BoTW: Bruiser

Bruiser by Neal Shusterman is a 2011 Lone Star book, the very first highlighted on this blog! I've read the first third of the book and I can reliably report that it's a steep departure from Unwind, though it contains some of the teenage angst found in Ansty Does Time. The book's overall theme seems to revolve around child abuse and neglect, and how children persevere against the starkest of family life.

From the beginning, Shusterman introduces some of the most unique characters in recent young adult literature. Bronte and Tennyson are twin siblings named by their literature professor parents after the famed novelist and poet. Bronte has begun dating an infamous boy at school, Brewster "The Bruiser" Rawlins. "The Bruiser" is a hulking teenager, voted by his class as "Most Likely to Get the Death Penalty." And now he's dating Tennyson's sister.

Tennyson will have none of it. He stalks Bronte and Brewster during their mini-golf date, corners Brewster, and threatens Brewster to stay away from his sister. The two nearly come to blows. Later Tennyson accidentally stumbles upon Brewster in the boy's locker room with his shirt off, his back covered with unbelievable scarring and bruising which Tennyson likens to the cratering on the moon. Curious about Brewster's bewildering disfigurement, Tennyson secretly follows him home after school. Hiding behind a nearby dumpster, he witnesses Brewster's uncle brandish a belt, threatening to beat Brewster and his little brother Cody!

Is that where Brewster's scars come from? Tennyson suspects yes. But then something strange happens. After hanging out with Brewster at his house, Tennyson notices that his scraped knuckles have inexplicably healed?

What could have caused such miraculous healing? And who (or what) is causing the scars and bruises on Brewster Rawlin's back? Read Bruiser and find out!