Brock Cole

I was prepared for another depressing book about teenagers suffering, and I was pleasantly surprised that this book was different. It was still a formulaic story about two kids at a summer camp who are bullied, but the compelling writing and shifting of perspective from kid world to adult world were so great that it was way better than just a typical bullying story. Goats perfectly captures the world of kids that exists below adults' radar, and how hard it can be for kids to prevail over the combination of power-trips and clueless-ness in adults who have control over them. Kids who don't even know each other, with hardly any money or food are better able to care for each other than the adults in their lives.

Goats takes place in the eighties, and some of the parts where white kids and black kids are hanging out are weird - the author makes a point of declaring which kids are white and which are black in a way that is pretty awkward. I flinched at the stereotyping of all the kids at times. However, the awesomeness of the characters came through and the suspense of the story was great.… (more)