Slob

Author: Ellen Potter
Recommended Age: 10 and up
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-545-28673-2
Year Published: 2009
No. Pages: 199
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Main Character Gender: Male
Read & Reviewed by: Tori

“Give me back my cookies.” 

“Your cookies?” he snorted. “What would I want with your cookies?” 

I stood there for a moment feeling especially fat. I mean, I always feel fat, but sometimes I feel like a boulder. And I just stand there, letting it happen because I’m a boulder and that’s what boulders do.

Owen Birnbaum is a 12 year-old fat kid with a very high I.Q. In fact, it is only one point down from the genius mark. In this novel Owen, an unreliable narrator, speaks directly to the reader and the outcome is to say the very least, entertaining.

At the beginning of Slob, Owen clearly states that just because we are reading his book, it doesn’t mean he is going to tell us all his secrets. As I read, I got to know Owen better and I started to figure out some of his secrets by picking up the hints he dropped and piecing them together. Owen is inventing a machine, the Nemesis, so he can travel back two years in time before he had started to gain weight, and find out what happened on October 25 2006.

Owen is the main target for bullies at his school. Almost everyone in his grade teases him, calls him names and makes farting noises when he walks by. Being the “boulder” Owen describes himself to be, he just lets it all happen. Every day for the past two years, Owen’s mom has put three Oreo cookies in his lunch and these are his few moments of bliss until one day, he opens his ECO friendly shower curtain container and finds no cookies. His first suspect is the new kid, Mason Ragg. Mason Ragg is a bono fide psychopath and rumor has it that he was transferred to Owen’s school because he was “unmanageable.” People claim different truths about him. Owen thinks Mason resembles an evil character out of a comic book. Ellen Potter’s characters are well-crafted, not only do their descriptions make them live off the page but their voices are authentic.

I would rate this book a nine out of ten because I liked the style of humor Ellen Potter used. She would describe every scene so well, I could really see it all happening.

Owen specifically has issues with his gym teacher, Mr. Wooly. Mr. Wooly is the type of P.E. teacher who loves favouring the athletic kids and has it out for all the non-athletic types, especially Owen. Mr. Wooly takes it too far when he straps Owen to a dog harness and forces him to roll around on a gym mat. Owen has an opportunity to blow up in rage at him but instead, he bursts out crying and runs into the change room to compose himself. It was interesting how is some parts of Slob, like in this one, I not only laugh at Owen but also feel uncomfortable for him. It gave me a better understanding of all perspectives when it comes to bullying.

Both boys and girls would enjoy reading this book and I recommend Slob to people who don’t feel comfortable with their bodies or just anyone looking for a quick read chock full of humor.