Although the bulk of Butter’s school experience has been one of mostly being ignored, that wasn’t always the case. The bigger issue undercutting all of the book is that of bullying, including online bullying. Rather, we’re offered a character who is fat, and that physical attribute of him has become Who He Is, rather than any of his personality or heart. There aren’t cut and dry answers about what weight should or shouldn’t be in this story. This doesn’t excuse it nor does it make it more acceptable - the entire concept of live casting your death by eating in excess for audience viewing is horrific - but as readers, we understand the desperation Butter feels in wanting to be accepted for who he is. Neither the character nor the story exploit the weight issue to make it a Weight Issue rather, we’re allowed to experience humiliation and frustration right along with the main character, and we’re forced to see why he chooses to behave in the manner he does. Everything Butter experiences is painful, and he is completely aware of his own problem. That’s when the real question emerges: what will killing himself prove, if anything? And will it get him the sort of acceptance he wants in those final days or will he be simply making himself a bigger target of torment than he already is? Will it make Anna accept him as Butter or will she continue pretending he isn’t the guy she talks to online?Įrin Jade Lange’s debut Butter is one of the best explorations of weight in YA I have ever read. In hopes of retaliation and in hopes of fitting in, he’s going to eat himself to death online for everybody to watch.īut as the day draws closer to when he’s to perform his act, everyone wants to know if Butter will really go through with it or not.
See, it’s been hard for Butter to fit in and gain acceptance not just because of his size, but because of how he reacted around a group of popular boys in the past who taunted him because of his size. At least emotionally.Īfter a series of events that prove to Butter how little he is to the rest of the student body - including Anna - he decides he’s going to make a change.
It’s through the protection of the computer that Butter feels comfortable being himself and opening himself up to her. Their relationship is all online, and Butter goes by a nickname on the internet so Anna has no idea with whom she’s really communicating. Except, she doesn’t know it’s Butter with whom she’s developed this friendship/near romance.
Over the last year, though, Butter has developed a strong relationship with Anna, who is one of the most popular girls at school. It’s impossible to be ignored when you’re the biggest kid in school, but being fat makes Butter invisible anyway. He knows, too, that he’s an outcast at his school and even with his parents because of that not-so-little number on the scale.
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