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Picking on Retards
We are most shaped by the things that we are ashamed of. Ronald "Butcher" Blake is The Man when it comes to high school football in 1988. With the other heroes of the undefeated Mims High School Mustangs he is one of the elite. The untouchable. That is until he takes it upon himself, while showing off for his teammates, to assault and frighten a mentally disabled boy in the hallway at school. Letting the punishment fit the crime, the principal and his coach devise an ingenious way of teaching Butcher a lesson. He won't be suspended from school or kicked off the team, provided he agrees to one stipulation. Butcher Blake will be the new bodyguard for the boy, Ethan Miles. The rest of the Mustangs, however, don't like losing their partner in crime to "some retard" and they do all they can to make life even harder on Butcher and his new charge. Led by Derek Skyler and his personal Goon Squad, the remaining members of the team, and even Butcher's girlfriend, launch an effort to wreck the new arrangement. No longer elite and no longer untouchable, Butcher begins to see that there is more to life than just football. A realization that he fights every step of the way. Picking On Retards is a novel about the hardest lessons we learn. The ones about ourselves.
492 pages, Paperback
First published April 19, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 4, 2011
How unfortunate that the title of this book will scare people off before they even give it a chance. Yes the title is provocative, much along the same lines as Stop Being Niggardly and Nine Other Things Black People Need to Stop Doing. Yes, it sounds pretty offensive and I will admit that I didn’t really want to pull it out and start reading it in the doctor’s office waiting room. But, Picking on Retards is not the mean-spirited book that some people are going to assume it is. In fact, it is a compelling story that sets out the strong bond that actually develops between a bully and a retarded high school student when the bully, for his punishment, is forced to prevent others from picking on his victim.
Picking on Retards would be a great young adult book as it is set in high school and addresses the cliquishness and struggles with peer pressure and popularity concerns that many teens will go through. However, it also has a lot of scenes with the protagonist getting his dick sucked and boning broads. Not that this offends me, but I could understand the reluctance on the part of some parents to let their teens read such a book
With all of the above being said, Scott Carpenter really wrote an entertaining tale here. I was already familiar with Carpenter from his first book, Mr. Undesirable (which I thought was hilarious, if not somewhat in need of additional editing and focus). It is clear that Carpenter took previous criticisms of the editing of his first book to heart and sharpened the focus of his plot. And, although the scenarios in his second book were not as wacky as in Mr. Undesirable, Carpenter’s humor and style still shine through in his second effort. Unlike many books that I have read lately, I found myself giving a shit about the characters in Picking on Retards and wanting to get to the next chapters to see what would happen. Carpenter has honed his skills and written a book that I think many people will really enjoy if they can get past the title and give it a chance.
Picking on Retards would be a great young adult book as it is set in high school and addresses the cliquishness and struggles with peer pressure and popularity concerns that many teens will go through. However, it also has a lot of scenes with the protagonist getting his dick sucked and boning broads. Not that this offends me, but I could understand the reluctance on the part of some parents to let their teens read such a book
With all of the above being said, Scott Carpenter really wrote an entertaining tale here. I was already familiar with Carpenter from his first book, Mr. Undesirable (which I thought was hilarious, if not somewhat in need of additional editing and focus). It is clear that Carpenter took previous criticisms of the editing of his first book to heart and sharpened the focus of his plot. And, although the scenarios in his second book were not as wacky as in Mr. Undesirable, Carpenter’s humor and style still shine through in his second effort. Unlike many books that I have read lately, I found myself giving a shit about the characters in Picking on Retards and wanting to get to the next chapters to see what would happen. Carpenter has honed his skills and written a book that I think many people will really enjoy if they can get past the title and give it a chance.
January 10, 2022
Don't be afraid of the title, it is a good book
September 10, 2011
Truly enjoyed this book. I was a freshman in highschool when the "hero" of this story was a senior and I could so relate to the setting. It made me laugh and could be a little graphic with the sexual content, but it was highschool and SO REAL! It touched me though to know this "hero" was really someone's hero for who he was, not his athletic ability. Great book!
June 26, 2011
I enjoyed this book thoroughly and the earlier book by Mr Carpenter, Mr Undesirable.
I found this after reading a review by Lance Carbuncle here on Goodreads. Thanks for the review and book suggestion.( I knew there was some reason we were connected here on Goodreads.)
This book was a lot more than you might think from the title- in fact you can pretty much forget about getting offended by the title. (there are other things you can be offended about in the book if you like)
The book is about a high school football star who decides to pick on a retarded boy and gets the ultimate punishment of having to look out for him for the rest of the school year...as a result he learns a lot more about life than just football. The story moved along very well. Love the sense of humor and I felt that I got to know the main characters as I was reading the story.
LIsa
I found this after reading a review by Lance Carbuncle here on Goodreads. Thanks for the review and book suggestion.( I knew there was some reason we were connected here on Goodreads.)
This book was a lot more than you might think from the title- in fact you can pretty much forget about getting offended by the title. (there are other things you can be offended about in the book if you like)
The book is about a high school football star who decides to pick on a retarded boy and gets the ultimate punishment of having to look out for him for the rest of the school year...as a result he learns a lot more about life than just football. The story moved along very well. Love the sense of humor and I felt that I got to know the main characters as I was reading the story.
LIsa
July 17, 2011
This book first got my attention because of the Goodreads friends' recommendations. I went to go buy it on Amazon and saw all of the character assassination attempts on the author. Of course, that made me buy it. I do get bored with football, but the characters all drew me in. I encourage people to read this book. Please go on Amazon and help the ratings go up. This book was good. The title made me mad, but the story was honest. It makes me mad when people rate books on Amazon or any space without reading it.
July 24, 2011
I really enjoyed reading this book. It is full of cussing and sex, but since it's about a high school boy so it just seemed real. There were several laugh at loud parts.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews