Big Mouth & Ugly Girl

I just finished reading big mouth and ugly girl and I really enjoyed it. The story takes place in New York after the events of Columbine. In it, Big Mouth, a high school boy who tends to let his mouth just go without thinking about what he is saying, makes a joke about violence and it the joke is misunderstood. He becomes a misfit with many other troubles. Then, Ugly Girl, a very tall, different girl who doesn't care what people think of her, befriends him when he has no on else. They realize how alike their families and lives are and work together to get justice. This book was unpredictable and very well written. It has a very believable story line and is captivating. Although it flashes between an omniscent narrarator, Ugly Girl(whose real name is Ursula) and Matt(Big Mouth)'s point of view, it is easy to follow and is pieced together perfectly. This is one of the books that will really leave an impression on you and make you want ot be a better person. I really recommend it to anyone, any age.

Big Mouth Ugly Girl, written by Joyce Carol Oates, is an excellent book for high school students to read. In post-Columbine America, Matt Donoghy has been pulled out of class by police due to accusations of making remarks that he will blow up the school. Ursula Riggs, Ugly Girl as she calls herself, is the only person who does not believe the rumors and she ignores her parents strict instructions to not get involved. She comes forward and talks to the principal about what really happened. The story alternates between Ursula and Matt, who do not even know each other at school. Ursula is large framed and more interested in sports than most girls her age. She is having a tough time figuring out who she is. Matt is dealing with losing his friends and reputation. Throughout the book, Ursula and Matt work out their problems despite what others think.

Often when "adult" authors try their hands at young adult fiction, the result is less than wonderful; not so with the astounding and incomparable JCO. She brilliant adapts her unflinchingly darkly romantic style for slightly younger readers. We are accustomed to literally climbing into the heads of her all-too quirky, all-too real characters and we get to that here too. There is a difficult section in which Big Mouth's pet golden retriever is dognapped and for a couple of chapters, reader hearts can expect to move upwards into throats. YA audience or not, this is classic Oates. One can only hope she'll deign to do some more for younger readers, that we older adults can enjoy as much as her even grimmer, grittier, and utterly readable usual fare. Actually, young adults would certainly also enjoy her BLONDE, BEASTS, THE RISE OF LIFE ON EARTH, them, DO WITH ME WHAT YOU WILL, all of her suspense novels, written as Rosamund Smith, and many of her short stories.Oates may well indeed be our greatest living American novelist.

Matt (a/k/a "Big Mouth") is sort of a popular guy, until one day he says something that gets misinterpreted. Ursula (a/k/a "Ugly Girl") is a loner who doesn't care what anyone thinks of her -- but she knows the truth about what Matt said. When Ursula comes to Matt's defense, the two are thrown together in an unlikely friendship. This book is really realistic about the way teenagers relate to one another. I especially liked the parts with the e-mails. The characters were interesting, and I wanted to read it again and again.