Stick

I want to start by saying that this is the best thing that I have read so far this year. Granted, we are only in the second week of February, but I would be remiss if I did not give this book the accolades that it deserves. It is no secret that I love reading Andrew Smith’s work, but there was something in this book that truly grabbed me and left me with an emotional connection the likes of which I haven’t experienced in quite a while.

“Stick” is the story of Stark McClellan, a tall, lanky boy who happens to only have one ear. Stark, known by his friends as Stick, is often bullied at school, but finds comfort in Emily Lohman, the kind girl next door, and his brother, Bosten, who would fight to the ends of the earth for him. Although life can be tough at school, coming home isn’t exactly a reprieve. With incredibly strict parents, Bosten and Stick are held to a stringent set of rules that, when broken, result in tortuous punishments.

Stick idolizes Bosten and often finds himself tagging along on many of his shenanigans, but when Stick uncovers a secret about Bosten, he is afraid that it will change their relationship forever. As romance begins to boil between Stick and Emily, aggression runs high at school, and the tension of the McClellan household becomes unbearable, Bosten and Stick are shipped away for a week to stay with Aunt Dahlia in her small, beach-side home in California. At first apprehensive about the visit to Aunt Dahlia, the boys soon realize that she embodies everything that they were lacking: kindness, love, understanding, and compassion. While in California, Bosten and Stick become friends with some local kids and begin learning how to surf.

After returning home to Washington, the boys are left alone with their father after learning that their parents were going to get separated. As the abuse from their father reaches its peak, Stick is forced to face what he has feared his entire life--losing his brother. When Bosten runs away, Stick realizes that without his brother, he has nothing; without his brother, he has no reason to fight. Seeking comfort in Emily, Stick decides that he needs to find his brother so that the two of them can live the life that they have always deserved.

Thinking the only logical place to run away to would be Aunt Dahlia's house, Stick concocts a plan that involves him assuming his brother’s identity, “borrowing” the family car, and driving across multiple state lines… on his fourteenth birthday. With some cash in his pocket, a couple changes of clothes, and his trusty Steelers hat, Stick sets out to find his brother. While Stick has a clear plan in his mind, things go awry and he finds himself tossed into some dire situations, but the need to find his brother remains his biggest motivator.

This book had me hooked! The depth of the characters was fantastic, the emotional complexities woven throughout each relationship were phenomenally written, and the way this book left me thinking long after I put it down was admirable. I felt as though I was Stick; I felt as if I was experiencing what he was going through, and I began to internalize the emotional abuse that he underwent and really feel what the unbreakable bond--the love--between these brothers felt like. I enjoyed the way that the book was written to mimic what it would be like to hear the world through only one working ear; with structured spacing in between words within the lines of text, reading lopsided, and I could imagine what it must be like to constantly have life seem that way.

For anyone who is looking for an emotional joyride that will leave you smiling, laughing, and crying, I would recommend reading this book ASAP. I was blown away by the raw way that Andrew Smith conveyed the teen experience.

5 out of 5 stars