Bruiser

Tennyson is not surprised, really, when his family begins to fall apart, or when his twin sister, Brontë, starts dating the misunderstood bully, Brewster (or The Bruiser, as the entire high school calls him). Tennyson is determined to get to the bottom of The Bruiser’s reputation, even if it means gearing up for a fight. Brontë, on the other hand, thinks there’s something special underneath that tough exterior. And she’s right . . . but neither she nor Tennyson is prepared for the truth of what lies below the surface.  

Told through Tennyson, Brontë, and Bruiser’s points of view, this dark, twisting novel explores friendship, family, and the sacrifices we make for the people we love. Shusterman masterfully weaves a haunting story that leaves the reader questioning what they would do in a similar situation to the book’s characters.  

Tennyson, Brontë, and Bruiser are not typical teens readers will relate to. In fact, Tennyson and Brontë aren’t very likable. Tennyson is a bully who ends up putting his own personal needs in front of everyone else—even if that means Bruiser gets hurt in the process. On the other hand, Brontë treats Bruiser like a project instead of a person. Even after Brontë realizes why Bruiser chooses not to have friends, she pushes him into her own social circle. Although Bruiser shares his secret with the siblings, Tennyson and Brontë don’t consider Bruiser’s needs. And in the end, readers will question if Bruiser was better off before Brontë takes an interest in him. 

Since Bruiser is narrated by Tennyson, Brontë, Brewster, and Brewster’s brother Cody, readers get an inside perspective of each character’s thought process. Each voice is distinctive and unique, especially Brewster’s point of view, which is written in poetry. Brewster’s point of view is haunting because it shows his pain, his isolation, and his struggle to balance his gift with the needs of others. The realistic conclusion doesn’t show a happy ever after for any of the characters. Instead, it leaves readers with this message: “Everyone must feel their own pain—and as awful as that is, it’s also wonderful.” 

The book’s point of view switches often, keeping the suspense high; this is one reason readers will not want to put the book down. Readers will also become emotionally attached to Bruiser, who is willing to sacrifice his own happiness to help the people he loves. To further that thought process, in the author’s note, Shusterman explains his inspiration for Bruiser and the questions the book explores. If you’re looking for a fun book with a hint of adventure and romance, Bruiser is not the book for you. However, Bruiser is a thought-provoking book that will linger with readers long after they put it down.  

Sexual Content  

• While on a date with Brewster, Brontë “found myself leaning forward to kiss him. . . It was just a peck, really, and I moved so quickly that our teeth bumped.” 
• After the first kiss, Brewster and Brontë kiss several times, but the kiss isn’t described.  
• When Brewster moves in with Brontë’s family, her dad tells him, “You’ll never need to go upstairs.” This is where Brontë’s room is located. Brontë gets upset and yells, “My God, Dad, why don’t you install motion sensors on the stairs to make sure he doesn’t come up at night?” 
• Brontë’s father had an affair. Brontë thinks, “Tennyson and I knew what Dad had done. We had been furious about it, because fathers aren’t supposed to have girlfriends—even if only for a short time.  
• Tennyson sees his mom having lunch with another man. Tennyson thinks, “What’s she even doing sneaking around with this guy?”  
• After a lacrosse match, Tennyson goes over to his girlfriend, and “I pull her in for a quick kiss. She doesn’t resist, but she does try to pull away after a second.” Afterward, the girlfriend breaks up with Tennyson. 

Violence  

• Brewster’s younger brother is crying over a dead bull. His uncle tells the boy to “get your ass away from it.” When the boy doesn’t move, his uncle takes off his belt, and “he brings his arm back, threatening to swing the buckle.” Tennyson races toward them. “The moment I’m close enough, I realize my lacrosse stick is a weapon. . . Then I stare the man in his hateful, rheumy eyes and say, ‘If you hit that kid, I’ll take you down.’” 
• After an awkward dinner at Brontë’s house, Brewster takes off. The next day, Brontë finds Brewster at his locker. “He turned to me and I found my arm swinging even before I was conscious of the motion. . .I slapped him so hard, his head snapped to the side, hitting his locker, which rang out like a bell. . . All of that fury I was feeling needed a way out.”  
• Brewster and Cody’s uncle, Uncle Hoyt, become drunk and then go after Cody. “He grabs at me –missing mostly, but catching enough of my shirt to get me off balance. I fall, hitting the edge of the TV, and I know that Brew isn’t close because it hurts! . . . Uncle Hoyt tosses me, though, like I really am a rag doll. . . He moves closer. I can see his right hand clenching into a fist, and I know he’s gonna use it, so I reach for something.” Cody throws an ashtray, hitting Uncle Hoyt in the forehead. 
• Uncle Hoyt takes Cody to the shed. Cody tries “to hide underneath the workbench. . . but he reaches right in and grabs my leg, and drags me out. I feel the concrete floor scraping my elbows; and as he pulls at me, I bite his arm with all the force I can. . .” Uncle Hoyt beats Cody until, “I close my eyes and stay limp, bouncing and flopping around the shed, lettin’ him kick, and hit, and pull, and tug.” The scene is described over five pages. 
• Uncle Hoyt gets drunk again. Brewster “can smell scotch everywhere/ And wonder how much of that amber poison / Is pickling his brain.” Uncle Hoyt trashes the house, breaking everything. Uncle Hoyt has a stroke and dies.  
• A cheerleader calls Brewster a psycho, and Brontë “gets into a death match catfight in the street” with the cheerleader.
  
• While at a smoothie place, Ozzy, a teen who knows Brewster, starts saying mean things to Brewster. Tennyson jumps in to defend Brewster. When Tennyson makes fun of Ozzy, Ozzy pushes Tennyson and then hits him. Ozzy “lands one right on [Tennyson’s] mouth, then backs away to let it sink in.” Tennyson reacts, “Today I fight not to win, but to destroy. I start in on Ozzy with perfectly controlled methodology. . .” Tennyson hits him in the nose, and “I feel bone breaking against my knuckles. . . blood immediately begins to gush from his face, spilling onto the ground. He collapses. . .” The fight is described over five pages. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

• When Tennyson meets Uncle Hoyt, Tennyson “can tell he’s either drunk or hungover.” 
• Brontë’s dad came home and opened a bottle of wine. “Tonight, he guzzled the first glass with the wine bottle still in his hand and poured a second.” Brontë tells him, “Dad, save the second glass for dinner.”  
• When Uncle Hoyt is upset, “he goes drinking so as to get himself nice and mean. That’s why he drinks—he wants to get super-mean instead of just regular-mean, and he needs alcohol to get there.” 
• Cody hears Uncle Hoyt on the phone. “He’s already been drinking, and he’s slurring his words.”  

Language  

• Profanity is used very rarely. Profanity includes ass, crap, goddamn, and hell. 
• “For God’s sake” and “Oh my God” are used as exclamations several times. 

Supernatural 

• If Brewster cares about a person, he takes away their physical and emotional hurts. He has no control over this. For example, Brontë cuts her hand. The next time she is close to Brewster, she notices Brewster bleeding. “I could see the wound clearly now. It was my wound. Same size, same place. Only now it was on his hand.” 
• Brewster’s brother, Cody, jumps off the roof. “. . . I landed on my feet, they slid out from under me because the ground was muddy. . . I felt the bone snap. . . I was getting ready to feel the hurt that I knew would be coming, but it didn’t come. Instead, when I lifted my arm from the ground, the snap undid itself; and I heard Brewster screaming’ bloodymurder.” Brewster’s arm was broken, but Cody’s arm was uninjured. 
• Uncle Hoyt gives Brewster “his bursitis, his ulcers, and every one of his aches and pains.”  
• Uncle Hoyt “took his cigarette out of his mouth. . . then he slowly lowered the lit end toward his arm, just beneath his elbow. He pressed the cigarette to his own skin. . . There was a red spot on his arm, but only for a couple of seconds and then it was gone. And inside Brew screamed bloodymurder.” 
• While swimming alone, Brontë slips on the ladder rungs and hits her head, “knocking [her] unconscious.” Brewster finds her and pulls her out of the water. He thinks, “I have one last gift for you, Brontë, and it’s one you can’t refuse. /Inches from you now, I stop kicking, let my arms relax. /They drift down to my side. . .She starts to revive, I start to let go, /Giving myself to the waters.” Brewster willingly takes Brontë’s injuries and ends in the hospital in a coma. 

Spiritual Content  

• Several times, when talking about his mom, Tennyson says, “God rest her soul.” 
• When thinking about kids who are bullied, Tennyson thinks, “Thank God I’m good at sports, or I might have been pegged early in life and beaten up in the hallways.” 
• When Uncle Hoyt is having a stroke, he asks Brewster to take his pain. Brewster doesn’t because “Your death is yours alone, Uncle Hoyt; it’s what you created, what you’ve earned. And you’ll know soon enough if God truly has mercy enough to forgive you. Because I can’t.” 
• After Uncle Hoyt dies, Tennyson and Brontë’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Gorton, take Brewster and Cody in. “Apparently, Mr. and Mrs. Gorton are very big in their church, which means setting an example as Pillars of Virtue and doing the whole What Would Jesus Do? thing.” 
• After Tennyson and Brontë’s parents take in Brewster and Cody, the social worker says, “God bless you. God bless you both.”