Boys of Blur

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We veer close to Caliban country here, but Wilson already has one classic text to draw from. But in reality, Wilson gives her much more credit. And most interesting, Wilson will keep cutting back to her in the narrative. It goes against the grain of the usual narratives, wakes you up, and makes for better books.

Where do heroes find their courage and resolve? In previous books Wilson had already gone underground and into deep dark places. In Boys of Blur he explores the dual worlds of cane and swamp alike. Really, it can only be read by the right reader. To make them appreciate the language of a tale as much as the action. And yes, there are big smelly zombies that go about killing people so win-win, right? Some may say the book ends too quickly. Like the boys in the cane, this book speeds out of the gate, quick on its feet, willing to skip and hop and jump as fast as possible to get you where you need to go.

Read some of the book yourself to get a taste. Remember, if you will, that Wilson both shot and narrated the following book trailer. One of the best of the year, too:. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person.

Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: Has the Beowolf connection been widely publicized about Boys of Blur? Super cool concept and goal! Beowulf is actually name checked in the text. Review of the Day: Boys of Blur by N.

Wilson April 15, by Elizabeth Bird. Examples of some of his particularly good lines: Galley sent from author for review. I draw my connections where I can. One of the best of the year, too: Wilson , Random House. Comments Karen Maurer says: April 15, at 5: April 15, at 6: April 16, at 9: April 29, at 8: April 30, at Clearly I had sugar on the brain. Cotton has been corrected. Recent Posts 31 Days, 31 Lists: Lisa Brown 31 Days, 31 Lists: About A Fuse 8 Production Features everything from librarian previews of upcoming children's books to news, reviews, and videos.

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If it has something to do with children's literature, it will rate a mention here. From early in the book, we know certain things about Charlie that are to serve him well in the future. And when there are choices to be made, he makes them. He decides what he should and should not do in any given moment and acts. Sometimes it's the right choice and sometimes it's wrong, but it is at least HIS choice each time. The sugarcane fields themselves are explained a bit late in the narrative. On page 64 or so we finally get an explanation about why the boys are running through burning fields to catch rabbits.

All about swords and fighting and football and dangerous runs into burning sugarcane fields. The football is particularly fascinating. Small town football almost NEVER makes it into books for kids, partly because baseball makes for a better narrative by its very definition. For an author to not only acknowledge its existence but also give it a thumbs up is almost unheard of. Yet Boys of Blur could not exist without football. The book begins by burying a coach, and there are long seated animosities in the town behind old high school football rivals. For many small towns, life without football would be untenable.

And Boys of Blur acknowledges that to a certain extent. The women that do appear are few and far between, but they are there. And he did go out of his way to add a couple additional females to the line-up. Take that as you may. We veer close to Caliban country here, but Wilson already has one classic text to draw from. But in reality, Wilson gives her much more credit. And most interesting, Wilson will keep cutting back to her in the narrative. It goes against the grain of the usual narratives, wakes you up, and makes for better books.

Where do heroes find their courage and resolve? In previous books Wilson had already gone underground and into deep dark places. In Boys of Blur he explores the dual worlds of cane and swamp alike. Really, it can only be read by the right reader. To make them appreciate the language of a tale as much as the action. And yes, there are big smelly zombies that go about killing people so win-win, right? Some may say the book ends too quickly.

Like the boys in the cane, this book speeds out of the gate, quick on its feet, willing to skip and hop and jump as fast as possible to get you where you need to go. For ages 10 and up. View all 9 comments. Dec 05, G. My heart is still sprinting. It is scary fast. I sat down to read it and a few hours later—done.

A little dizzy, but done. Reread in September May 29, Ken rated it liked it Shelves: Boys of Blur now there's a word is well-written in parts, give it that, but the well-written parts cannot salvage the whole. It is, in fact, a mish-mash that some readers will be perplexed by.

Is it a realistic novel? It certainly begins as one. Boy Charlie moves to a Florida town with Mom who has married a new man while the old one's still about. As said town Taper is step-dad's Mack hometown, he is cued up to become the new football coach, replacing the recently-passed Coach Wisdom. I'm on board with it. But then the novel veers voodoo or something. Charlie falls in with a kid named Cotton and they run through burning sugar cane and they meet some weird dude in a helmet and sword think Ghost of DeSoto, maybe who wears dead rabbits and keeps panthers for pets.

Still with me, Grades 3 to 7? Next we get a grave robbing, a full-size tree appearing overnight in said grave, some creature from the deep that stinks so much it's nicknamed Stanks but is really named Gren. DeSoto turns out to be a human I think named Lio and he's doing battle against this ancient curse groan Crying, "My kingdom for a consistent genre! It's as if the book cannot make up its mind and so lurches this way and unfortunately that. But still, Wilson does drop some good writing in there.

That might be a word for it. But I sincerely doubt many of my students would stick with it. Time will tell, though. Mar 05, Benji Martin rated it it was amazing. So I just finished an under page book filled with swamp muck, high school football, dead bodies, an abusive father, human appendages nailed to walls and an awful stench that makes you hate everyone and everything, and the only word in my head after finishing the last page was "Beautiful. Wilson can do that. Mar 06, Donalyn rated it it was amazing Shelves: I burned through this book--reading it the day it arrived. I've enjoyed every book Nate Wilson has written, so I knew I was in for treat.

Boys of Blur exceeded my high expectations. A fantastic story with brilliant writing. Jun 14, Valerie Kyriosity rated it it was amazing.

Back in the early '90s, Eugene H. Peterson was my pastor for about five minutes. I don't think correlation indicates causation Gene's son once told him, "You only have one sermon"—an observation that Gene didn't take as a compliment. Sometime later, the son moved away to another state and started looking for a new church there.

After visiting one congregation for a while, he switched to another. Why Back in the early '90s, Eugene H. As he told his dad, "That guy hadn't found his sermon. And here, perhaps more clearly than in his other books so far, we see that it's also his father's sermon and his grandfather's sermon , which is appropriate for a book with a strong father-and-son theme. It's a good sermon. My favorite bit was where Cotton tells Charlie to read a certain edition of Beowulf. Since I worked on that edition, it's almost sorta kinda like I'm a little bit in the book. View all 4 comments.

Another good one Wilson always delivers and this was no exception. I'm always amazed by the vivid imagination and fantastical worlds he creates. Jan 01, Beth rated it liked it Shelves: By rights I should love this. Smart, complex middle grade fiction that defies genre classification! I've always disliked football. I didn't realize how much that bled over into, say, fiction about football until I read Boys of Blur. It's not so much the football itself - well, it kind of is; the way football is used as a barometer for adulthood, or success, or being a good person.

It rubs me the wrong way. It's an accurate reflection of life, but that's probably why it bothers By rights I should love this. It's an accurate reflection of life, but that's probably why it bothers me so much. Actually, it's not just the football I disliked. I certainly can't call that a flaw; it's a personal bias. The defies-genre part, though - that was mostly vague and confusing. It was simply there, in the middle of an otherwise gritty contemporary work, and it seemed out of place and at odds with the tone of the rest of the story.

It wasn't until the end that I realized the novel was based on Beowulf at which point I noticed how obvious that should've been , and I can't say I'm a fan of the parallel.

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It made the fantasy elements feel shoehorned in, and all the more so because they weren't grounded in anything. Because it felt like the fantasy elements were just a chapter in the boys' lives, experienced and learned from and then no longer a part of their world, and that highlighted how awkward they were.

Despite that, though, there's a lot of very good stuff in this book. Fabulous, fabulous family stuff. Great adult presence and relationships. Friendship and courage and loyalty, and how the decisions you make affect the person you become. What it means to grow up and be an adult. I still say football isn't a barometer of that, though. View all 6 comments. Oct 02, Brandon Miller rated it really liked it Shelves: This book was a blur.

Really weird things happening that no one seemed to notice. Seriously though, minor underreaction to the church thing. Somehow that made it in there. This book tricked me into feeling things I didn't want to feel. Then is slapped me in the face with reality: Sometimes it's brawling in the stands, sometimes it's Las Vegas prayers for all affected , but those feel This book was a blur. Sometimes it's brawling in the stands, sometimes it's Las Vegas prayers for all affected , but those feelings don't ever end well. This book knows that. It's classic good versus evil, love versus hate.

It's fresh, and touching, and real. It's worth a read. Also, on a less deep note, Nate has to have played some football to describe what it feels like to drop a pass that well. View all 3 comments. Apr 29, Amy rated it it was amazing Shelves: So a few weeks ago, I made this comment: I make the comment all the time that there is a class of YA Fiction that I call "sophisticated".

Sure, there are plenty of fluffy and fun YA books, but there seems to be this class of books that is expertly crafted, gorgeous, and un-put-d So a few weeks ago, I made this comment: Sure, there are plenty of fluffy and fun YA books, but there seems to be this class of books that is expertly crafted, gorgeous, and un-put-downable. It's these books that add to my conviction that the best writers around are writing YA. So here's this thing: I think I had an epiphany.

But it went one step further: It's only pages long. It requires the reader to suspend their belief even more, which requires the writer to make it work. And I don't think the best of the best of the best adult books can even come close to the sophistication of a book like this. And I don't think the most prolific literature academics could wrap their head around a book like this. I think it takes the uninhibited, unrestricted, and ingenious mind of a child to comprehend it fully--or maybe I should say it takes that mind to know you don't HAVE to comprehend it fully.

I don't have a clue about what to call the type of author that can write a book that speaks to that child mind. I am ashamed to admit my previous feelings about MG books. Granted, I always lauded their benefits; I just never personally enjoyed them. Now, I feel a whole new world has opened up to me, and I can't wait to dive in to this "ultra sophisticated" class of MG fiction. Will I find it in other books? Though they have a mighty high standard to live up to. Aug 07, Brandy Painter rated it it was amazing Shelves: Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.

Wilson's book since I read his first, Leepike Ridge. I pre-order his books as soon as I can and devour them all. I was so excited when I discovered he had a new stand alone, the first since Leepike Ridge, coming out this year. Then everyone else who doesn't read their ARCs in order of publication date, or at least doesn't get as behind as I sometimes do started singing its praises and my excitement and expe Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.

Review of the Day: Boys of Blur by N.D. Wilson

Then everyone else who doesn't read their ARCs in order of publication date, or at least doesn't get as behind as I sometimes do started singing its praises and my excitement and expectations increased. Basically, I had astronomical expectations for this book going into it and it managed to surpass them. This is a review of an ARC from the publisher.

Boys of Blur is a story of brotherhood, rivalry, football, family, and Beowulf. Charlie has a past that haunts him and also fills him with hope and purpose. His mother left his dangerously violent father when he was only five. Charlie remembers the fear and what it was like to be running from him. He has a step-dad now though who is everything that is wonderful and encouraging and an adorable little sister.

As the story opens, Charlie's past and present are colliding. Back in the town where both his father and step-father grew up, and where both men currently are working, Charlie is facing a present that is both haunting and hopeful too. This story is about him finding the courage to face the things that frighten him, let go of the things eating at his soul, and learning to run with the best of them-not away from things but toward them.

He is a character who pulls at the reader and draws them into the story. His step-second-cousin, Cotton, who claims him as just a cousin, welcomes him to his new home and teaches him a bit about the town and the running. The two boys bond like most boys do: I really liked this aspect. The cast of other characters are wide and varied.

This is a short book, less than pages, and yet the entire town comes to life. Each character has a distinct voice and that includes all of the adults. I particularly liked Mack, Charlie's ex-football star step-father. I also appreciated how the storyline with Charlie's real father was handled. This sounds like fairly typical MG contemporary realistic fiction at this point, but it isn't. Because there is something not quite alive but not quite dead wreaking havoc in the flats. Old rivalries are tearing the town apart. The little jealousies, bitter musings, and grudges people have cradled in their hearts are taking over their whole souls.

Everyone is turning on everyone else. Charlie and Cotton discover it is due to an ancient evil trapped beneath the muck and swamp lands waiting for her time to take over the halls and bodies of men. Soon the boys find themselves having to face this evil and decide what to do about it. They are brave and foolish. Just as 12 year old boys are. And it all works together so well. The plot is a reworking of Beowulf, the evil being the mother who is birthing man devouring monsters.

Boys of Blur

She wants to burn the world. It is up to Charlie to stop it. I really appreciated how he had so much assistance though. This is one thing Wilson always does well in his books.

In a world of MG and YA novels where adult supervision and assistance are glaringly, sometimes ridiculously, absent, Wilson never abandons his young protagonists to fight their monsters alone. There are always strong, capable, and loving adults there to help. The themes explored in this novel are sweeping in scope. For such a short, quick read, the book is brimming with symbolism and thematic greatness.

What makes a family, what holding on to the negative aspects of life does to a person, when to stand up for right, having courage in the face of overwhelming odds, and knowing what it is you are living for so you can know what it is you are willing to die for are all pulled into Charlie's story. Themes Wilson explores in most of his books, but they all are worth exploring repeatedly and he does it so darn well.

There is also a great deal of diversity in the book, a thing we need more of and is always nice to see. Charlie is white, his step-dad is black. I loved how this wasn't a big deal, it just was. They make some jokes about it, but they're jokes that clearly come from a place of comfort and familiarity with each other. A knowledge that they are family no matter. The imagery and descriptiveness of the book are pretty much perfect. As I read, I felt like I was right there with the boys. I could feel the stifling heat, the burning, the pain.

And the words just flow together so well: The bicycle pegs swayed beneath Charlie's feet. He felt strange moving so quickly while standing so still, like a man on a chariot. Gravel crunched beneath the tires and Cotton's shoulders rocked under his hands. Moonglow loomed on the horizon. Charlie's skin prickled as night air parted around him. Every bit of him was hungry to feel and to remember. Florida darkness washed over him, and Charlie Reynolds filled his lungs with it.

Maybe he didn't belong in this place, but he belonged in this moment. It smelled like rich earth and hidden water. It smelled like fire.

And if all of this weren't extraordinary enough, Wilson managed to write a small town story that is not over flowing with quirkiness. This line is probably my favorite though because it pretty much sums up the south: Football and church don't cancel for nobody.

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