin either physical, emotional, or basic abilities to live, breathe, and return from one of their “visits” without permanent of disfiguring injury.
Mr. Ralston’s writing describes middle school life with a fair degree of accuracy, much as I witnessed it during the last seven years of my career in education. Typical young adolescent behavior – bullying, tussling, gigging one another, and showing all those signs of adolescent attitude – moodiness, despondency, and agitation – all associated with the raging hormonal changes of adolescence in any normal human population. The fact that Mr. Ralston’s provides us with insights into Beetle’s home life helps to bring some closure and depth to the story and to Beetle’s character. Mr. Ralston also devotes some time to Beetle’s interaction with the parish priest who serves of the spiritual and, at times, behavioral guidepost for the students, staff, and community. Mr. Ralston uses the vehicle of the priest’s old film that needed to be edited to be a finished, complete piece as a means of engaging Beetle in an area where his expertise, while nascent, appears to be a natural gift for editing film projects.
For Mr. Ralston, even the flaws and failures of humanity afflict the worlds of the adults in Beetle’s world. From the over-reaction to a bullying incident where Beetle is nearly strangled, an acquaintance with some unresolved issues from military service comes to his rescue, with excessive bodily injury to Beetle’s assailants. This event helps us to see that even well-intentioned help can get out of hand even in the resolution of an unprovoked bullying incident. Unfortunately, the injuries to the young people resulted in their assailant’s incarceration for excessive personal injury to younger individuals. What Mr. Ralston is trying to help us see just how things that are, on the surface, simple and resolvable situations, can – in fact – result in larger areas of problems down the road. This is a work of humanity in its everyday, small town, parochial life where even the best of intentions are sometimes fraught with disasters unexpected, and results far from ideal.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
In the final analysis, Beetle Battles the Biotoxic Bulldogs is a very engaging story, about teenagers and their environment. All that happens occurs in everyday life just about anywhere and anywhen. It takes strong, resilient caring adults who have raised strong, resilient children and young people. Only with that internal strength, can young people overcome obstacles that confront all of us from time to time. How flexible, intelligent, and able to think on one’s feet are the elements that, when learned early, can have benefits later in life. Many times it behooves each of us, as responsible, rational adults, to help see the way through tough situations with calm, kind, and caring attitudes, without judgment or rancor, but rather with rational, sensitive, and caring responses that can calm almost any situation back to normalcy and serenity.
I strongly recommend this book for teenagers and adults who spend time with either their own teenage children or other children who touch their lives from time to time. Those of us who are care-givers, and examples of cool, reflective, and rational adults who model those traits so that students can learn how to interact with each other to problem-solve, with calm resolution, fair and equitable application of their internal abilities and aptitudes, resulting in learning how to handle situations with calm, intelligent, cogent responses for the benefits of us all. I certainly had a great time reading this work as well as seeing its application to many areas where I could have used its messages to the benefit of all of the participants. Clearly Five out of Five Stars for this one – one of the best books I have read in a long time. Thanks, M.D., for recommending it to me – it really touched me and brought back memories of times when things were filled with students for me, those were some of the best times of my life.
So, did the biotoxic bulldogs survive their ordeal without destroying the Earth? That, dear reader, is for you to discover for yourself. In all of my work, spoilers are not one of things that I left slip out, or at least I hope that is the case.
Review of Andrew Ralston's Beetle Versus the Biotoxic Bulldogs by Richard W. Buro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34677273-beetle-battles-the-biotoxic-bulldogs.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at Send e-mail to the author or e-mail to support@bookbaby.com.
From time to time I receive requests to read and review an author’s book. Nine times out of ten the book is not normally in either
(1) my commitment areas for reading during a year’s time frame, such as book groups on Goodreads, or
(2) my areas of expertise by education, training, or expertise, or
(3) not on my established and 600 title long TBR (To Be Read) List – the books that I really want to read and have already established a priority setting for what and how I want to read next based on my time, expertise, interests, etc., or – and finally –
(4) something about which I want to learn which is also prioritized by training, interest, and desire for personal growth and development.
Such is the case of this work, but really it does have deep pertinence to me personally, as it easily falls within my areas of professional expertise as a certified professional educator in the State of Texas. Thus we come to the work at hand, specifically Andrew Ralston’s Beetle Battles the Biotoxic Bulldogs, one of the more interesting, and certainly one of the most entertaining books I have had the pleasure of reading in some time.
Recommended to me by a friend, M.D., on Goodreads (GR), I shoehorned this short book, 144 pages on my e-reader of choice, a beefed up in memory Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 Nook. It is not as large as some of the 9-to-12 inchers from my past, but it has a great screen, good support and simple operation with a ton of options if you choose to add them, opting for memory upgrades and loading a suite of network tools for the traditionally electronically challenged house that we own. Enough of my technical trivia and nightmares, on to the story . . .
My background in education is one of a love affair for 35 years with some of the best people in the world, the public school students of Central Texas, specifically of the small city where I have spent the past 63 ½ years of my 64-year life. I have been in those hallowed halls similar to the ones that Beetle trod in his book. He was a bit older than the typical middle school student, being more of the age and demeanor of an older student, but with the behavior and social interaction of a younger student. As one reads the book, several things become clear about the protagonist, 15 year-old, behaviorally, attitudinally, and behaviorally challenged, as well as a gifted student with a unique ability to work with and edit 16-millimeter film stock and raw footage. And, as most middle-teens male students, he does share an interest in a young girl of his age, who is just about as interested in him as he is in her. The opportunities are vast and deep especially as you add in similar students with worse problems, shorter tempers, and a bullyish attitude, especially toward challenged students of smaller stature than their ownIn addition to all these opportunities for learning and interaction, our young hero – who goes by a nickname, Beetle – probably a referent to his stature and demeanor – is almost always dealing with some level of drama, torment, or a challenge with a friend or a “friend” or, you understand, particularly if you are past the ”Sturm und Drang” of adolescence, so it can be examined and understood from the benefits of your wisdom and distance from the events that were so embarrassing that you don’t want anyone to remember them with or for you. The fact the Beetle’s school is a parochial school also has elements of opportunities for testing and challenging Beetle’s battle with his age and all the rest. He also has opportunities to help in the high school at which he will attend at the start of the coming school year, and even though the help is of a custodial nature, Beetle is able to earn enough money to be able to get special things from the cafeteria vending machines from time to time, unless his focus misses the incoming bully-boys who always are around to bedevil and ruin either physical, emotional, or basic abilities to live, breathe, and return from one of their “visits” without permanent of disfiguring injury.
Mr. Ralston’s writing describes middle school life with a fair degree of accuracy, much as I witnessed it during the last seven years of my career in education. Typical young adolescent behavior – bullying, tussling, gigging one another, and showing all those signs of adolescent attitude – moodiness, despondency, and agitation – all associated with the raging hormonal changes of adolescence in any normal human population. The fact that Mr. Ralston’s provides us with insights into Beetle’s home life helps to bring some closure and depth to the story and to Beetle’s character. Mr. Ralston also devotes some time to Beetle’s interaction with the parish priest who serves of the spiritual and, at times, behavioral guidepost for the students, staff, and community. Mr. Ralston uses the vehicle of the priest’s old film that needed to be edited to be a finished, complete piece as a means of engaging Beetle in an area where his expertise, while nascent, appears to be a natural gift for editing film projects.
For Mr. Ralston, even the flaws and failures of humanity afflict the worlds of the adults in Beetle’s world. From the over-reaction to a bullying incident where Beetle is nearly strangled, an acquaintance with some unresolved issues from military service comes to his rescue, with excessive bodily injury to Beetle’s assailants. This event helps us to see that even well-intentioned help can get out of hand even in the resolution of an unprovoked bullying incident. Unfortunately, the injuries to the young people resulted in their assailant’s incarceration for excessive personal injury to younger individuals. What Mr. Ralston is trying to help us see just how things that are, on the surface, simple and resolvable situations, can – in fact – result in larger areas of problems down the road. This is a work of humanity in its everyday, small town, parochial life where even the best of intentions are sometimes fraught with disasters unexpected, and results far from ideal.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
In the final analysis, Beetle Battles the Biotoxic Bulldogs is a very engaging story, about teenagers and their environment. All that happens occurs in everyday life just about anywhere and anywhen. It takes strong, resilient caring adults who have raised strong, resilient children and young people. Only with that internal strength, can young people overcome obstacles that confront all of us from time to time. How flexible, intelligent, and able to think on one’s feet are the elements that, when learned early, can have benefits later in life. Many times it behooves each of us, as responsible, rational adults, to help see the way through tough situations with calm, kind, and caring attitudes, without judgment or rancor, but rather with rational, sensitive, and caring responses that can calm almost any situation back to normalcy and serenity.
I strongly recommend this book for teenagers and adults who spend time with either their own teenage children or other children who touch their lives from time to time. Those of us who are care-givers, and examples of cool, reflective, and rational adults who model those traits so that students can learn how to interact with each other to problem-solve, with calm resolution, fair and equitable application of their internal abilities and aptitudes, resulting in learning how to handle situations with calm, intelligent, cogent responses for the benefits of us all. I certainly had a great time reading this work as well as seeing its application to many areas where I could have used its messages to the benefit of all of the participants. Clearly Five out of Five Stars for this one – one of the best books I have read in a long time. Thanks, M.D., for recommending it to me – it really touched me and brought back memories of times when things were filled with students for me, those were some of the best times of my life.
So, did the biotoxic bulldogs survive their ordeal without destroying the Earth? That, dear reader, is for you to discover for yourself. In all of my work, spoilers are not one of things that I left slip out, or at least I hope that is the case.
Review of Andrew Ralston's Beetle Versus the Biotoxic Bulldogs by Richard W. Buro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34677273-beetle-battles-the-biotoxic-bulldogs.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at Send e-mail to the author or e-mail to support@bookbaby.com.
July 21, 2017
I really loved this book. Mr. Ralston does an excellent job in capturing the very essence of what makes these characters tick. Of who they are. No matter how out of left field they may seem at times. They were real. And they had real issues. This one is a very entertaining, heartfelt, endearing, and at times a hilarious read. I had plenty of laugh out loud moments with this one.
This story is the story of Beetle. A 15 year old average boy.
There, his world is opened up. Mainly surrounded by the people he meets and the experiences that come with that. Good and Bad. But ultimately it causes him to find himself. This is just one of those stories that sucks you in and keeps you there. But you're always aware that something tragic is about to happen.
But the internal struggles that Beetle goes through rang true for me. And is what kept me reading through to the end. And how the "answer" came about surprised me. In a good way.
All in all this one is a great read. I highly recommend this one.
This story is the story of Beetle. A 15 year old average boy.
There, his world is opened up. Mainly surrounded by the people he meets and the experiences that come with that. Good and Bad. But ultimately it causes him to find himself. This is just one of those stories that sucks you in and keeps you there. But you're always aware that something tragic is about to happen.
But the internal struggles that Beetle goes through rang true for me. And is what kept me reading through to the end. And how the "answer" came about surprised me. In a good way.
All in all this one is a great read. I highly recommend this one.
September 16, 2021
This is a DNF for me- I won’t say whether the book is good or not, because I only got 15% of the way in to it. But, I am definitely not the target audience for this book. I’ve read a lot of young adult books before but this is far too young. It’s very ADHD. I’ve already found myself skimming pages thinking, “ok, what’s the point here”. So, not my jam. I hope other people enjoy it! I could see some people liking it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews