When Zachary Beaver Came to Town

A boy. A trailer. A fat guy.
Obviously, these are the makings of a great book.
On the front cover of When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, there is a black and white picture of a trailer sitting in a barren wasteland. The novel is about a small town in Texas that gets shaken up when "The Fattest Boy in The World" comes. Toby, the main character, is fascinated with him and his stories of traveling, but he knows there is more to him than he thought. While this is happening, his best friend's brother goes to fight in Vietnam, and Toby's mother leaves Toby to become a singer. This book explains how all of those are related and how they combine to make a summer that will surely change Toby's life.
Wait, what?
I will be honest, I thought I wouldn't be able to relate to anything in this book. So why did I choose it, read it, and thoroughly enjoy it?

The story revolves around Zachary and Toby, and how Zach changed Toby's life forever. It was not a monumental change (don't want to give any spoilers) but the book ended with Toby changed into a different person with new ideas. I have had several people in my life influence me. My parents have definitely influenced me to make the right choices, but I also have had a few teachers and friends whom have changed me for the better in some way. So after I read this novel, I felt like that was the strongest connection I had with it.

I chose this book for regular reasons in the beginning. It is a National Book Award Winner, the author is well-known and a talented writer, and it is realistic fiction, which I enjoy. In the beginning, I really just read this book because I didn't have anything else to read. But approximately 20 pages later, I was hooked. I couldn't stop reading this until the very last page. The plot was just so different and interesting it was intriging. This is one of the most unique books I have ever read.

Before I go, I just wanted to share one of my favorite lines from this novel. Kimberly Willis Holt writes, "The Mozart sonata Dad picked out begins to play. When we hear the first note, we open the sacks and the ladybugs escape through the opening, taking flight. It's as if someone has dumped rubies from heaven. Soon they will land on the plants in search of bollworm eggs. But right now they are magic-red ribbons flying over our heads, weaving against the pink sky, dancing up there with Mozart" (Holt 101). This paragraph just painted the most lovely picture in my head. It's filled with great figurative language: "But right now they are magic-red ribbons flying over our heads, weaving against the pink sky, dancing up there with Mozart." Also, I liked how the author used long, flowing sentences to really show how beautiful and elegant the lady bug waltz was.