Fix By Force

That’s all life was to me – some kind of massive screenplay with a role for everybody. But I hated my part. I even hated my name. I was well aware of how I’d been cast, but that doesn’t mean I accepted it. I tried whatever I could think of to rewind, erase, and force a rewrite. No matter what I tried, I was center stage, portraying the character I was meant to.

Book: Fix By Force by Jason Warne, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2012

Genre: Realistic Fictioin

Target Audience: Boys 14-19

Subjects: Drugs, Bullying, Friendship

Summary: Spencer was born with everything against him. He was the result of an affair between his dad and the woman he truly loved. His dad’s wife raised him as her own but never loved him as her own. His dad died with the reputation of the most hated man in town – a mean, out of control, drunk. All his life he tried to fit in, tried to be normal. But fitting in is not allowed when the car accident your dad died in also claimed the life of the mother of the most popular kid in school. His senior year of High school Spencer decides to try being invisible and just getting through, but his plan fails and he’s sent to the New-Start Program – the school for expelled kids. It isn’t long before he realizes that survival depends on being big and tough. So he begins experimenting with steroids. He does become bigger and stronger, but his problems don’t go away. So he keeps doing more. How far will he go to find answers to his problems?

Notes: This is a pretty detailed book. It includes swear words, descriptions of the character injecting the steroids, etc. It also does not contain anything blatantly Christian. There is no praying or Bible reading or discussion about what God wants of anyone. It’s just the story of a young boy’s attempt to survive extreme bullying by turning to drugs. When he finally makes the right choice, it’s primarily because he got caught and the ease of doing it is gone. He also makes a choice at one point to do something specifically to avoid hurting his girlfriend. So it seems that the lesson is to be a morally good person because life just goes better that way and you might avoid causing pain to someone you love. It does present a picture of the disadvantages and dangers of steroids though.

Recommendation Scale: 2/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Ephesians 6:10 – Finally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.