Fat Kid Rules the World

Though told by Troy, this is really the story of Curt, surely the most charming homeless teen junkie guitar-god in literature. Devious, brilliantly talented, weirdly wise, slightly insane, leading a nightmare life, a tornado of energy and need, Curt is an original, and horrifyingly delightful, character. Though depressed and at times self-pitying, Troy has a sense of humor. He sees everything in his life through the lens of his weight, but doesn't even consider doing anything about it: He was skinny before his mother died, now he's fat, and that's it. Despite the seemingly loud and crazed storyline, first-time novelist K. Going is ingeniously subtle. Troy's father is a rigid stereotype in Troy's eyes, and for a while the reader's eyes, too. But from Curt's point of view, and in the midst of crisis, his faults morph into virtues without too much gong-beating from the author. Young readers may have cause to reassess their opinions of their own parents.